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Anderson followed Channing to another bedroom.
She reached inside and turned on the light. “This is my daughter’s room.”
Anderson entered the cozy little pink and lavender bedroom. “You haven’t touched this room since the morning of the accident have you?”
Presley’s pink laptop was still open on the bed, and a container of jellybeans sat on her dresser beside several hair ribbons.
“No.” Channing sniffed a hair ribbon. “It’s been like this since that day she left for school.”
“I’ve seen not one picture of Presley hanging around.”
“I took them down.” She shivered, hugging herself. “Too hard to look at her picture right now. Every time I visit her it gets harder and harder because it could be just another day she’s slipping away from me.” She sniffled. “It kills me to see her suffering.” She opened the drawer of the end table and got a black picture frame. “This is Presley.”
Anderson stared upon a caramel-toned girl with ponytails and a smile that lit up the universe.
Channing clasped her hands behind her back. “I wouldn’t let them put her picture in the paper.”
“She’s so beautiful. Looks just like you.”
“I can’t live without her.” She held the photo to her chest. “I’ve even contemplated suicide if she doesn’t make it.”
“Channing.”
“I’m serious.” Despair muffled her voice. “I won’t be able to make it not one day without her. Not one day.”
“Sh.” He grabbed her into a tight hug. “Presley wouldn’t want you to do anything like that.”
“How can I make it if she dies?” She blubbered in his chest. “How?”
“You’d get through it.” He rocked her. “It seems impossible now but you’re stronger than you realize.” He lifted her face from his chest. “Few people could handle what you’re going through.”
“Strong?” She placed her small hand over his. “No one has ever called me that before.”
He clasped her trembling face in his palms. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.” Before he knew it, he kissed her, his lips roaming the confines of her plump mouth.
“Mm.” She jerked back. “No.”
His hands remained in the air as if he still held her face.
She covered her mouth. “Why did you do that?”
“I don’t know.”
“You gotta know. You don’t just kiss someone for no reason.”
“I didn’t plan it.”
“This can’t happen, Anderson.” Her face contorted. “Do you understand? I need to focus on my daughter. I can’t have distractions. She’s the only thing that’s important right now.”
“When I’m around you, I get this intense need to be closer.”
She backed up to the dresser with her eyes squeezed shut. “Please don’t tell me this is an act.”
“What?”
“The kindness and the kiss. Are you trying to seduce me for your story?”
“Is that who you think I am?”
“I don’t know what to think.”
“You called me, remember?”
“No, I called my sister and her fiancé.” She rushed to the bedroom door. “You need to leave.”
He scoffed, following her downstairs. “I’ll see you at the hospital tomorrow.”
“That’s not a good idea.” She rushed ahead of him and opened the front door. “Maybe we should stay clear of each other. Goodbye.”
“Channing, I’m doing this story. I want to get justice for Presley.”
“I don’t trust you.” She widened the door. “Please leave me and my daughter alone.”
“Channing.”
“Go.” She looked away from him. “Just go.”
He walked out on the porch then faced her. “I don’t regret kissing you. I want to do it again.”
“Goodbye, Anderson.”
She slammed the door.
****
Channing approached Anderson as he enjoyed greasy chicken nachos in the hospital cafeteria the next morning. “What are you doing here?”
“Eating nachos.” He raised the plate. “Want some?”
She slid into the booth across from him. “You came even though I told you not to?”
“I’m sure that pisses you off.” He bit into another chip stacked with shredded, cheese and the kitchen sink. “I hoped that you’d let me see Presley. How is she?”
“The same.” She illuminated in the pastel, pink summer dress and matching lip gloss. “You been here all morning?”
“I wanted to see if making you hate me more was worth it.”
“I don’t hate you.”
“You threw me out of your place.”
“I’m sorry for how I acted last night. All you did was kiss me.”
“You’re not ready.” He sipped sweet tea through a straw. “It won’t happen again.”
Her eyes grew big as balls.
“You got the most beautiful eyes.”
She smiled, lowering her head.
“You remind me of my ex-wife.”
“Is that why you kissed me?”
“It might’ve had something to do with it.”
“Are you lonely, Anderson?”
“Yes, I miss being close to a woman, but after the marriage failed, I got gun shy. I’ve dated, but I haven’t felt that spark since you.”
“That kiss was amazing.” She pressed her lips together. “I liked letting my guard down. I’ve been afraid of getting serious with anyone because I’m never sure if they’re going to stay.”
“You do nothing but come to the hospital and work. That’s not healthy. You need distance to deal with things.”
“I’d love to take a break from worrying but how can I?”
“Why don’t you come to Klein and Sonjay’s for dinner tonight?”
“My mom has been begging me to have dinner with her and my dad so I said I’d make it over there. Would you like to come?”
“You were angry at me last night and now you want me to come to your parents’ place?”
She nodded.
“Why?”
“Because with you around, I can enjoy life a little more.”
He smiled, folding his arms on the table. “I’d love to come. May I see Presley?”
She stood, tapping the table. “Sure.”