Day 37

When I tell Lakeisha what Kyle told me, she gives out a whoop. "Someone just declared love for you, baby!"

"I-I don't think it counts as a declaration. How can it be when it just comes out after talking about violin playing?"

Lakeisha scoffed as she told me, "Boys expect you to read between the lines of their words. Much like how we expect them to read our minds." Lakeisha took a French fry from my plate and pondered something between chews. "The real question I have for you is do you want to meet him halfway too?"

I felt my cheeks heat up as I did my best noncommittal shrug. I'm glad Lakeisha didn't pursue my nonverbal cue more. I don't know how to meet someone halfway at all. What words can be strung together to get the message across? I wasn't even sure what the message from my end was going to be!

All I knew was that I had another card I made the night before in my hands as I stood before Kyle's closed door.

I was about to grab the doorknob when Kyle's door swung open, causing my head to bump Polk's bare chest. He wasn't wearing a shirt under his leather jacket. He also looked pissed before bumping into me.

"Oh, I'm sorry Renata," he mumbled before walking away without a second glance. Tripoli wasn't with Polk today which was odd because other than when I met Tripoli the first time, her and Polk were almost always at the hip. Looking at Kyle, stare for stare, I wanted to mumble off myself.

I stood my ground in the doorway however as I asked him, "Why was Polk upset with you?"

Kyle smirked as he said, "He's upset because I wanted his T-Shirt so I took it." That's when I noticed that Kyle had on a T-Shirt instead of a hospital gown. "Renata?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Swinging his legs to the side of the bed, where he had on jeans too he shakily got up on his own. "Let's get out of here for a bit."

"N-no that's not a good idea, Kyle--"

"Well, I don't want good ideas. I want to make some poor decisions before I die." Closing his room door I shook my head.

"Wasn't underage drinking enough for you?"

"That wasn't the first time I drank, Renata. It doesn't count as a poor decision if I've done it before." As he started to walk slowly towards me, I waved his birthday card in front of his face.

"Don't you want to read your birthday card first?"

Kyle sighed as he said, "Bring it with you. I can read it along the way." He grabbed the hand that wasn't holding his birthday card and pulled us towards one of the emergency exits.

As he pushed the door, I expected an alarm to sound like the sign on the door warned but we were greeted by silence instead.

Kyle smirked as he said, "I figured the sign was just for show."

"The camera isn't," I replied as I pointed up at the camera located just outside the emergency exit. "Well, I guess we better go back now."

"What are you talking about?" asked Kyle. "Let's run, Renata!"

I turned around and saw the reason for his urgency. Nadia the nurse said, "Hey, you!" Before I could reply, my arm almost got pulled out of it's socket.

"Ow!" I replied as I trotted along with Kyle past the tree line. "Kyle, let's go back! I'm gonna get in trouble!"

"No you won't, it's my idea and you're a volunteer so it's not like they can fire you."

"Then why are we running in the woods?" I asked him as he stopped to take some deep breaths. As Kyle was heaving, he pointed up at the sky.

Looking up, I didn't see the sky but a canopy of trees instead. "We're here because I want to lay down on the ground next to you."

He sat down and reached his hand up to me. When I grabbed it, I wasn't expecting the yank although I should've figured. I landed on my butt but not on the ground. I was about to scoot away from Kyle's lap when his hand squeezed mine.

"Don't even think about it, Renata." Our faces were inches apart. I saw Kyle's pupils dilate as they took me in.

As Kyle leaned in, I slapped his face with his birthday card. "Are you going to read it or not?"

"Fine," said Kyle as he plucked the birthday card from my hand. "As long as you stay in my lap. I'm not done with you yet."

"Yes you are." I started scooching away when he wrapped one arm around my waist. "Kyle, am I going to have to hurt you?"

"You already have, Renata," he replied softly.

"No I haven't. How have I hurt you?"

"Unintentionally," said Kyle.

"What?"

"Moving on!" announced Kyle as he opened his birthday card with one hand while I sat in his lap and huffed.

"On your 37th Birthday your youngest baby keeps you up all night. You still have the energy to sing your youngest a tune or two though." Kyle closed his birthday card and smiled. "That settles it. My youngest child is gonna be a girl."

"Oh! And what's her name going to be. Vespa?"

Kyle laughed so hard he was wheezing afterwards. "No, I was thinking of giving her a more classical name. My daughter is named Persephone."

"As in Queen of the Underworld?"

"The one and only." Kyle looked up at the trees again. "I figured when I die then I could make death a trade. Where I get to live and my daughter becomes his bride. What do you think?"

"I think I get to call you worst father of the century without a hint of remorse."

"Renata, I'm the best father of the century. I helped make my daughter Queen of the Underworld...it's a position of power she gets to have. She'll be better off than me."

Laughing I replied, "No that's just twisted logic."

It takes me a moment to realize I'm still sitting on his lap. I unwrap Kyle's arm from my waist. "I said I'm not done with you yet," Kyle growls at me.

"Aren't your legs numb?"

"Not when you're in my lap," he replied. "Renata, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you yesterday. Comparing you to a hauntingly beautiful melody."

"Wait, is that why you brought me here?"

"Some of it, yes." Kyle cleared his throat as he said, "I'm going to apologize with a hauntingly beautiful melody too."

Then before I knew it, Kyle was singing Yesterday by the Beatles. His voice was so beautiful I didn't notice till after he was done he had both arms wrapped around my waist.

I didn't try to scooch away. Instead, I leaned my head against his frail shoulder and we sat there till both of our legs got numb, enjoying a beautiful day.