Line Change, page 23
“Thea, stop.”
I’m focused on what I need to do. Ky probably also needs a fresh pair of clothes and some toiletries too and is likely waiting for them. I can’t imagine what it’s like to only have a hospital gown, or the clothes he was brought in with. He might have already asked the hospital to ask Coach for them, so someone needs to take them to him and that someone should be me.
“Thea!”
This time I feel Jude’s arms holding mine, stopping me from continuing any further. He turns me around to face him and I know from the look of regret on his face I don’t want to hear the words he’s about to say.
“I’m sorry T, he doesn’t want to see you.”
“What? Why not?” My voice is shaky and my bottom lip trembles.
“He’s not ready yet. Not after everything that went down at Lacey’s party. He needs time, Thea, and we need to give it to him.”
“But . . . he needs clothes and food. And . . .” I find myself struggling to find the words and instead, rambling takes over. “And he probably needs to shave and freshen up and whatnot, and we have to take those things to him. We can’t leave him in a shitty hospital gown. And a charger! He’ll need a charger for his phone.”
“And that’s for his family to take to him.” Jude brings me into his arms and hugs me tightly. “Kyler specifically told Coach he doesn’t want to see you or me. Not yet and not until he’s ready. I’m sorry, T.”
I know he’s right. I know it makes sense. Kyler’s upset and hurt, both mentally and physically. If I saw him now, no doubt he’d lash out and we’d both say things we would regret. But it doesn’t help take away the bitter sting of rejection taking over my body. I pull back from Jude and quickly wipe my face with the sleeve of my sweater.
“Why don’t you text him instead? At least he’ll know you’re thinking about him.” Millie suggests, passing me a tissue as she does so.
“Yeah, okay . . .” My voice is thick with emotion, and I clear my throat. I pick up my phone and open the messages app, and the latest conversation I had with Kyler.
Hope you’re okay. I miss you. Please let me know when you’re ready to talk.
The three bubbles appear immediately but the reply takes a little longer to be delivered. When it does, a spark of hope lights within me.
Ky
I’ll be back later. We’ll talk then.
My stomach churns as I look at the clock in the living room for what feels like the hundredth time. Ky didn’t say what time he would be home, and it’s been hours since he sent his text. My housemates have made themselves scarce to give us the privacy we need, but the time is ticking and there is only so long they can stay away from their home. Devon and Jude have gone for a workout at the gym, stating it would be a welcome distraction from worrying about their teammate. Nolan and Millie went . . . somewhere together, which in any other circumstance would not only strike me as strange but would also draw suspicions on how they’ve suddenly become very cozy in their friendship. And I stayed at the house, frenetically pacing and no doubt wearing down the already worn-out carpet into a non-repairable threadbare state.
To say I’m anxious would be putting it lightly. I’ve barely eaten since the half bowl of soup I attempted earlier; my legs are restless, hence the need to pace; and my palms are clammy. I keep telling myself this is Kyler; my Kyler. The person who is so tender with his words and actions in the darkest nights. The person who’s selfless and always puts others first. The person who wouldn’t hurt those he loves. I hope this includes me, although I know I should brace myself for what’s coming. While the hurt won’t come in physical form, I should expect it in his words.
My chest tightens with the sound of the front door opening and the churning sensation in my stomach becomes more amplified. It takes a few seconds for Kyler to appear in the doorway and when he does, I can’t hold back the gasp emitting from me. He looks terrible. Bruises cover his face and his left eye is so swollen he can barely open it. His jaw is various shades of yellow and blue. There are also butterfly stitches holding together a cut across his right eyebrow. He clutches his right arm around his body, as if to stop any sudden movement, and there’s a bandage wrapped around his hand. My eyes quickly scan the rest of him searching for any other obvious signs of injury or pain but other than the slight bend in his stature, I find nothing. This is good, I find myself thinking, this is just like any of the other numerous fights he’s been in. A few days of bed rest and he’ll recover.
“Kyler,” I breathe out, a small thread of relief replaces some of the anxiety still within me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Thea.” Kyler’s words are sharp and there’s a recognizable undercurrent of anger laced within them.
“Let me help you sit down, here lean on—”
“I said, I’m fine. I can do this myself.”
He slowly maneuvers himself toward the kitchen and grabs himself a bottle of water before resting against the breakfast bar. I watch as he takes a gulp, followed by another, and then places the now half empty bottle on the counter.
“I’m going to make this quick, because I just want to get my shit and get the fuck out of here.” There’s a gruffness to his voice, or maybe it’s tension in his jaw, and I can hear the restrained anger in his words.
“You and me? We’re done—”
“Ky, please—” I quickly interrupt.
“No! You need to listen to me.” Kyler takes a deep, steadying breath, but the tightness in his eyes, coupled with his cold, hard stare indicates it doesn’t nothing to ease his fury. “I trusted you, Thea. I foolishly let you get close to me, and then I let you get close to Lacey. I should’ve known, should’ve realized someone like you wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.”
“No, Ky, that’s not true. I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“Wouldn’t you?” Kyler’s eyes flash once, and he looks up to the ceiling while shaking his head. “You used me! How else would your stupid Abercrombie boyfriend and his lowlife dad know where to find us? You clearly had this planned all along. I mean—” He laughs once, bitterly.
“Think about it! You both knew who I was because of my friendship with your brother. All it took was for you to put two and two together from the photo they had of Ally with me in the background and the connection was made. You could put your stupid plan in action. Did you have fun plotting all the ways you could get close to me? Did your boyfriend fantasize about you fucking another guy?”
“No!” My response is half gasp and half sob. “Ky, it’s not like that—”
“Then how is it, Thea? Tell me! If it’s not like that then why would you hand over your phone to him without question? Why would you let him track where you were? Why do you still trust him after everything you know about him?”
“Kyler, I swear to you, I didn’t know anything about this. I didn’t know Adam or his parents knew about Lacey being Austin’s child. I didn’t know about the photo.”
“No? So, I guess you didn’t know about the check either?”
Kyler pulls out a folder piece of paper and throws it on the counter. I pick it up and open it, my eyes widening in disbelief as a feeling of light-headedness takes over.
“What . . . what is this?” I ask.
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s payment for my cooperation. Twenty-thousand bucks to stay away from you. Your piece-of-shit boyfriend had great pleasure in specifying the terms. Now you both can run off into the sunset together and live your perfect life and leave me the fuck alone.”
“Ky, please believe me. This is all Adam and his dad. They’re the ones who planned all of this. Everything I felt—feel—for you, what we have together, it’s all real.”
Ky laughs once, bitterly, and his eyes slowly meet mine. There’s a cold, darkness to his stare. He takes something else out of his pocket, and I immediately recognize the black leather of the band I gave him at Christmas. Once again, he throws it on the counter, and it comes skidding to a stop in front of me.
“Yeah, well, I don’t feel anything for you. It’s over, Thea. Whatever we had? It’s done. You know, the thing is, if you were just messing around with me, I could probably handle it. Take it on the chin and move on. But you brought my family into it. My niece, who’s innocent in all of this. You’ve put her in danger. My sister is living in fear of Lacey being taken away from her. And that? That is unforgivable. I told you before you had the power to destroy me. Well congratulations, you’ve succeeded. You’ve obliterated me. You and him? You deserve each other.”
Kyler’s words attack me like a predator kills his prey. Over and over, they peck and damage and pierce and hurt until I succumb to the pain. My chest tightens and my limbs tremble as I take deep, calming breaths to try and ease the caustic affect his words have had on me. The tears roll down my face and my attempts to hold back the heaving sob at the back of my throat fail.
“Please, Ky, please? Just give me a chance to fix this. To prove to you the Nelsons did all this by themselves. I swear to you, I didn’t know anything about it. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or your family.”
“No, Thea. There are no chances.” Ky looks at me again, and the coldness in his eyes have a finality about his decision. He turns and walks toward the stairs, stopping at the bottom to deliver the last devastating blow.
“You don’t have to worry about tiptoeing around me for the sake of the others; I’ll stay out of your way. I’m not your problem anymore.”
With his last words, the realization I’ve lost him comes crashing down around me.
twenty-eight
Kyler
The couch at my mother’s is fucking uncomfortable, and the food sucks. I miss my bed, my house, my damn teammates, and unfortunately, I miss Thea. I miss her smile, the food, the sex. But mostly, I just miss being in her presence. I never thought my cold, dark heart could break, but it has, and I don’t know what pain is worse: the pain my face feels, or the ache in my chest.
The front door opens and Lacey rushes toward me, barely dropping her backpack before she’s checking me over. Since my incident—as she calls it—Lacey is determined she will be a doctor instead of a hockey player. Honestly, I’m sad because having another Rose on skates would be badass.
Lacey looks me over. Her touch is soft, and she moves my head from right to left. “Does this hurt?” she asks.
“No,” I tell her truthfully.
She reaches for her school bag and pulls it onto the couch, unzipping it and removing a notebook. I try not to laugh when she uncaps a pen and starts writing. “Did you take a nap?”
“Yes.”
“What time?”
“I think after lunch?”
“Okay, good.”
Lacey writes this down.
“Did you play video games?”
“No, my doctor said I needed to rest.”
“Yes, I did,” she mutters as she scribbles on her notepad. “Did you take all your medicine?”
“Yes.”
She sets her pad aside. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
Don’t worry, kid.
When she comes back, she has packages of gauze and medical tape. We already made a deal she could play doctor but bandaging me up was out of the question for many reasons. One, she doesn’t need to see how gruesome some of my injuries are. Two, I don’t need her to accidentally pull my stitches out. And three, while she may be gentle, every part of my body aches and I don’t want to be touched right now. The agreement we came to was she can tape up my arm—literally the one part of my body which isn’t bruised.
I hold my arm out and let her add the bandage and gauze. The tape is a bit tight, but I don’t tell her. It’s something I can fix when she’s not around. No need to hurt her feelings when all she’s doing is trying to take care of me.
“There,” she says. “All your ouchies are getting better.”
They are, except for one.
“Do you think Thea can come over?” Lacey asks as she sits next to me. “Maybe we can go ice skating.”
“Thea has school, and I can’t skate right now.”
“What time does she get out?”
“I’m not really sure.”
“Can we call her?”
“My phone is dead.”
Lacey gets off the couch and takes my phone from the end table. She presses the screen, and the stupid thing lights up. “It’s working.”
Yay, me. I know I should tell her no, for my own sanity, but I can’t. She’s an innocent child caught in the stupid game of life. She’s not going to understand why Thea isn’t a part of our lives anymore, nor do I have the heart to tell her. Lacey isn’t going to grasp the magnitude of what Thea did or how it affects her.
“Later,” I tell her as I reach for my phone. A sharp pain shoots through my ribs and I grimace.
“Oh, no, Uncle Ky.”
“I’m okay.”
Lacey pouts and I beckon her forward. She gingerly crawls into my lap and nestles her head against my chest. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
She nods.
I press play on her DVD player and Aladdin comes to life. I wish she’d pick another movie and not one about a guy who has nothing going for him, except for being in love with the princess. That’s how I feel about me and Thea. She’s the princess and I’m the thief. I suppose this makes Lacey my monkey.
It dawns on me that Ally isn’t here, which doesn’t make sense. “Where’s your mom?”
Lacey shrugs and I look down to see her sucking on her thumb. I’ve suggested to Ally she do something about the thumb sucking, but Ally refuses, saying something about how Lacey needs to figure it out on her own. I don’t agree, but Lacey isn’t mine and Ally puts her foot down if I try to parent too much. I gently push Lacey’s hand away from her mouth. She doesn’t protest, which is good.
“Did your mom pick you up from school?”
“Yes.”
“Did she leave after she dropped you off?”
Lacey shakes her head. “She’s on the phone.”
I glance toward the window, as if I have X-ray vision and can see outside. I’m sure there’s a new boyfriend on the other end, someone else to take time away from Lacey and Ally’s job. Every day, I wish Ally was independent and nothing like our mother.
The door opens and Ally comes in. She’s carrying some boxes with her, reminding me they have to move soon. They still haven’t found a place to live, at least one they can afford, and it’s looking like I’m going to have to move with them, which means I need more hours at the bar. Which means . . . well a laundry list of shit I won’t be able to do.
Ally sits down on the couch and sighs.
“How was work?”
“Not good. Made a whole forty bucks in tips.”
“That’s forty more than you had this morning.”
“Yep, paid some of my phone bill so at least it won’t get turned off.” Ally covers her face and I know she’s trying to fight back the tears. It would be easier for her to work at night, in a bar or bigger restaurant where she can make a couple hundred in tips. But it’ll also mean paying a babysitter, which is going to defeat the purpose. Single parents don’t have it easy.
I think about the check Adam Nelson gave me and how I left it on the table at the house. That money will go a long way to help out Ally, but the thought of cashing it turns my stomach. I don’t want that smug bastard to think he owns me. He doesn’t. I can make my own money, somehow.
There’s a knock at the door. Ally and I stare at each other with nervous trepidation. No one comes here, ever. Ally doesn’t invite anyone over, and I’ve never brought anyone here. There’s another knock.
Lacey sighs and crawls off my lap. Before I realize what she’s doing her hand is on the doorknob and she’s pulling the door open. Ally is right behind her but not fast enough. Lacey says, “Hi,” but Ally stands there, looking from whoever is on the other side to me.
“May I come in?” The female voice is unfamiliar to me, but not to Ally. She looks back at me, as if I’m supposed to do or say something.
“Um . . . my brother. He’s not feeling very well right now. Maybe another time?”
“What I need to say, won’t take up much time.”
“Who is it, Ally?” I finally ask, growing tired of the stalling.
“It’s Mrs. Nelson,” she says as her voice cracks.
The mere mention of that last name has me off the couch, injuries be damned. I stride toward the door, moving Lacey out of the way. “What do you want?”
Mrs. Nelson blanches. Either at my harsh tone or my appearance. Both are pretty bad. She stands tall, unaffected it seems. “I’d like to speak with you and Ally; it will only take a minute.”
I nod but not in agreement with her. “Ally, take Lacey into your bedroom.”
Ally does as I tell her. Once I hear the door close, I look at Mrs. Nelson. “Look, we’re not stupid or naïve enough to let you in so you can use this in your fight for custody. I think you should leave.”
I start to close the door, but Mrs. Nelson sticks her hand out, halting it. “Please,” she says. “I understand you don’t want me here. But I have some things to say, and I’d like the opportunity to say them. It’ll only take a moment.”
“Let her in, Ky.”
Against every fiber of my being, I hold the door open for the woman. Ally has the audacity to apologize about her living situation as she turns Aladdin off. “Please, have a seat.”
Mrs. Nelson sits down on the couch, also known as my bed, while Ally sits at the other end, leaving me no choice but to stand. I want to yell at Ally and remind her I’m hurt, but figure now is not the time. We have to show a united front, for Lacey’s sake.
“I have a lot to say, so if I could have the floor for a moment.”
Ally nods. I glare.
She clears her throat and tries to smile, but her lips barely move. “I want to apologize to you, Ally, because I had no idea about Lacey until my husband pulled up to the skating plaza and we went in. All morning, he and my son kept saying they had a surprise for me, and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why we were at a skating rink. When I saw . . .” she pauses and inhales deeply. “The fear on your face when my husband approached you.” She shakes her head. “Needless to say, that day I realized I’m married to a very evil man, and not one I want in my life.”
