As Easy As Murder

21. petunias for the funeral

Friday, the day of the dreaded date, came. 

And guess who didn't take action? 

Yours truly. 

Sitting in Kori's dorm, I can't focus worth a dime. I fiddle with each individual peice of my outfit, mind wandering far past the file in my lap, Kori's voice not keeping my attention. 

"What is up with you? Diue merci.." He mutters, flipping through the familiar documents. We've narrowed it down pretty far, and I'd like to celebrate, be proud of myself. However, I'm too caught up in my tangle of thoughts to even recognize the achievment. 

All I can think of is tonight's fate, sitting across from someone who openly admitted to being controlling and dropped is as casually as his favorite color. 

I shake my head, "Just a lot of my mind. Where are we at with the boyfriend?" 

He looks down at his paper, "His story checks out. I'm just not fully convinced he didn't have anything to do with the planning." 

I nod slowly, the information taking longer to reach my brain then usual, I look down at the boyfriend's statement, and agree with Kori's point. "Are you saying you think he assisted?" 

He nods briskly, pointing to a section of the statement. I don't register anything that comes out of his mouth, my brain having turned into a mush, all of the excuses Loretta gave me having gone in one ear and out the other. I didn't deem any of them convincing enough. 

What works for Loretta is not set to work for me. She's very different in the way she conveys things. She doesn't really have a concrete understanding of cause and effect. She doesn't understand that I am dealing with someone that truly intimidates me and I don't want to provoke him in anyway. I'm sure I'm overreacting, but reacing nonetheless. 

I sigh as I run over the rehearsed sentences I've prepared in my head, but they no longer seme sufficient, and I consider standing him up. 

"Hello?" He claps his hands inches from my face. "Are you with me? God, you have the reaction response as a comatose person today. Did you wake up this morning?" 

I roll my eyes and point my finger at him, tisking. "Put your hands down in the name of Averen law." 

He throws his hands up." Apologies officer." He smirks. "Someone's in a mood, yeah?" 

"If you don't lose the attitude, someone will be working on your case." 

He just laughs, and the appeal starts to fade away again, which is a relief. My feelings for Kori seem to resemble a teeter totter, one side being care and maybe even attraction, the other being hope that he gets mistaken for trash one morning and taken to a dump to lay amongst moldy banana peels and shredded paper. 

I stand up, "Can we call It a day?" 

"Come on Averen, we keep stopping just when we're making a breakthrough." He whines, and I want to program him to only be able to say 5 phrases that are all in compliance to what I say. 

I roll my eyes, picking up my bag. "Well put the through back in the break, because i'm out of here. Peace." 

I throw up the sign and walk out of the dorm, hearing Kori mumble some very displeased French, wouldn't be surpised if he just cursed my bloodline. 

I wander campus, stressing about what I've gotten myself into. He seemed so promising, so genuine, so similiar to me. From the short conversations we've had in party settings, anyway. I felt like I understood him, now he feels like undiscovered territory. And to top it all off, Loretta has been clowning me for days, the whole nana-nana-boo-boo. 

I make it to the lobby, courtesy of letting my feet take me wherever they pleased. I see Cheryl, swaying along to some oldies. She's humming alongside the vocals, wearing a neon yellow blouse, and black and white striped skirt, looking like a very southern and chic honeybee. 

She smooths my ruffled feathers a bit, and I approach her desk. 

"Hey Cher," I smile, watching as she greets me with her usual sweet as pie grin, even though I know this woman is one of the toughest I've met. I can just tell that if she did have children, she'd be the roughest mama bear the world has ever seen, and even now, I'd let her represent me in the court of law. She's just got this vibe of trustworthyness like no one I've met. 

To be fair, I'd also let Loretta testify for me, only because the girl is persistent, and when she starts, she doesn't quit. The girl would sooner chop off her leg than not finish a fight. 

She puts her hands down on the counter, and I notice a new ring. "Hey sugar, what can I do for you? Lose your laptop again?" 

I flush a bit at the fact that my forgetfulness is to the point that it's predictable. 

"More like my head." I sigh, sitting down on her desk, which has become more like a therapists couch for me in recent weeks. 

"Aw, honey, I understand more than you know? What's got you down? You do look awfully blue." She looks up at me, glint of concern in her seafoam green eyes. 

"I got myself into a predicament. I gave a guy a chance, and now he's looking to be about as shady as freaking Al Capone." 

She raises an eyebrow, "Bit of an overstatement, dontcha think, darlin'?" 

"Hey, you don't know what he said to me." I argue, throwing arms up in exasperation. "Guy said he likes a woman who will obey him. Lord knows I am not that woman." 

"Oh, I know you're not." She chuckles. I smile, feeling understood. There's people I've known for 20 years who don't know me this well, one of which being my own father. You should've seen when he had to take me doctors appointments growing up. 

'Sir, does she have any allergies?'
'Uh, I dunno...spring?'

I sigh, "I don't know what to do. I feel worried backing out, but I certainly don't want to go. 

She smiles. "Been there done that. Make sure you eat outside.Have a girlfriend spectate in a car not too far from where you are. A gal always needs a bit of backup. He notices, say he's your daddy." 

I nod, feeling relieved at the prescense of a solution, and a clever one at that. I feel a bit dumb, knowing that absolutely never would have occurred to me whatsoever. I thank her for her advice, and she just waves her hand, "Anytime darlin', you know, you're like the daughter I never had. All I got is my nephew, Timmy. Lord knows my brother has the brains of a blade of grass, so he's in my care when it's his weekend. He's a sweet boy, but there ain't no nail paintin' or dress up." She sighs and shakes her head. "I always wanted a baby of my own blood, but it was never the right time. And Lord knows ain't no baby coming out of this body now. Just had my 60th." 

I nod sympathetically, listening. I can see a tint of sadness come over Cheryl's eyes, and it's the first time I heard Cheryl in even a slight moment of weakness. I knew she never had any children, but I hadn't realized it affected her. I realize she was never childfree by choice, and I sigh softly, "I'm sorry, Cher. Happy late birthday." 

She chuckles, "Thanks Darlin'." She looks up at me "Ah, no use dwellen', right? My daddy always told me if you're livin' with regrets, you ain't livin', you're regrettin'." 

I chuckle, and she squeezes my hand. "It'll all work out in the end. Trust me. You're young. You enjoy your youth for me, alright? It'll be gone in a flash. And you show off that bangin' body of yours before you get all these flibs and flabs, alright?" She gently shakes my arm. 

"Understood, bikini's it is." 

She laughs and nods. "Now you go aquire some backup for that shady date of yours. Who knows. Maybe he's not that bad. Things are always comin' out wrong." 

I nod and hop off the desk, saying my goodbyes with Cheryl, and leaving with a new outlook on my age. I walk up to the dorm where Loretta and Jesse are watching compilations of pop culture moments and laughing until they snort. 

"Hey." I plop down inbetween them. "You guys are really special friends, you mean a lot to m-" 

Jesse crosses his arms, one of his perfectly plucked eyebrows coming up in scepticism and knowing annoyance, "Don't even with that. What do you need?" 

I roll my eyes. "Nothi-"

The lack of beleiving on their faces make me relent. "A favour." 

"Is this about your creepy ass date?" Loretta smirks. "What?" Jesse says, invested in my misfortune and foolish trusting of a guy. I nod, and Loretta starts explaining my tomfoolery to Jesse, who is entertained by my stupidity and blindness. 

I sigh and push my hands together, putting them out in proposal. "I need you guys to steak out the date. Keep a watching eye. Y'now, make sure I don't kick the bucket...or..judging by the phone call, get my bucket kicked." 

They excitedly agree, discussing this date like the latest episode of their favorite reality TV show. 

I open Liam and I's text thread and type out an excuse. 

'Hey, not feeling so well, not gonna make it. Sorry :('

No, I sound pathetic. 

Guess I'm going. 

My favorite flowers are petunias if anyone needs to know for my funeral.

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