Lola pulled into her parents driveway, as Tommy fiddled with the small paper, reading and rereading the letters and numbers.
“So, your anniversary could be part of the clue?” he asked again.
“Yes.”
“But you don’t know what the initials are for?”
“No.”
He slumped down in the seat, and handed it back to her.
“We’ll figure it out,” she said noticing it was more for herself than for him.
They got out of the car and walked the short distance to the house. Rain clouds were beginning to move in covering the sky, and bringing a chill to the late spring air.
As Lola crossed the threshold, a strange jacket hung on the coat hook catching her attention. Then from the dining room, a boisterous laugh swept through her and she froze.
“Lola, honey? Is that you and Tommy?” Gloria called from the other room.
“Yeah, Mom,” Lola said eyeing Tom her still stood by her side.
“Put the paper in your pocket,” Tommy mouthed. Lola obediently slid it in her back pocket as she walked into the dining room where she saw Bryon and her mother sipping on coffee.
“My goodness can this man make me laugh!” Gloria gushed as she stood to go to the kitchen “He is just full of stories!” she said grinning. “Would you guys like anything? I just baked some more of those protein cookies, Lola.”
“Oh great,” Lola mumbled. Her mind scrambled as she tried to think of what could bring Bryon here. She tried to swallow her panic
“I hope you don’t mind, Lola,” Bryon said scooting a chair out for her to sit down next to him. “I was just so worried about you after yesterday, I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he smiled.
Lola tried to smile back, but was worried what her face was going to give it all away. She casually sat down, shifting her chair slightly to the left.
“So, you look better,” he said. “I’m guessing…Mark?…was it? He got you home okay?”
“Yup, he sure did,” she said. She played with the place mat in front of her, busying her fingers with the fringe edges. “I didn’t see your car outside,” she said trying to keep her voice level.
“I actually rented a house right down the street, and I was taking my morning jog and thought I'd stop by,” he smiled brightly.
He looked towards the kitchen, then back to Lola and leaned in so only she could hear.
“I know you‘re hiding something, Lola…something from Kyle“ he whispered into her ear. “I wanted to be friends…I wanted this to be easy.” he breathed. “It still can be. It’s entirely up to you, think about it.”
Chills ran down her spine, and then down each of her arms. She sat frozen, unable to move.
Bryon stood up and pushed in his chair “Sorry, Gloria,” he said. “I’m going to have to be heading out. Would you like me to wash my mug before I go?” he offered.
“Oh you!” Gloria swatted the air. “Don’t be silly. But I tell you what, any time you need some company, you come right over. I know how bachelors live…” she said shaking her head with a laugh.
“Well, I might just take you up on that,” he said. He turned towards Lola, gave her a wink and walked out of the room.
Gloria hummed to herself as she loaded the dish washer. Nausea she hadn't felt in days crept back in, and her whole body shook as she stood up. She couldn't be around her mom like this.
Lola walked steadily to her bedroom, and as she rounded the corner she noticed something was missing.
“Tom!” she called.
“What - what is it?” he said popping around her door frame.
“Did you take the envelope out of my room?” she asked.
“No, why?”
“It’s not here,” she said. Lola started searching her room, looking under the dresser and in each of the drawers. She ducked quickly to the floor and scanned under the bed, as panic began to set in.
“It’s okay, we’ll find it,” Tommy said trying to reassure her.
“What if he took it?” she whispered.
“Bryon?”
“Yes, he could have asked to go the bathroom, saw it on my dresser and took it.” Lola stopped where she stood and covered her open mouth with her hand.
“Ask Mom,” Tom said. “She’ll know if he came back here.” Lola nodded and rushed past him and back into the kitchen.
“Mom,” she said out of breath. “When Bryon was here, did he ask to go to the bathroom or anything?”
Gloria squinted her eyes slightly, thinking “Oh yes, he did, I almost forgot! He brought me this. Said he found it on the floor.” She reached over to the end table and picked up a manila envelope. “I’m surprised you left it out in the hallway. Anyway, he was concerned too, so he brought it to me.”
Relief flooded Lola as she took the small package from her mother, but as she opened to inspect the contents, she found there was nothing inside. She felt the blood drain from her face.
She tried again and dug her hand into the envelope, hoping she missed something the first time, but it was empty. His words, Kyle’s words were gone. She sat down next to Gloria on the couch, surprised at how suddenly hopeless she felt. If Bryon had it, then he had the first clue. That’s how he knew Kyle had left her something.
“Lola,” Gloria said. “What was in that envelope?”
Lola didn’t respond.
“Lola,” Gloria tried again. “I don’t like this. One minute I think you’re doing really well. Ok, that might be an overstatement, but better, then the next you’re quiet and pale just like…well like in the beginning,” she finished firmly. “And I won’t sugar coat this. At this point do you think you might be suffering from depression? Do we need to really look at this more closely?”
“Mom,” Lola started, She took a deep breath. “That envelope had a letter from Kyle in it.”
Thank you so much for sharing this with me! For more info about freewrites, visit
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If you would like to check out the story from the beginning you can find the previous chapters here!
1 |2|3|4|5
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To the amazing people that read this story! Thank you!
Much love,
Stacie D
