A Sad Soul Can Kill You Part 15

"No, I won't," she said between sniffles.

Tia got out of the car quickly and rushed up the walkway. "I've got to change clothes and get to work," she said.

"Ma . . . ," Serenity followed after her.

"It's almost two o'clock," Tia said hurrying past a sleeping Lorenzo on the couch. "Messing around with you and that audition's gonna make me late."

Serenity stood in the middle of the foyer watching her father sleep.

A few minutes later, Tia came skipping back down the stairs and whizzed past her. "I left twenty dollars on the counter," she said. "You can order a pizza for dinner if your daddy don't cook nothing."

Before Serenity could reply, Tia had shut the door.

Serenity went over to the couch and shook Lorenzo's shoulder. "Daddy," she said. "Daddy, wake up!"

Lorenzo raised his hand to his face and opened his eyes briefly. "What?"

"Daddy, I didn't . . ."

He rubbed his nose, and turned to his other side.

". . . make it," Serenity said to his back.

She stood over him listening to him snore. Today had been the worst day ever, she thought. The one thing she'd hoped wouldn't happen during her audition had happened. She tiptoed into the den and turned on the computer. She immediately went to the chat room and signed in. Moments later a message from Saucer appeared.

iluvhotgurlz13: wat happened?

Serenity2cute_13: wen?

iluvhotgurlz13: last time we talked

Serenity2cute_13: my dad came in

iluvhotgurlz13: oh snap

Serenity2cute_13: i kno

iluvhotgurlz13: where u at?

Serenity2cute_13: home

iluvhotgurlz13: where ur pops at?

Serenity tilted her head to the side and listened intently until she heard the rea.s.suring sound of Lorenzo snorting as he inhaled.

Serenity2cute_13: sleep iluvhotgurlz13: still wanna meet?

Serenity2cute_13: where?

iluvhotgurlz13: in front of that restaurant i told u about Serenity2cute_13: which one?

iluvhotgurlz13: neds Serenity looked over her shoulder.

Serenity2cute_13: neds?

iluvhotgurlz13: yup

Serenity2cute_13: when?

iluvhotgurlz13: 2:30

Serenity2cute_13: ok, g2g

iluvhotgurlz13: don't be late

Serenity2cute_13: i won't

Serenity signed out of the chat room and shut down the computer.

She went into the kitchen and called Cookie.

"Hey," Cookie said with enthusiasm, "did you make it?"

"No, I didn't," Serenity said solemnly.

"Aww, I'm sorry. But maybe next year, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe," Serenity said. "But guess what I'm about to do."

"What?"

"I'm going to meet Saucer."

Cookie gasped. "For real?" she whispered.

"For real," Serenity said.

"Where? At the mall?"

"No, at that old restaurant."

"Neds?"

"Yep," she said defiantly.

"Ooh," Cookie squealed. "Are you scared?"

"Umm, not really," Serenity lied. Her heart was beating fast, and she tried to control the nervousness in her voice. "You wanna come with me?"

"I can't. We're going back to church."

"Well, I'll tell you what happens."

"You better."

"I will," Serenity said.

She hung up the phone, disappointed that Cookie could not come with her. She began to have second thoughts about going downtown alone to meet Saucer. What if he wasn't who he said he was?

She went upstairs and grabbed her favorite h.e.l.lo Kitty hat, stopping to look at herself in her bedroom mirror. What if Saucer didn't like the way she looked? She stood still, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her dream of becoming a model had just been crushed. Nothing could be worse than that.

She went back downstairs and picked up the twenty-dollar bill her mother had left on the counter. Then she left to meet the boy she'd met online.

Chapter Thirty.

Tony turned on his daughter's computer to check her browser history. He was dismayed when he discovered how many times she'd visited the same chat site over the course of several weeks.

"Shari," he called, "can you come up here, please? And bring Cookie with you," he added.

Shari came upstairs with Cookie following behind her. They entered Cookie's bedroom where Tony stood continuing to browse through the history. He turned when they entered the room.

"What is this?" he asked pointing to the computer screen.

"What is what?" Shari asked.

"I'm actually talking to Cookie," Tony said. He stared at her. "Well?"

Cookie stood with her mouth open.