Promise

Chapter 7

I watched him walk upstairs and awkwardly stared at the officers. The one who'd been questioning Jay offered a smile, but his partner remained stern. A few moments later Jay came downstairs followed by his mom.

"Good evening, ma'am. I'm Officer Jimenez. This is my partner Officer West," the nice officer said.

"Hi, officers," Kelly replied. "I'm so sorry for the disturbance we've caused. I only expected Jay to have a few friends over, but I guess it got a little out of control." She laughed softly and smiled. She really was beautiful, especially for someone who'd been addicted to drugs like Jay had told me.

Officer Jimenez silently acknowledged her beauty also and gave her a grin.

"I understand, ma'am," he said. "But please just be more careful and considerate for your neighbors."

"I will, sorry again," she said. "I'll make sure to give my son a tough talk."

"Good," Officer West interjected. "There clearly was some underage drinking going on around here. You wouldn't want to be responsible if any of those kids had gotten g=hurt would you?"

Kelly shook her head.

"I promise you I will handle this," she said. She gave Jay a stern look. Jay only glared at her in response.

Kelly walked the officers outside and said goodnight before closing the door. She turned her attention to Jay who was sitting on the couch. I shifted my feet and she glanced at me. She looked surprised, but a smile broke across her face.

"Oh, hello," she said. "I didn't even see you were here. I apologize."

"it's fine," I said. "I didn't even know you were here at all." I laughed.

"You can go back upstairs now, Kelly," Jay said as he flipped through the TV channels.

My mouth hung slightly. He referred to his mom by her first name. I understood they had a past but I wasn't expecting such disrespect.

"What have I told you about talking to me like that?" Kelly said. "When your dad gets home best believe I'll be telling him about all this. You told us you were only going to have a few friends over."

"You heard all these people down here yet you didn't say anything," Jay snapped. He stood up and from the corner of my eye I swore I saw Kelly back up slightly. Jay started gathering empty beer cans from the floor.

"I'll clean this all up," he said.

Kelly seemed surprised.

"Good," she said.

"I'll help," I said.

"Oh, no, sweetie why don't you go on home. This is Jay's mess to fix."

"Well, he's my ride so if I'm going to wait I might as well be useful."

"Okay, well if you insist." Kelly smiled. "I was going to cook dinner tomorrow, will you be here? Do you like Jamaican food."

"I've never had it," I admitted.

"Ooh, well girl you're gonna have it tomorrow," Kelly said.

I looked at Jay who was still cleaning but clearly listening to our conversation.

"I'll see if I can make it," I said.

"Alright, well you're welcomed here any time just know that." She leaned in for a hug which I wasn't expecting. I hugged her back and she gave me a squeeze. Hugs were supposed to be comforting but for some reason her's only made me feel worry. She pulled away and retreated back upstairs into her room.