Chapter 24 Micah
TWENTY-FOUR
MICAH
Iwas hesitant to ask, worried about the answer, but my fears were immediately eased as Kay hurried to turn over in my arms to face me and put her hands on my cheeks.
“We’re more than okay,” she said fiercely, green eyes shining.
“I was only worried because you were holding yourself back. I thought it was because you were still unsure about this relationship. But you were holding back for me. You didn’t have to,” she added, “but I understand that you thought it was for my sake.”
“I’m sorry I made you doubt us,” I said, regret a sharp pang in my chest. I tucked a damp red curl behind her ear.
“I never wanted you to feel that way. I’m fucking crazy for you, Kay.
” I tried to put just as much fierceness into my voice as she had in hers.
I had to make sure Kaylee knew how much I felt for her.
“I know that now,” she said softly. She nuzzled my palm and sighed. “I should have taken a dose of my own medicine,” she continued. “I’m always the one telling you to use your words. I should have just asked sooner. I shouldn’t have let it weigh on me like that.”
“Isn’t that what they call healthy communication skills?” I asked, my lips twitching upward. “Maybe we should try it more.”
Kaylee let out a light chuckle and laid her head back down on the pillow.
“Maybe we should,” she said.
Before I could respond, her phone pinged from the pocket of her shorts on the floor. She groaned and flopped over.
“If it’s one of the others telling us to stop making so much noise, I’m going to kill them,” she grumbled, then heaved herself off the bed and started digging around in the pile of discarded clothes.
I laid on my back, arms tucked under my head, enjoying the view of her pert ass. I was paying such close attention that I noticed instantly when her whole body tensed up.
“What is it?” I asked, sitting up in bed.
Kay didn’t say anything, just sat kneeling over the piles of clothes with her back turned to me and her glowing phone in her hand.
“Kay?” I prompted. “What’s wrong?”
I heard her inhale shakily, but she didn’t speak. Concerned now, I got off the bed and crouched down next to her on the floor to wrap my arms around her shoulders. I waited for her to say something, but she just bit her lip, still tense.
I gently tucked her head under my chin. “Remember that ‘healthy communication skills’ thing we just talked about?”
She broke her silence with a snorted huff.
“It’s my mom,” she finally said reluctantly. “She won’t leave me alone.”
“What does she want this time?” I asked.
Kaylee shrugged listlessly. “More money. Same as always.”
I squeezed her tighter. “You should tell her to just fuck right off,” I said, a dangerous rage bubbling up inside me, the same as it always did whenever that woman entered the picture.
“I can’t, Micah,” Kay said. “She—”
She bowed her head, her lower lip trembling. I didn’t want to see Kay cry. Not over that woman.
“It’s okay, I understand,” I told her, trying to make sure the sympathy in my voice didn’t tip over into pity. Kay would hate that. “She’s your mom. Telling her to fuck off is easier said than done, right?”
Kaylee rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes, scrubbing away unshed tears, and sniffled.
“Right,” she said in a small voice.
Then she gave what felt like a full body shake, the way a dog would after being hosed down for a bath, and stood abruptly, leaving the circle of my arms.
“Right,” she repeated, but this time it was bright and cheery.
Kay turned to me. Her eyes weren’t glistening or wet, although they were still a bit red-rimmed, and she had a grin on her face.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, don’t we?
” She clapped her hands together twice. “Let’s get back to the studio! ”
I stared up at her, the one-eighty change in her mood giving me whiplash.
“We don’t have to go back to work,” I reassured her. “We have time. If you want to talk about fixing things with your mom—”
“What I want is to work on my songs,” she said, keeping up that good cheer. “That’s what will make me feel better. Okay?”
I stood up to face her, giving her a skeptical look. Her expression fell slightly.
“Okay?” she said again, almost on the verge of desperation.
Against my better judgment, I nodded.
If Kay didn’t want to talk about her mom, I wouldn’t force her.
It did make me wonder, though. Kay and her mother had never gotten along.
It got worse after she joined the band, but the two of them had never had a happy, loving relationship.
I’d always thought Kay would completely cut her mother off as soon as she could.
But for some reason, that woman kept on showing up in Kay’s life, again and again.
I knew it wasn’t so easy to break off all ties with your family. Not many people were able to do it, so they stayed stuck in a cycle of pain and misery.
But Kay, she was determined. Unstoppable. She was the kind of person who went for what she wanted, and didn’t hold back. If anyone would be able to say fuck off, it would have been her.
Was there another reason why Kay didn’t cut her mother loose entirely? Was it more than just Kay feeling guilty? Was her mother threatening her in some way?
That last thought made my stomach churn. I wouldn’t have put it past that woman. But what could she be threatening Kaylee with?
I glanced over at where Kay was cleaning up and putting on her clothes, trying to gauge her mood. She seemed back to normal, bright and cheerful, but there was tension around her laugh lines and a brittle quality to her smile.
I couldn’t ask her now. I would have to bring the topic up another time, when her mother hadn’t just texted her.
I’d wait until those wounds weren’t rubbed so raw.