Page 63 of Juliet's Echo

I reached across the table and lightly tapped her wrist. Her eyes held sorrow, her face carrying the rest of an apology I wouldn’t dare allow her to speak. If one tear dropped from her eye, on my mama, I was whooping Alonse’s ass.

Letting out an exhale that both prepared me to comfort her in this completely overdramatized situation and helped me digest all the words I'd spoken over the years about Echo’s approach to shoot first and ask questions later over this girl, because here I was ready to trip on Alonse for simply being himself.

“Aye, don’t blame yourself. I invited you over here. Believe me when I say I checked with him, and he said it was cool.”

And bychecked with him, I really meantold him, because who was I to check with a man who wasn’t Mr. Mitchel about my own house?

“Truthfully? I think that agoraphobia claim is bullshit.”

“Psalm,” she signed, smiling. “You can’t just decide somebody’s diagnosis isn’t real.”

“Aye, man, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and calls itself a tiger? Something ain’t right.”

“You are so silly. Explain,” she laughed, folding her arms.

“Gladly.”

Removing our empty plates from in front of us, I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed the already-plated slices of pineapple upside-down cheesecake.

The second I set a slice in front of her, her eyes widened.

Her little greedy ass.

“Okay,” I said. “Let me ask you this. What are some of the traits of agoraphobia?”

She nodded.

By this time, she was comfortable in the chair, one leg tucked underneath her, already halfway through her first bite of cheesecake. Unlike me, Lucky waited to chew and swallow before speaking.

“Behavioral traits include avoidance. Steering clear of specific environments like shopping malls, movie theaters, bridges, or public transportation.”

“Mm-hmm.” I motioned for her to continue.

“Emotional traits can include intense fear. Experiencing disproportionate dread when thinking about being far from a safe environment,” she concluded.

“Exactly.”

I pointed toward the living room.

“Since he’s been here, he’s been out on the courts with guests. He interacts with Christian. He drove my father's Rolls-Royce around the estate to see if he wanted to purchase one when he got back home.”

I held up another finger.

“And last but not least, how he get here, Lucky? Teleportation?”

Juliet couldn't control her laughter.

“And you say I’m dramatic,” she giggled.

“He literally confirmed that you visiting and being in your presence wasn’t a problem. Now tell me, what about that screams intense fear?”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Her face wrinkled with curiosity.

“You know Freddy Krueger, how he only haunts dreams?”

“Yeah?”

I stretched my hands toward her like I was presenting a grand prize on a game show.