The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,33
stunned stiff for a second, but she broke out of it and ran to catch up with him. Her mom yelled, “Kyra, where the hell you going?!” but she didn’t slow up or even look back.
When they got to his house, Beverly nearly had a heart attack at the sight of her sweet baby. She didn’t calm down much when Donovan told her why he had to fight. That night Beverly forbade Donovan from hanging around Kyra. But of course he wouldn’t listen. He started taking Kyra to the library after school rather than bring her home. This was the first time he openly defied his mother. When Beverly found out, she was the one who conceded. She told Donovan to bring Kyra to their house after school like he’d been doing, so at least she would know where he was.
Kyra’s mother didn’t stop smoking crack after that, but they never saw Marvin again. Later, whenever Kyra tried to talk to Donovan about what happened, he downplayed his heroics. He didn’t agree that he put his life on the line for her. But he didn’t have to. Kyra saw it with her own eyes.
Donovan wasn’t sure if fate led him to Kyra on the playground of Sunrise Elementary. But he knew that she needed him in her life. If he wasn’t there for her, who would be? He couldn’t think of one person.
≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
The house became completely silent when Donovan finished his story. Brianna stared at him, her heart fluttering in her chest. There were a million thoughts swirling through her head. She didn’t want to vocalize most of the things her subconscious was telling her, but it was so black and white. There was no way she could pretend not to see.
“Donovan, tell me the truth. Do you love her?” Brianna felt her heart ripping in two before he opened his mouth to respond.
“I do love her. But it’s not like you think. I’m not in love with her.”
“But, how can that be? After all you’ve been through with her.”
“If she was a boy, you wouldn’t ask that.”
“But she’s not.”
“Why can’t a boy and a girl be close without falling in love?”
“I’m not saying it can’t happen, Donovan. But I don’t think it’s possible with you two. I don’t like this, Donovan. I don’t like the idea of you hanging around other girls.”
“I’m a teacher, Brianna. I’m around mostly women everyday.”
“I know, and I don’t like that, either,” Brianna said frankly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Tell me why your mother put her out.”
Donovan’s heart froze. She knows. A chill enveloped his whole body. But Brianna was worried and unsure, not accusatory. Donovan wanted to tell her about the kiss, but he knew she wouldn’t believe it was a one time thing.
“I told you, my mom never trusted her.”
“Then why would she let her live with y’all in the first place?” Brianna wondered. “That’s a terrible thing to do to a child; take them in, and then kick them out after a few months.”
“She didn’t do it to be mean,” Donovan said. “My mama wanted it to work. She gave it her best shot. But she thought me and Kyra were going to start liking each other. It started to drive her crazy. She couldn’t do it. She thought she could, but she couldn’t.”
Brianna nodded slightly, and Donovan knew she accepted that. The lie made him feel sick to his stomach.
“Did Kyra come back to Texas for you?” Brianna asked.
Donovan’s eyes lit up. He was happy he could be completely honest with this answer. “I asked her that today, and she said no.”
“You asked her if she came back for you?”
“Yes,” Donovan stated. “I asked her that exact question.”
Brianna frowned. “Why did you ask her that? Did you want her to come back for you?”
“Now you tripping,” Donovan said with a shake of his head. “You’re on a fault finding mission.”
“What if she said yes?” Brianna asked. “What if she did come back for you?”
“She didn’t.”
“But what if she did?”
“What if the world ends in an hour?” Donovan said. “I have no idea what I would do. Why are you worried about something that didn’t happen?”
“You have no idea what you would do if Kyra said she came back for you?”
“Brianna, I’m with you. And I love you. I wouldn’t leave you for Kyra – not even if she told me she came back for me. I’m not an asshole. Now please, stop.”