Nobody’s Child (New Life Tabernacle Series Book 1) (7 page)

M
akayla was walking
home from work, wondering how to persuade Amir to cut down her hours, when she realized she was being followed. While other cars passed at the speed limit, one had slowed enough to stay just behind her.

Any other day she would have made a run for it, but since she was already so worn out, that wasn’t really an option. Still, she wasn’t about to let the creeper follow her to her building, so she decided to turn, face him and scream like she was on fire. If nothing else, he’d decide she was more trouble than she was worth and zoom off.

Only, when she turned, it wasn’t a creeper in the slow-moving vehicle. It was Trey.

She swung her messenger bag at his windshield. “Boy! What’s wrong with you? I thought I had a stalker!”

Trey leaned out the window, laughing. “I’m sorry! I’ve been following you for a block now. I thought you were ignoring me, as usual. I promise, I didn’t know.”

Makayla continued down the sidewalk. “Stop laughing then. And stop following me.”

“I would, if you’d stand still!”

Makayla stopped and turned around. “What are you even doing here? Don’t you have class?”

Trey parked at the curb and got out the car. “I did. Earlier. That’s why I’m here. I thought Robin told you. I’m supposed to take you home from now on.”

“Home? For what?”

“Uh…school?”

“Oh, yeah. School.”

“Robin wants me to take you home on Tuesdays and Thursdays since our classes end around the same time. I waited outside your Statistics class, but I must have missed you. I went in the direction I figured you take home and, sure enough, there you were.”

Makayla hooked the strap of her messenger bag around her neck and body. “You know what? You don’t have to do that. It’s not that long a walk and—”

“Nope. Robin gave me my orders. I’ll just make sure I’m at your last class earlier next time.”

Great.

Now on top of her crazy hours at work, Makayla would have to walk all the way to the campus twice a week just so she could catch a ride back to where she started.

Thanks, Robin.

“No, don’t do that. Let’s just meet at—you know the fountain at the Cooper street overpass?” Besides the computer lab, it was the only place she knew of on campus.

“Uh, yeah… But I really don’t mind—“

“Great! See ya’ there.”

She turned to walk away, but he followed her. “Cool. But hey… Let me take you to lunch. As an apology for the stalking.”

Any other day, Makayla would’ve jumped at the chance for a Ramen-free meal someone else was paying for, but she hadn't had an appetite all day.

“Maybe next time.”

“After the mixer, you promised I could take you out some time to make up for dodging me the entire night.” He folded his arms and came in close, as if studying her. “Ahh, I see. That wasn’t for me. That was for Shauna's benefit, huh?”

“No, it’s not that—”

He put his hands up. “It’s okay. You can use me as a weapon against your nemesis. Just let me know beforehand, so I don’t get my feelings hurt. I’m a very sensitive guy.”

Though she tried not to, she chuckled.

“Really, it’s not that. I’ve had this insane headache all morning and I just wanna lie down.”

“Gotcha. Do you have something you can take for it? If not, I can run to the gas station real quick.”

“Where do you come from?”

He gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“I say my head hurts, so you offer to get medicine. You hardly know me. Why would you do that?”

He shrugged. “You don’t feel good. I wanna make you feel better.”

Makayla didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t used to anyone caring about how she felt, much less, wanting to do anything about it.

She turned around and headed to the Escalade.

“Where are you going?”

“If you’re going to the gas station for me, I might as well ride along.”

He grinned and ran ahead of her to open the passenger side door.

“You know you shouldn’t take painkillers on an empty stomach, right? Maybe we should do lunch, after all. For your sake, I mean.”

Makayla shook her head and got in the car.

She’d walked right in to that one.

T
he sweet relief
of the sublime elixir known as Excedrin was something Makayla couldn't put into words. While she still felt run down, the absence of the pounding headache made all the difference in the world. So much so, Trey persuaded her to accompany him to a little shop not far from campus.

Makayla stopped just inside the door.

“Whoa…”

She wasn’t sure where to look. Every inch of the small space was packed. Cars in display cases, trains on tables, planes hanging from the ceiling. Not to mention the stacks and stacks of product boxes jammed in metal shelves.

“What are we doing here?”

“Picking up my new car."

"The one Robin already bought you isn't enough?"

He grinned. “I’m in the market for something a bit smaller…” he said, leading her to the counter of the tiny storefront.

“My man!” An older gentlemen from behind the counter clasped hands with Trey. “It’s in the back, but it may take a few minutes. We just got a shipment and everything that came before is buried.”

“No problem. We’ll look around.”

Makayla followed Trey through the store until he stopped in an aisle featuring airplanes. As he tried to decide between two fighter plane kits, Makayla picked up a cellophane wrapped box with a picture of a grey and blue military plane on the front. She stared at the numbers on the small, white tag in confusion.

”Wait. Is this the price?”

He looked back over his shoulder at the box she held up. "Yep."

Makayla's eyes bulged. "And you still have to put it together yourself?"

He laughed. "That's the whole point."

“That’s crazy.” She'd have to use an entire check to buy one of those things.

“If that makes you break out in hives, stay behind when I pay for the one I ordered. Otherwise, we may need an ambulance.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Maybe it’s the engineer in me. I like creating things. I love the planning, the precision, the completion, the—“ Trey caught the blank expression on Makayla’s face and smiled. “Robin got me started on them. One Sunday afternoon, I was at her house and she came into the kitchen to find I’d taken apart her microwave. I just knew she was going to tan my behind, instead, she said, ‘We need to get you a hobby.’”

Makayla laughed. "Okay, so what's up with that? Is it just me or is she the most chill person ever? Like, does she smoke weed on the side or something?"

Trey used his fist to cover his mouth and almost choked with laughter.

"Weed? Robin’s never even gotten a speeding ticket. I think she's incapable of criminal activity. Come to think of it, I've never even seen her lose her temper."

Makayla lowered her chin and gave him a look that said she found that hard to believe.

"I'm serious, not once. And I've been with her in all sorts of situations—rude cashiers, bad drivers, slow waiters. Nothing gets her worked up.”

"That's crazy."

“When one of my boys say all Christians are hypocrites or that no one can really live that life, I say, ‘You haven’t met my godmother.’”

Everything Trey said was true. At first, Makayla assumed it was all an act. But now?

With each passing day, a new theory began to solidify in Makayla’s mind. Maybe Robin didn’t abandon her. Maybe she
had
to leave her there. Was it possible she never wanted to walk away in the first place?

"Can I ask you something?"

Makayla had forgotten Trey was there. “Sure.”

"What's with the forks and tuna packets?” Trey narrowed his eyes. “You don't need to diet. You're perfect."

He was trying to flirt. Which wasn’t so bad, now that she no longer considered him her mortal enemy. She was starting to like Trey, despite her occasional bouts of jealousy over his relationship with Robin. But as much as she’d softened toward him, it wasn’t enough to talk about what she carried in her bag. It never would be.

Makayla made her way down the aisle, pretending to be interested in the helicopter kits. "Maybe I like to feed stray cats."

"With forks?"

Makayla shrugged.

"Maybe…" She playfully drew the word out. “I’m undercover law enforcement. That stuff is part of my stakeout kit."

He laughed out loud, enjoying the game. "Okay, okay. Better. But try again."

Makayla pretended to think about it. "Maybe I have an evil stepmother. You know, like the kind in fairytales. I use the tuna for food when she makes me spend the night outside the house."

Trey put his finger on his chin and nodded. "Okay. That one’s really sad. But the undercover cop thing was a little more believable."

Makayla groaned and made a show of being embarrassed.

"Fine. You got me. I'm on a diet."

B
y the time
Makayla got home, her headache had returned with a vengeance. A few hours later, she couldn't sit up without the room spinning around her. By that night, she could do little more than sleep. But it was a fitful and feverish slumber, plagued by one, repetitious nightmare.

Makayla woke from the dream sobbing. The pounding in her head was so intense, it was as if she could hear it. Then she realized she
could
hear it. Only, it wasn't her head, it was the apartment door. Someone was banging on it, nearly matching the rhythm of the throb in her skull. But she was so weak, she couldn't turn herself over, much less get up to answer it.

“Go away,” she said, but the words came out like a breath.

"Makayla?"

It had to be the dream again. Why in the world would Robin be knocking at her door on a Friday morning? How would she even know which door to come to?

I’m still sleeping.

"Makayla? It's Robin. Open the door."

By the time Makayla realized she was, in fact, awake and Robin was real and standing outside her door, she heard a key in the lock and saw the doorknob turning.

"Miss Dawson? It's Mr. Simms. I'm coming in."

The door opened and Makayla saw her landlord walk in, wide-eyed, followed by Rodney and Robin, who pushed Simms aside to enter the room. No sooner than she was in, she crouched next to Makayla’s air mattress.

Rodney rubbed his forehead and paced back and forth at the end of the bed. “Denice and me were only gone a couple of days. I should’ve checked in on her the second we got back.” His voice shook on the last word and Makayla wondered why he cared so much.

"Makayla?" Robin pushed Makayla’s hair back and touched her face and forehead with the back of her hand. "What happened? What's wrong with you?"

“Virus or flu or something," said Mr. Simms, as he backed out of the room, the crook of his elbow covering his face. "If you've got this, I'll be back in the office."

Barely acknowledging him, Robin frowned and nodded.

"Honey, the sheets are soaked through. I'll need to change them. Can you get up?"

She helped her sit up. Being upright only caused the throbbing in Makayla's head to intensify. She moaned and leaned forward to rest her forehead on her knees.

"Maybe I should take you to the emergency—“

Makayla panicked. She didn't have any insurance and she needed to hold on to the little cash she had. "No. I'm better than I was. I just need a couple days."

Rodney crouched down to get a better look at her. ”What have you been taking for it?”

Makayla shook her head.

"Nothing? At all?" He looked at Robin, then back at Makayla. "Why not?”

Makayla shrugged. "I hadn’t gotten up yet.”

"When was the last time you ate?" Makayla heard the frustration in Robin’s voice.

“Yesterday. With Trey. We went to lunch.”

She exhaled sharply. “You were with Trey on Thursday, baby. It’s Sunday morning.”

That couldn’t be right. Sunday? That would mean she’d already missed two days of work. What was she going to do? She
needed
that job.

Makayla struggled to stand as hot tears welled up. “I gotta talk to Amir. He’s probably fired me already.”

Before she could make any real progress in standing, Robin and Rodney pushed her back down.

“Uh, uh. You aren’t going anywhere.”

Makayla shoved Robin’s hand away. “I need my job!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Rodney said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Let me take care of it. I’ll go and talk to Amir right now, okay? Don’t you worry about a thing. Just get better. I’ll come and look in on you later.”

He nodded at Robin and left.

Robin touched Makayla’s face again and sucked her teeth. “I understand your neighbor was out of town, baby, but don’t you have anyone else you could have called?”

Makayla shook her head.

"What about your parents?"

For reasons Makayla couldn't have explained, the question made her angry. The last thing she wanted to discuss with "America's Therapist" was her lack of parents. So she just said, "I don't have a phone."

It was true. Robin didn’t need to know Makayla had no one to call even if she did.

Robin took a deep breath, exhaled and gently rubbed the side of Makayla's arm. "Don't you worry about none of that. I'm here now, all right?"

Makayla only nodded. She could feel a lump in her throat and was afraid if she opened her mouth to speak, she'd start crying.

Robin grabbed the blanket Makayla used as a comforter and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“We’re gonna get some food in you, then medicine. That's going to make you feel a whole lot better, okay? But first, I need to change the sheets, so let's put you—“

For the first time since she’d arrived, Robin took a moment to look at the room she was standing in.

There wasn't much to see. A small kitchenette. A door that led to an even smaller bathroom. An air mattress. A rusted, metal folding chair Makayla had picked up from the side of the dumpster on the corner. A suitcase that held everything she owned and doubled as a dresser.

When Robin turned back to face Makayla, her eyes glistened. "Here, let me help you to the chair."

Makayla’s insides burned with embarrassment and she did her best to avoid looking Robin in the face.

"Do you have more sheets in here?"

Robin reached to open Makayla's suitcase. Still groggy, Makayla took a second longer than usual to register what was about to happen. But when she did, she gasped.

"No!”

Robin jerked away from the suitcase as if it contained a pile of snakes.

“I mean… I don't have any others."

"Oh," Robin said.

Had she opened the suitcase, a photo of Makayla's grandmother and the gold, engraved heart necklace would've been the first things she saw.

"You know what? That's not a problem," Robin said, picking up her handbag where she'd left it by the mattress. "I'll just get you some."

She looked around the room again, then back at Makayla. "Actually… I don't want to overstep, but… Why don't I get you a few more things? The other day, I saw this cute little twin bed and—“

Makayla had a flashback to overhearing Shauna and her friend in the bathroom. Charity work. Makayla didn’t want to be anyone’s good deed. Especially Robin’s.

"I don't need anything."

Robin cleared her throat and ran her fingers over the gold buttons that lined the front of her coat. "It wouldn't be a problem. If it's about the money, don't worry. I have plenty—“

Makayla got up, holding the back of the folding chair to steady herself and made her way to the suitcase. Turning it so Robin couldn't see inside, she took a twenty dollar bill from her money envelope. She handed it and her room key to Robin.

“Just medicine and a can of soup, please. Thanks.”

A moment passed like that, with Makayla holding out the twenty and Robin looking as if she'd been punched in the gut. Then Robin took the money and the key.

"I won't be long."