The Second Chance (Inferno Falls Book Three) Read online

  I let Carl out inside the room, placing his litter box in the bathroom. I get him a bit of water, lay out some food, then get my backpack from the truck and settle in. My digs here don’t need to be luxurious. The room just needs to have a bed that’s clean and comfortable, and it’s got that. It needs to get me through tonight and into tomorrow. I’m in no rush. There’s still half a country between me and my destination, and I’m used to drifting. I won’t arrive before tomorrow’s done. Tomorrow will be like today, with another motel at the end. A carbon copy of the same day.

  I kick off my boots then sit on the bed with my back against the headboard, one leg bent up, and the other straight out in front of me. I stare at the TV for a while without turning it on, as if entertainment might magically appear. Then I succumb to what’s been nagging at me all day, and slip the phone from my pocket.

  I download the LiveLyfe app. I don’t want to set up shop here myself, but it turns out I can browse without having an account. So, after spending a few seconds pretending I’ve done this to check on my old buddy Brandon, I type in Maya Holland.

  There are a bunch of them. I scroll down, trying to see enough of the tiny photos that go with the names to see which might be my Maya — the girl who used to be my Maya. Annoyingly, a lot of people have used photos of things that aren’t their faces. One of the Mayas is using a watering can as her image. And it looks like just about anyone who has kids uses them as their photo, which seems pretty stupid to me. It’s not the kids’ LiveLyfe account, gals. It’s yours.

  I’m about to give up and start clicking Mayas at random — surely, one of these kids could be Mackenzie — when I see her.

  Gorgeous red hair. Bright, wide smile.

  It feels like I’ve been kicked in the chest. We’ve swapped those few emails, but I could probably count on both hands the number of times I’ve heard from Maya since I’ve left, and this is almost for sure the first time I’ve seen her. I’ve sent plenty of postcards, but those are missives, sent into the world without expectation (or possibility, in my case) of a response. I’ve even addressed a bunch of the cards to both of them, hoping it’s not somehow overstepping a line or insulting. Kids like postcards, don’t they? I loved to get them, once upon a time. The idea of being somewhere else — somewhere not the little one-horse town Inferno Falls used to be — made my spirit fly. I always wanted to see the world, and the postcards I got from friends and relatives only made that wanderlust stronger. I haven’t seen some of the more exotic places yet (London, Cairo, even one from Taipei), but I’ve owned the continental US and have sent enough of my own postcards to prove it.

  I click on Maya’s name. Her profile comes up, and I click again on her photo to fill the screen.

  My heart seems to skip.

  We were inseparable, until I left. Looking into her digital eyes now, it’s like no time has passed. I can remember every detail of our last encounter. I remember how furious I was. And, in turn, I remember how furious Maya was with me. Given the decade between then and now, I find myself recalling it with fondness, not bitterness, as if that final fight was something I’ve spent all these years pining for.

  I remember her green eyes flashing. Her red hair jumping as she swore at me, as she stalked, and finally as she sobbed.

  I remember how terrible I felt. How anxious. How … how fucking righteous I felt as the selfish young asshole I was back then. We were both seventeen, Maya on the cusp of graduating with her hard-earned scholarship and her ill-fated pregnancy. I hadn’t stuck around to see how big her belly got. She was barely starting to show when I split. I wouldn’t be graduating anyway; deciding that school wasn’t for me was just one more thing that made my asshole uncle decide I was worthless.

  I found out what happened and thought of myself.

  For the first time since getting that phone call, it dawns on me that Maya doesn’t know I’m coming to town. That should be obvious, seeing as I haven’t emailed to tell her, but it hits me now like a brick to the sternum.

  My old feelings for Maya have acquired a nostalgic tint through the drive. I’ve managed to recall all of our good times while glossing over the bad. Somehow, I’ve decided that she’s expecting me, and that those expectations are positive. I’ve never articulated it fully even to myself, and I’m not dumb enough to believe it, but I suppose I’ve been imagining a joyous reunion. Of course she’ll be happy to see me. Why wouldn’t she be … other than that I totally abandoned her?

  Maybe she hates me.

  Maybe I should obey my original instincts after all, and try sneaking in and out of town without being seen.

  For all this time, through all my wandering, I’ve never returned to Inferno Falls. I’ve never even come close. My trek away was a one-way trip. I went north first because Maya read a lot of Stephen King, and King’s characterization of Maine intrigued me. But when I came south again, eventually hitting the Atlantic coast and Florida, I skirted wide to the west. When I left Florida, it was simply outbound, never looping back. And as time’s marched on, I’ve drifted farther and farther away. If I hadn’t had the call about Ernie, I’d have crossed the Canadian border. I’ve always wanted to see Alaska, and there’s not much farther to run than Alaska.

  I look at the photo on my phone, and it’s like Maya is smiling at me. The way she used to, before it all went bad.

  Before I found out.

  Before I blew my top.

  Before things with the state became official, and I learned that my time with Uncle Ernie wasn’t just temporary. I’d be his roommate until I turned eighteen, and that was too long to wait.

  I flick my thumb and see another picture of Maya … this time with a little blonde girl.

  I flick again, and now I’m looking at just the girl, close-in. Her hair is a mess, but not much like her mother’s. Her eyes are big and blue. Maya’s are emerald green, but just as wide when she’s happy. There’s no way to see from this photo, but I’ll bet this girl looks a lot like her mother when she’s angry, too. She’s strawberry blonde in a way that suggests her hair might redden later, but the eyes are already there. With distance, I realize that Maya’s anger made her beautiful. The same would be true for this girl, if she’s ever jilted as Maya was.

  Carl hops up onto the bedspread beside me. He’s staring at me like a fucker. Like he’s judging me. Stupid cat.

  “You didn’t know Uncle Ernie,” I say.

  Carl stares at me.

  “My parents had just died. Do you have any idea how stressful that is?” I sigh. “Fine. I’m a coward. I shouldn’t have run. I should have stuck around. Maybe I regret it. Maybe I do think about her more than I’d like to admit. But it’s not like I can turn back time and do it all over. What’s done is done, and if she hates me, there’s nothing I can do to change it.”

  Carl raises one paw, licks it, then runs the wet paw over his healing ear like a greaser dramatically combing his hair.

  I want to keep arguing, but he’s not buying my bullshit. Worse, I’m not buying it either.

  “Damn you, Carl,” I say.

  CHAPTER 12

  Maya

  There’s a shoebox under the bed where Mackenzie sleeps at my parents’ house. It’s filled with things I don’t want to remember but am afraid I’ll forget.

  I’m on my stomach on the comforter, legs kicked up behind me, propped on my elbows. My feet are bare, like a kid’s. I can hear Mac downstairs talking with my parents, and from the tone I know it to be one of my daughter’s discussions, not just a chat. Most of the time, I find Mackenzie’s grown-up way of interacting with adults something between cute and impressive. Most of the time, when I hear her intelligent mode of discourse, I’m proud, figuring it means she’s smart and I’ve taught her well. But today, it makes me sad. Because my daughter may seem so grown up at times in part because I’ve forced her to grow up fast. It’s always been the two of us, with supporting roles played by people who are even old by grandparent standards. Mackenzie has her friends. But sh
e also has chores and responsibilities. She’s been asked to understand a lot, because there’s a lot in our lives that requires understanding. And forgiveness.

  I’m picking up each item in the shoebox, giving it a glance before setting it aside. I’m not sure if my heart is breaking or if this is my normal malaise. So many varieties of sadness. So many ways to describe all I’ve done wrong.

  My mind keeps wanting to flash back to what happened with Chadd. I’m repelled by my actions, and if someone else had performed them, I’d have many judgments. Not only did I let him take me into the bathroom where I work (and then take me in the bathroom, a devilish voice wants to add), but I did it after swearing I never would. I know this path. I’ve been down it before. I suppose when I was young, it could be forgiven, because I was acting out — monogamously, when I had that option. Maybe I’ve always been sexual, and maybe it’s not my fault. Maybe it’s not even the kind of thing that should carry fault. Maybe my parents, well meaning though they’ve always been, instilled me with morals that don’t mesh with the way my body and spirit need to be.

  Or maybe I’m broken.

  Maybe I’m weak.

  Maybe I have no will. Because not even twenty-four hours before Chadd returned to the Pit, I was chiding myself for my last lustful indiscretion, swearing it would never happen again. It could never happen again, because it’s not just me in this life. I have Mackenzie to consider, and if she ever found out how I am or if rumor ever reaches her ears, when she’s older …

  The idea pours ice water down my spine. A moment ago, even while hating myself, I’d been imagining the cool movements of the porcelain under me as Chadd slipped inside. I’d been recalling the delicious, sinful carnality of it all even in the midst of decrying it. But imagining what could happen cools me off in a flash. Because oh God, I remember being a teenager. I know how this town is, how people gossip. Everyone seems to know everyone else. When I got pregnant, I remember the way everyone tiptoed around me well before I’d admitted it to anyone. I had to tell my parents early because if I didn’t, someone else would. Somehow — maybe from my doctor’s office, maybe from the pharmacist I purchased the pregnancy test from, maybe from someone who noticed I was puking during second period — people knew.

  If someone ever told my little girl what they heard about her mother’s actions in a store dressing room, I couldn’t bear the way she’d look at me. If I got the reputation I deserve. If …

  Another splash of cold water. I don’t want to think about that. I won’t think about that.

  Things used to be simpler, when life had promise. And maybe, despite all I’ve done, maybe it still does for Mackenzie. It should. She’s a great kid, and my parents have filled in the gaps I’ve left wanting. I wish she had a father or at least a father figure, but at least she has Dad. He wasn’t able to run alongside her bike when she was learning to ride without training wheels, and I doubt he’ll be coaching her soccer team, but he’s kind and gentle. Strong in his own way.

  Still, I’ve seen a change in Mackenzie. At first, I thought it was nothing, but the more time passes, the less certain I am. She seems wary about school. She seems more timid than usual, less willing to talk about her day. Maybe less willing to talk period.

  Hey, Mackenzie! I noticed your mom going into a bathroom with a stranger from work. What do you think she was doing in there?

  I’m being paranoid. Even if kids today are jaded enough to think that way at nine, Mackenzie doesn’t have the knowledge to disrespect me. Or the context if she did. Yesterday was great, and I did my best to give her another great day today. I doubled-down. You hear stories about parents overcompensating for a divorce, spoiling kids because they feel guilty. I didn’t have a divorce, but I wonder if this was the same.

  No. We’re fine. I’ve got a shitty boss and a shitty job, and I often think about how I flushed my future down the toilet when I got pregnant. My parents, churchy and proper as they are, always did a great job of keeping their guilt mongering in check. They said I could keep on living with them and raise my daughter at home. I left anyway. It’s working well enough — and as far as my issues with sex are concerned, I can figure it out. If I want to beat myself up about something now, it shouldn’t be that. What’s done is done, and the things I can change are still in the future.

  If I want to feel uneasy, I should forget about what I’m hearing downstairs and focus on this shoebox.

  I don’t think Mackenzie knows this box is here. There’s nothing damning inside, but it still feels so private — not because its contents are bad, but because they’re so very good. It’s a specific kind of good, planted firmly in the past.

  These are fond memories that will never delight my present again.

  Being reminded of what’s in here brings me equal amounts of pleasure and sorrow. I remember how good I felt back then, when I was innocent, when I thought I was in love and didn’t have a care in the world. But the contrast of those days against today makes me want to cry.

  Here I am, in a set of carnival photo booth snapshots, with Grady behind and under me. To me, this is how he will always be: seventeen, rugged, disobedient, usually wearing that black leather jacket that made him look like he was in a biker gang. Grady with the facial hair he refused to shave no matter how much it got under Mr. Graubner’s skin.

  Looking at the strip of photographs, I can almost recall the simple, carefree joy of the evening they were taken. Before my life changed. Back when I was just a girl. Back when the only thing I had to worry about was my boyfriend’s affection, which was no worry at all. Back when I didn’t wonder about my future because I knew there would be a future with him.

  There are more photos farther down because Mom had that little photo printer and I liked having something tangible to hold. Today, I wish I’d simply kept them on my camera. As files, they wouldn’t hurt as much. Touching each one now, I can see happiness once felt. I can see the love I used to swear Grady had for me. I can see the dumb blindness in my teenage eyes — a stupid naiveté about life’s harsher realities. I look, to my adult self, like a deer in headlights. A car is about to hit me head on, but the teenage me will never see it coming.

  Holding the photos now, I see time’s passage in a way that doesn’t occur with digital pictures.

  These edges are worn, some curled up.

  The ink in Mom’s printer must not have been top notch because they’re all a bit faded.

  It’s like time itself has crossed these memories, crushing them under its tromping feet.

  I dig deeper.

  I find the locket at the bottom.

  I want to cry. I remember the day he gave this to me. Grady was never obvious with his affection, and often thoughtless. He wasn’t big on gifts, and his taste seldom suited mine. There’s almost nothing he ever gave me that has or had value, either in dollars or emotional currency. But this … this is one he got right.

  I hold it up by the chain. It’s a simple thing, silver, probably an antique. Only now do I realize Grady never told me where he got it. I was an idiot, easy to impress, and I probably assumed he picked it up at one of those tacky little charm shops at the mall. But now, with my adult fingers, I can see that it’s not cheap, clearly made to last. Maybe it came from a relative. Hell, he might have stolen it. But to me, now and back then, it’s always been beautiful.

  The locket was empty when he dropped it in my hands. But being the silly, ridiculous, lovestruck little girl I can’t believe I used to be, I cut out two photos and placed them inside. One of him and one of me.

  I open the locket. And there we are: side by side, as if meant to be together forever.

  It’s more than I can take. I don’t know if it’s the perfect storm of stress I’ve been in lately, or if I’m crushed by the weight of curdled potential and squandered opportunities. But my fingers shake as I ease the precious thing closed, and two tears patter onto the bedspread that sometimes covers my daughter while she sleeps.

  I don’t know when
Grady will show up, back in town.

  I don’t know whether I love him or hate him.

  I only know that whatever happens, it’s not something I’m prepared to face, now or ever.

  CHAPTER 13

  Maya

  Monday at the Nosh Pit, I get a text from Chadd: Thinking of you, girl.

  I’m steeled, though. What Chadd can’t know is that between our hookup and now, I’ve thought a lot more about Grady and how I should handle seeing him again. I’m still not sure, and my mood about it all vacillates with the hour.

  Sometimes, I feel excited. Maybe this can be water under the bridge. Clinton explained that Grady is coming back to deal with his dead uncle’s baggage, but it’s hard for me, during these periods of optimism, to believe that Grady’s loyalty to his uncle is the only thing bringing him back. He hated that man. There must be another reason, and maybe I’m it. I haven’t heard from him, and I’m a bit bothered that he hasn’t emailed, at least — or maybe, if he’s called around to get my number — got in touch to let me hear his voice. But maybe that’s because he’s nervous. Maybe he thinks I’m still mad at him, which of course I am. But maybe he’s as unsure as me, and doubts I can forgive. Which, during my sunnier times, I think I can.

  Maybe he’ll want to pick up where we left off.

  Maybe he’s held a torch for me all these years, the way I have to admit I’ve always held one for him. I’ve hated Grady plenty because a lot of what’s gone wrong is his fault. But below it all, the little girl in me has never stopped hoping things could be different — and by different, I mean the same.