Audre & Bash Are Just Friends(62)

Eva had been out at a book event, and Audre snuck half her seventh-grade class over to do one-on-one therapy sessions. Her babysitter snitched, though. So, Eva came home early, made Audre return the two hundred dollars (cash!) she’d made that afternoon, and then double freaked out ’cause one (1!!) of the clients was a boy. It would never make sense to Audre why her mom—a card-carrying, super-progressive Black feminist/girl power/shero advocate—was so threatened by the presence of unchaperoned boys within six feet of her daughter. Nothing about Eva was conservative, except for this one hangup. Whatever the reason, Audre had gotten in so much trouble that one time in seventh grade that she never invited a boy over again.

And, judging by the way Shane was shooting daggers at Bash, Eva had gotten to him, too. She knew how bad it looked. Bash had a black eye forming and a jagged cut on his lower cheek. Plus, his arms were all banged up from tousling on the cement courtyard floor.

The sleeve of his shirt is torn, noticed Audre, cringing. He looks like trouble.

And with her tear-smudged mascara and blotchy skin from crying, she probably didn’t look much better.

“Hi, I’m Bash. Um… Sebastian. Good to meet you,” he said politely, sticking out one extremely tattooed arm to shake his hand. Shane glared at him until he dropped it. And then he turned back to Audre.

“Where were you? I was texting you all night. Your mom had an episode. I wanted to take her to the ER, but she was in too much pain to just sit in a waiting room all night. I convinced the paramedics to give her some IV pain meds at home, on the couch. She’s resting now. It’s been a nightmare.”

Audre shut her eyes, going limp against the doorframe. “Oh no. Oh no, Shane. And I wasn’t there to watch Baby Alice.”

“That’s why I was calling you. Since when don’t you pick up your phone?”

“Wait, where is Alice?”

“One of your mom’s friends picked her up. We’ve gotta get a fucking babysitter—there just hasn’t been any time.” He ran his hand over his face. Audre saw he had dark circles beneath his eyes.

“I’m… I’m really sorry. I am,” she said emphatically, her eyes pleading. “Look, I was out and accidentally forgot to check my phone. So much was going on…”

“So much,” cosigned Bash. Seeing the murderous look on Shane’s face, though, he shut up.

“But I made curfew!”

“Question. Since when are you so unreachable? First the beach, now this. Since when do you ignore your phone?”

“And who’s this kid who looks like he was knocked out in the first round?” asked Eva.

Her voice was weak and small but clear enough to travel from the couch to the doorway. Audre stuck her head into the apartment and saw her mom propped up on the couch (i.e., her bed) wearing boxers and an old Cheshire Prep tee. She had an icepack tied to her head and a series of Band-Aids along the inside of her arms.

“Eva, lie back down,” said Shane lovingly but firmly. “Just rest, okay? I’ve got this.”

“I’m fine,” she said. “You guys, get in here, out of the doorway.”

Shane shut the door, joining Eva on the couch. Sheepishly, Audre and Bash skulked into the apartment, awkwardly taking their places in front of Baby Alice’s playpen. Of course, there was nowhere to sit, thanks to the never-ending renovations.

Eva peered up at them with one eye open. “Who’s the fighter?”

“Me?” asked Bash. “I’m Bash, ma’am. Sebastian.”

Shane and Eva glanced at each other.

“What were you doing with my daughter?”

“Excuse me?” said Audre. “He wasn’t doing anything. What are you assuming?”

“Are you kidding?” Eva’s voice was a trembly rasp. “You’re practically hyperventilating. He’s bleeding. Who knows what you guys were up to!”

“But why would you assume the worst? Yes, Bash got in a fight tonight. But he was fighting for me. To defend me.”

Shane groaned, dropping his face in his hand.

Eva sighed with her entire body. “Defend you from what, exactly?”

Audre’s heart was thundering. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her head pounded. The only people who knew about Ellison and prom night were Reshma and Bash.

She took a deep breath and dove in.

“He was defending me from my traumatic prom date. Ellison.” Audre blurted this out, shocking herself at her directness. As she heard herself say the words, she decided she couldn’t go further. The panic attack, the video? Nope. There was no way she could reveal that to her mom and Shane.

All the color seemed to drain from Eva’s cheeks. Shane’s jaw clenched, his hands curling into fists.

“Traumatic prom date?” whispered Eva. “That little shit, what did he do?”

“It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s… something else.”

“I’ll kill him,” muttered Shane.

“No, I’ll kill him,” said Eva. “Audre, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“Well, I would’ve, if you were interested in anything other than your baby and the wedding and your book. You barely even asked me about prom. All you cared about was if parents would be at the after-party. What are you so scared of?”