📜 Lola's Story | Chapter 10~ Original parts 28-30 + *BONUS MATERIA...

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Mark idly flipped through the radio station as they drove silently through town. Tommy sat in the back, a faint glow from his phone illuminating his face, while Lola stared at her reflection in the side mirror.

“So,” she tried to say casually. Mark raised his eyebrows in response. “I haven’t been to Luigi’s in forever.”

“You think you’ll be able to handle a whole main course?” he glanced down at her belly.

“Well, I’ve managed to make it all day so far.” she said brightly.

“No way!” Tommy called from the backseat. “Maybe your vomiting won’t wake me up in the morning anymore”

Lola rolled her eyes. “I doubt anything actually wakes you up. All I hear is snoring.”

“How is it? Staying at your parents?” Mark asked pulling into the parking lot.

“Eh, it’s gotten easier.”

They found a space close to the front and parked. Mark led the way through the double wooden doors where the hostess greeted them, and led them past the standing crowd and to a table.

“I made a call,” Mark whispered back to Lola. “It pays to know the chef.” he said with a wink.

Their meal was more elegant than she remembered in the past, but it had been so long since she had enjoyed anything like this. It felt like a lifetime ago. She looked down at the menu and saw eggplant parmesan. Her mouth watered. Mark ordered salmon, and Tommy had the spaghetti and meatballs. Then as a special surprise, Mark ordered three pieces of chocolate cake. Lola's stomach hadn't felt this full in months.

Once the plates were cleared, Mark quickly payed the bill and left. Lola was relieved, although she had tried, she couldn’t stop thinking about the letter hidden somewhere close to Mark. Another sign that her husband was still trying to communicate with them.

When they pulled into the driveway, Tommy excused himself saying that his friends were waiting for him to log in to a computer game, and headed back in the house, leaving Mark and Lola sitting in a quiet car.

“So,” Lola started, feeling like she was hanging by a wire.

“I know you want to see it,” Mark said laughing. “Hold on it’s in the glove compartment.” He reached over and grazed the back of his hand on her knee. Lola kept still trying to keep her mother’s words out of her head.

He took a deep breath and handed her the envelope. The paper was soft and worn. On the outside Mark was scrawled in the same handwriting hers had been.
She licked her lips, and slid the letter out.

And there it was. Her husband’s writing.

Mark,
There was a time long ago, when we shared what we knew. When the leaves turned to brown, and the trees turned few. We knew what we needed, and we saw what we saw. I never took for granted, although I had all. Please take what I have if there’s a ever a spur, and please just in case, keep an eye on her.

Lola stared at his writing, a small tear she couldn’t blink away crept down her cheek.

She knew what this letter meant.

“He knew something was going to happen,” she whispered.

“I thought you’d be able to put it together pretty quickly,” he said. “And I should ask for forgiveness again…after the apology dinner.” he shook his head embarrassed. The redness in his cheeks looked foreign on his face. “I invited Tommy along to put off showing you that.”

Lola understood. Kyle had been referencing her throughout the whole poem. A time long ago when they shared what they knew referenced his time with Mark in college, shortly before Kyle had met her. The leaves represented the fall, when Lola had broken things off with Mark, and had started her relationship with Kyle. But he wanted Mark to know he never took it for granted, and if it there was a spur…or meaning if there was a sudden action…that he wanted Mark to take care of her.

“But all of this is open,” Lola said. “We worked through all of this, you became a friend to me just like you were a friend to Kyle. You even told me the night we broke up that you had already moved on. You said you were relieved.”

“Did I?” he asked. “I can’t even remember what I said that night.” He looked at Lola, that same expression he had in her room earlier. There was an ache in his eyes. He slid his warm hand onto her cheek and smoothed away the stray tear that lingered with his thumb. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t break his gaze. Her breath grew more rapid as her brain tried to keep up. She needed to move, to get out of the car, but she couldn’t.

Mark looked at her from one eye to the other.

“You should go,” he finally whispered, and lowered his hand to his lap.

Everything felt heavy as she broke her gaze, and reached for the door handle.

“Lola,” his voice sounded hoarse. “I need you to know…whatever it is, whatever is happening, my only focus is making sure you’re safe.”

She felt herself nod. Then left the car, barely able to feel her legs.
Once she was inside the front door, she began to breath again, but her eyes burned with fresh tears. Her stomach tied in knots.

“What’s wrong?” Tom asked as she passed him in the living room.
She ignored him, and she went straight to her room, and collapsed onto her bed. Big, heavy sobs exploded from her body.

How could she have done that? She thought. How could she have almost kissed someone else? Wave after wave of guilt swept over her. She felt like she had cheated on Kyle, why hadn't she been strong enough to look away? What kind of monster was she?

As her body became exhausted, and her sobs quieted to low murmur, a small thought started to form. Slowly at first, then larger until she could fully grasp it.

If Kyle knew that something might happen, if he had been prepared...was the accident still her fault?

She sat straight up, suddenly more aware than she had been for months. If that were true, she wasn't a murderer. His death wasn't because of her. She didn't kill him.

But then who did?

She glanced over to her dresser where the envelope sat. He was trying to tell her.

A faint knock on her door sounded, and she jumped, then stood, shaking and to answer it.

"I thought you might want some hot chocolate," Tommy said standing there, holding her favorite mug.

"Listen Tom," Lola started before she could stop herself. "I need your help."

Lola paced back and forth along the length of the dresser while Tommy sat on the bed holding the letter from Kyle, concentration etched on his face.

“So,” Tom started. “You have a letter and Mark has a letter. Both from Kyle.”

“Mmmm hmm..” Lola said taking another sip of hot chocolate.

“And…you knew what Mark’s meant, and that’s all done because he was supposed to watch over you. But yours is still encrypted?”

“Yes, which is,” Lola began but Tom cut her off.

“Is why you need me,” he said. “But why doesn’t Mark help?”

“Oh, umm, well, I’m sure we can figure it out? Right? You and me like a team?” Lola smiled.

“But if Kyle was endanger…which makes you endanger, then Lola come on….this is more serious.” Tom stared at her. “We can’t do this by ourselves. At the very least you need to tell Dad. He’s an actual detective.”

Lola sat down next to Tom on the bed, and played with the mug in her hands.

“There might be any extra level to this I hadn’t mentioned before,” she said. “Mark seems to think something’s going on with Bryon, ya know the police officer that stopped by earlier?”

Tom nodded.

“Well, I didn’t get a chance to ask him, but he’s convinced that Bryon might be apart of the problem. I don‘t want to Dad to be involved, not yet anyway.”

“Lola! You can’t honestly believe this is a good idea. Why would Kyle put you in danger like this?” Tommy said suddenly angry. “You’re a mom now, and he has you going all over the place trying to solve a mystery!”

“But what if I was the only one he could trust?” Lola asked.

“You weren’t though,” Tom said. “He trusted Mark too, so whatever it was that made you all stuttery just a second ago, you should get over it because I’m not doing this without him.”

“So you will help?” Lola asked eyebrows raised.

“Obviously you need me,” he chuckled and looked down at the letter again. “ And I think the first place we need to look is your house, but not until you call Mark.”