“Hello?”
“You made me promise if we lived I’d tell you what Leather and Lace meant,” I rasped, clearing my throat to mask the emotion in my voice.
“I’m still waiting,” Reina said softly. “Whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready,” I swallowed. “It’s me and Lacey. It’s Lacey, she’s my Lace. She’s the face I pictured when we thought we would die. It’s her face I hung onto and wished to see again,” I admitted, letting out a ragged breath.
“I know,” she confessed. “I’ve known since the hospital she was your reason, your why and your purpose,” she added.
“Jack was here,” I started. “I told him the truth, Reina. You might want to prepare yourself for that ride,” I warned.
“Blackie, you didn’t call me to warn me about Jack,” she coaxed.
“No, I called you because I didn’t know who else to call. I’m stuck here when I should be there, with her, helping her through this shit. I’m calling you because I need to know she’s okay. I’m calling you because I need you to remind her I’m here and I’m begging her to hang on to those three words. I’m begging you to help me remind her of them.”
“I’m sure she’d want to hear them from you and not me,” Reina said.
“I don’t want to upset her,” I rasped.
“Blackie, you want a reminder? Here’s a reminder. You told me to hang on because Jack needed me. You told me he loved me and I was the one who fixed him, made me believe I had to get back to him because I was what he needed most in this world,” she recalled. “Now do yourself a favor and make the call because the one thing Lacey needs most right now is hearing your voice remind her of everything she knows in heart but is too weak minded to hang on to.”
I remained quiet as I soaked up her advice.
“Are you there? Did you hear me? She needs you,” Reina called. “And in case you need another reminder, something to force you out of your own hell and bring you back to her, let me give you what you need to hear too…Leather and Lace. Make the call Blackie, and make it right, make it count,” she challenged.
“I hear you,” I assured. “Thanks, Reina,” I added huskily.
“Just returning the favor, my friend,” she replied.
Make it right.
Make it count.
I could do that.
Today was a big day for me. It’s my first day back at school and the first day I took the Lithium the doctor prescribed. Now, it’s a waiting game to see if it works or if we will have to adjust the dosage or possibly try a different medication. I’m confident that I’m going to kick my maker’s ass.
Surviving the rest of this semester? That I’m not so sure about.
“Everyone’s staring at me,” I whispered to Daniela as we walked to the campus store. I know my treatment with Dr. Spiegel is helping because I would be having an anxiety attack right about now, wondering what everyone was saying behind my back.
I knew they were talking.
I just didn’t care.
Let them talk.
“They’re not staring at you,” Daniela insisted. “And even if they are it’s not because of anything you did but because Brandon fooled everyone,” she added.
I don’t know how true that is either. I overheard some girls talking in the bathroom. They think I’m the bitch who had her daddy’s motorcycle gang beat the fuck out of Brandon because I didn’t want to go down on him.
People talk.
They always do.
Even when they don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about.
After I overheard Riggs tell my father what he heard at the hospital I confided in Daniela, because sometimes you just want to talk to your girlfriends and not a shrink. She admitted that when she was making plans for that night, Brandon asked her if I would be there. Of course that led to a crying session with Daniela, where she blamed what happened to me on herself for a good two hours.
The truth is, it would’ve happened anyway, even if she didn’t invite him or tell him I was going.
He’s still in the coma and every day he doesn’t wake up things become worse for Blackie. I wish I could see him or speak to him especially after what Riggs told my father. I wanted to thank him for what he did. I wanted to tell him how much I loved him and I wanted to tell him about everything that was going on with me.
I didn’t even care if he told me how he felt.
If he didn’t say a word.
Just knowing he was listening was enough.
Daniela and I grabbed a coffee and went to our next class. I pretended to be paying attention but my mind was elsewhere, busy dreaming of what could’ve been. It doesn’t look like we will get another chance at making our story work. If Brandon dies, Blackie’s sentence changes and he’s looking at murder.