Both of them said very little. Aria didn’t tell him the full story about the incident outside the Home Depot, or her time in the Mexican store. Nor did she tell him about reporting Ciarra and Aston. Instead, she simply told him, “Some people out here are kinda territorial. If you go too close to their things, they chase you.” She explained away the injuries adorning her face as resulting from a fall, so she could put it behind them. She wanted to soak in every last drop of the peace that his closeness granted her before he left. They would sit in the parked car like this and talk or not talk for as long as they could before Omkar was forced to return at a time that allowed him to avoid rousing any suspicion in his parents.

The next day, Aria spent most of her time with Taylor and Luke. She had been carried back to a place of anticipation about what might lie ahead, rather than the hope she had briefly felt.

At the other end of the city, Ciarra sat on the edge of the bed in a hotel room that her regular john, Larry, had purchased for the day. It was a Saturday. Having taken Aston back to the car lot to be watched by Mike, she had met Larry there in a last-ditch effort to try to exploit his affectionate nature and get him to pay for her abortion behind DeShawn’s back.

Ciarra told Larry that she was pregnant with his child. She had expected him to grow long in the face and begin to brainstorm about how to get her out of the mess entirely. But that wasn’t at all what happened. Instead, a heartwarming smile spread across his unbecoming face.

“Really? I mean, are you sure? Did you take a test?” he asked. Ciarra nodded. Larry paced the length of the room once before telling Ciarra to wait just a minute and rooting around in his duffel bag. He walked back toward her with an item he had found inside it, concealed in his palm. “Well, as you already know, I think you’re just about the most beautiful girl in the world. And I’ve been waitin’ to do this for just the right time. But I guess that time’s gonna be now.”