Free Soul Mates by Thomas Melo Page B

his parents.
     
    *   *   *
     
                     “I’m fine, Mr. Colabza, it’s just a little senioritis, you know? Besides, I’m going to community college for an associate’s degree and then to the police academy, and from what I hear, as long as you have a pulse, you get accepted to community college.”
    “Tyler, that’s no reason not to try your hardest during the rest of the year.”
    “I know, I know,” Tyler placated, guiltily looking down at the desktop.
    “You’re a good kid Tyler, don’t allow yourself to be coerced into being someone you aren’t or to  do  things that you normally wouldn’t do,” Mr. Colabza nodded towards the door. “You know what I’m saying, right?”
    Lilith stood outside the room, seething. Tyler knew what he was saying and of course, Lilith knew what Mr. Colabza was implying. Even though she wasn’t looking into the room, she could somehow  hear  the body language tacked to Jim Colabza’s cautious words. 
    “Mmm-hmm.” Lilith wasn’t an orator by any means, she chose her words carefully and precisely. She meant what she said and she said what she meant, and more often than not, this didn’t require a great amount of words to bolster her point. 
    “Mmm-hmm.” The implications of  that  simple phrase could be quite frightening.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
                   
    “Mom, I’m home!” Tyler announced. 
    “Hey, Ty! Be right there!” Cindy called from somewhere in the house. 
    Although Tyler had an increasingly unhealthy captivation with Lilith, he still maintained a more than decent home life with his parents. Cindy’s rule of having dinner with the family had stuck all through his schooling; a remarkable feat, considering how busy schedules tend to get with age.
    Cindy came from upstairs with an armful of laundry and found Tyler in the kitchen waiting for her. She greeted him and kissed him “hello” on the cheek.  Tyler went on with the rest of the routine, which included answering some questions about his day while his head was buried in the refrigerator. 
    “How was school?” Cindy asked her son.
    “Alright. You know, same old story. I’m looking forward to the end, to be honest with you,” Tyler shrugged.
    “Well  that  didn’t sound too great? Anything happen?”
    “No. Nothing remarkable; just a typical day, that’s all. Hey, can I ask a favor?” his voice suddenly perked up from its previous drone, the way voices tend to when they are imposing on someone. 
    “Can I say “no”?” his mother joked.
    “You  could , but what fun would  that  be? Plus I’ll sulk and mope around here,” he smiled.
    “I guess you’re right. Ask away then, son o’ mine,” Cindy said. How could she resist with a smile like Ty’s?
    “I was wondering if Lilith could come by for dinner tonight,” Tyler proposed. 
    Now, Cindy didn’t exactly dislike Lilith, but the other side of the coin was that she probably wasn’t her biggest fan either. She had always thought of Lilith as the common denominator to Tyler’s dwindling grades ever since they started palling around together in their younger days, let alone going out together later in their teens. Although it was very difficult, she decided to take the higher ground and give Lilith the benefit of the doubt and concede that any female would have this effect on her son because he was just at that age now. Besides, she made her son happy. 
    If she said that the phrase, “keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer” didn’t breach the surface of her subconscious more than once, what a liar she would have been. In her defense, however, people aren’t exactly aware of their subconscious, which is what makes the subconscious what it is, by definition. 
    Cindy realized something else.  Two  things, as a matter of fact: First, this would be a great opportunity for