Fade to Black Read Online Free Page A

and-”
    “Lily,” he said as he placed a finger on
her lips to stop her from talking. “You’re not going anywhere, are you?”
    “No, why?” she mumbled since his finger was
still on her lips. It took everything she had not to dart her tongue out and
lick his finger. Or better yet, suck on it.
    “Because I think I can handle this, and
you’ll be right here if I have any questions.”
    Her face flushed red. She knew she was an
overprotective, overthinking, worrying, and making sure every scenario was
accounted for type of mother. “Sorry, habit. If it makes you feel any better, I
still do the same thing with my best friend Dory, who’s known him since I was
pregnant and with whom I’d trust with my life.”
    “I understand , he’s the most precious thing to you. He’s a lucky young man.”
    Lily smiled at him. He got it, it seemed
like he understood her, and it felt so awesome.

 
    Chapter
Three

 
    “So
you’ve already seen the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie? That’s not even
out until August.” Leo stared with large eyes at Devlin; he was in awe of him.
“How were you able to do that?”
    “Yep, sure did. It was pretty cool, too.”
He sat back and laced his fingers together behind his head.
    “Wow. That’s so cool. Bet you can’t guess
who my favorite turtle is.”
    “Michelangelo?”
    “Nope.”
    “Donatello?”
    “Uh-uh.”
    “Raphael? He’s my favorite.”
    “He’s
not bad, but no.”
    “Splinter?”
    “Oh, come on. I thought you knew this
stuff, he’s not a turtle.”
    “What about April?”
    “A girl? Come
on, man, no way. Besides, Kira can kick more butt .”
    “Hmmm… I don’t know… maybe Leonardo?”
    “Oh, yeah. He’s the coolest. And the leader. Plus we have the
same name! I think Mom named me after him, she says it was after some artist,
but she has to be wrong. I want to be
a ninja when I grow up.”
    Lily leaned over and ruffled his hair.
“Okay, ninja. One, I’m never wrong, and two, it’s time to clean up and get
ready for bed.”
    “Mom. I’m not ready for bed.”
    “I didn’t say you had to go to bed, just
get ready. If you get your chores done, we’ll have time to play a game of Sorry
before bed.”
    “Awesome!” Leo pumped his fist in the air
and jumped up, bringing his plate to the sink.
    “Only one game, it’s a school night.”
    “But school’s almost out.”
    “But it’s not out yet. You know the rules.”
    Lily reached over to grab Devlin’s plate
the same time he did. His fingers ended up closing over hers. Their eyes locked
for a moment before she looked away and pulled her hand from the plate. Picking
up her plate, she took it to the sink. There were times she forgot a famous
movie star was sitting at her kitchen table eating dinner with her and her son.
    She started to fill the sink with hot water
when she felt him come up behind her and slip his plate into the soapy water.
“Why don’t you go take a break? Leo and I will clean up.”
    She kept her traitorous body still and
stared at the bubbles. “No, I couldn’t. You’re a guest, it’s not right.”
    “Sure it is. You cooked. We’ll clean. That
was always the rule in my house.” He gently placed his hand on her hip and
pushed her aside. “Go on, break your rules, you know you want to.”
    Knowing her face was turning crimson, she ducked her head and walked out of the room.
Once alone in her son’s room, she sat down on his bed and put her head between
her knees. It was exhausting acting as if he was just another man, when the
whole time she was comparing what she was feeding him to the elegant dinners he
most likely had been to. Looking at her faded jeans with a couple of holes in them,
she knew they were nothing like the glamorous gowns he was probably used to
seeing women in, not to mention the exotic locales. Here she was, the last business on Main Street in rural Maine.
      She
knew better than to compare herself to something completely different than