2. Two Freya
Two: Freya
I glared at my reflection in the mirror, unhappy with my appearance despite the effort and time I’d dedicated to making myself look presentable today. No matter how many times I redid my makeup, I still wasn't happy with it—it either seemed too much or not enough. There was no in-between.
Why was I so worked up over how I looked, anyway?
After angrily wiping it off, I combed through my freshly washed hair, grabbing my laptop and college work. Shoving them into my backpack, I muttered a string of curse words. Since the other night, I’d been in a foul mood.
Kaleb had made it clear he didn’t want my mother and me here, and he was nothing if not unwelcoming. I didn't understand his problem, and it riled me up, knowing we had done nothing to warrant this behaviour. Hearing I was staying in Brie's room had been his final straw.
I felt awkward sleeping in a bed that wasn’t mine, but the room was cute and cosy. The walls were painted blush pink, and the décor was minimal. Jackie had explained how she’d cleaned it out around two months ago, and although I didn't know who Brie was, I refrained from asking questions. It was clearly a touchy subject.
I made my way down the steps, not looking forward to seeing Kaleb, fully expecting him to subject me to copious snide remarks and judgemental glances. But luckily for me, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Mom, I’m leaving,” I called, smiling when she popped her head around the corner from the kitchen, her arm soon following her to give me a quick wave.
After pulling my car keys out of my pocket, I unlocked my small vehicle and hopped in, turning on the ignition. However, I cringed when it made a loud cracking noise, the engine sounding like it smoked a packet a day.
“Are you kidding me?” I hissed to myself, allowing my forehead to fall forward onto the solid material of the steering wheel, defeat hitting me like a ton of bricks.
What a great way to start an already shitty day.
Shoving the key into the ignition one more time, laughing in disbelief when it made the same abominable sound, I scrambled out of my car, slamming the door shut with fury.
“Freya?” questioned Jackie as she finished her toast, grabbing her own car keys from the hook by the door. “Are you okay?”
“My car has decided it wants to test me today,” I grumbled, tucking my wet hair behind my ears, my lips down-turned.
“Oh, I've got a meeting I'm already really late for, but I'm sure Kaleb could take you,” suggested Jackie as she gazed up towards the stairs, raising her eyebrows at her son, who came rushing down, his face stone-cold. His hair was wet—fresh from a shower.
“I'm busy,” he said, making his way past us, refusing to make eye contact, jumping into his Jeep and reversing off the driveway. His tyres screeched against the slippery gravel as he pulled out onto the road, disappearing.
Jackie stood with her hand on her hip, glaring towards where Kaleb's expensive car once was, clearly not impressed. Shaking her head, she muttered a quick sorry to me before her tall frame ducked through the doorway, pulling the hood of her coat up over her head.
I sighed, my eyes bulging once I noticed the time on the living room clock. I was going to be late, and my lecturer wouldn’t be impressed—he’d dealt with my tardiness more than a few times this month.
“Honey, I would take you, but it's the opposite direction from my office,” said my mom, offering me a small smile.
“No, don't worry,” I assured her, sighing. “I can walk.”
“Have a great day.” She planted a quick kiss on the side of my face before walking out of the door.
Exiting the house, I huffed as the gale of wind slapped me in the face, whirling my hair around violently. I pulled out my phone as I trudged along the sidewalk in the rain, feeling anger radiate throughout my body as I read through the messages I’d sent my father.
Clicking on his name—scowling at the irritating buzzing noise as I called him again—I sighed as the seconds passed. But, just as I was about to give up, the ringing stopped, indicating that the line had been connected.
“Hello? Dad?” I exclaimed over the pounding precipitation, plugging my other ear with my finger. “Are you there?”
I sped up my pace, my heart pumping erratically as I waited for my father's response, but all that could be heard were a few laboured breaths. The line quickly went dead, leaving me staring at my phone in shock.
Had he seriously just hung up on me?
Putting it down to poor connection, I attempted to ring him again as I jogged through the storm, grunting in frustration when my bid to contact him again was sent straight to voicemail.
“You dick,” I muttered, making the rest of the journey to college, sighing in relief once I stepped inside my block.
“Freya?” came a deep voice from behind me, and I turned to see Zach leaning against his locker, his face masked with sympathy as he took in my shivering form. “You missed the first half of our lecture.”
“I know.” I sighed, glancing at the clock.
So much for wanting to be on time this year.
“Why are you all wet?”
“My car wouldn't start. I had to walk.”
“You could have asked me for a ride.” He smiled at me, his dimples becoming more prominent. Zach was a beautiful man. There was no doubt about it. But a clean type of beautiful. He wasn’t rugged or mysterious—just commonly handsome.
“You would have already been here by the time I asked you.”
Zach and I had been getting to know each other for the past couple of weeks—his infectious smile and easy-going attitude made him straightforward to talk to. We weren’t officially together and hadn’t closed ourselves off to other people—yet to have that discussion.
Zach was a nice guy but enjoyed talking about himself—a lot. I'd told myself I was going to give him a chance, though. I was getting a little too good at cutting guys off to protect myself, and all it gained me was yet another evening alone with my sketchpad.
“Freya, you're soaked!” called Hannah as she turned the corner, a huge paper cup of coffee gripped between her fingers, dark bags evident under her soft hazel eyes.
“And you look like shit.” I laughed.
She rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink, gulping loudly. “I’m running on one hour of sleep and am struggling to stay awake. This,” she said, jostling her cup, “is the only thing keeping me together right now.”
I rolled my eyes with a smile. It was never a dull day when my bundle of energy best friend was involved.
“Do you want to do anything tonight?" she asked, raising a brow at me. “The usual cringy romance movie marathon at yours?”
“I'm not staying at mine right now, remember?” I mumbled, causing Zach to smile sadly at me.
“Your dad will come back in the next few days and sort all this crap out,” he reassured me, his hand delicately grazing my lower back. "I'm sure of it."
I tried my best to appear hopeful.
The rest of the college day dragged by, and I was grateful that I’d only received a few choice words from my lecturer. Although, by the time the day was over and Zach offered me a ride home, my clothes were still soggy, my bones shivering.
“Thanks for driving me.”
“Can't let a girl like you walk home in this weather.” As Zach parked outside Jackie’s house, he turned to me, his large hand swarming my thigh, clutching it seductively. “Maybe I could come inside for a bit?”
My legs clenched together at the question, and my stomach twisted at how forward Zach was being. Our relationship hadn't stretched as far as being overly intimate yet, and my mind ran back to last week when a few girls in my class claimed Zach was a horny bastard. I wasn’t a fan of meaningless sex. I'd done it in the past, and it just didn't benefit me.
“It's not my house,” I said, shrugging.
“It's two o'clock. Will anyone be home?” Zach pushed, his hand moving higher up my leg, tracing dainty patterns.
“I don't know Jackie's working schedule,” I lied. She actually worked nine-to-five, five days a week, but Zach was pissing me off, his persistent push to be more intimate over the past week irking me deeply. The fact that he was so eager for it to happen made me want to delay it further.
“Okay, fine.” He sighed, dropping his hand and offering me a deflated smile.
I thanked him, quickly entering the house, and my stomach lurched at the idea that he only wanted me for one thing. He claimed he loved how bubbly and self-assured I was, but was it all a lie just to get in my pants?
“Fuck,” I muttered to myself, closing my eyes, leaning my head back against the front door.
“Didn't put you as one to use that sort of language.”
I gasped at the voice, snapping my eyes open to see Kaleb standing before me with his arms folded. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved workout top and pants, the tight-fitting material causing my throat to bob. Every muscle was visible.
“How would you know? We've been in each other's presence for a total of ?five minutes.” I narrowed my eyes at him, causing him to huff. Technically, that wasn’t true, but it sure as hell felt like it with the little amount we'd conversed.
“Five minutes too long,” he responded. His eyes were resentful, but my snappy response had caused his lip to twitch upwards slightly, the small action making me tilt my head. “Why are you soaking wet?”
His question left me gesturing towards the rain-splattered window. “Because it's pouring outside? My car is broken, so I had to walk to college."
Kaleb nodded once before he pulled out his phone and began typing furiously, scowling at the screen in annoyance. “What do you take?”
“What?” I asked in confusion, and he shook his head at me.
“College. What do you take?” he repeated crabbily.
"Oh, umm, Fine Art."
Kaleb cocked his head at me and hummed. “Right, so you want to be what? A painter? A designer?”
I felt sheepish. I hated answering this question because ?I actually didn't know what I wanted to do yet. Art was something I loved, and I wasn't half-bad at it. The art world was where I belonged, but it was pinpointing where that was the tricky part. There were so many routes to take and I felt like I was floating along without a clear path to take. Art was my calling, but failure frightened me. I often felt like I was the only person in the world without a foolproof plan. “At the moment, I teach children art once a week, but it’s not what I want to do long-term. I mean, I would love any career involving creativity. It just depends on what comes my way.”
“Comes your way?” Kaleb raised a brow. “Life doesn’t work like that.”
“It's just a saying, but thanks for the tip, Mr Sunshine.”
“So, you like kids?”
I dipped my chin. “Yeah, I do. They can be a handful, but I enjoy it.”
Kaleb’s opened his mouth to speak but growled as his phone rang. “What?” he snapped to the person on the other end of the line, cursing to himself as they spoke. “No, I told you I don’t want anyone in my house.”
I raised my eyebrows questionably, his voice like gravel, and I moved past him to head for the stairs. I needed a warm shower. That, and being under Kaleb’s intense gaze was making me unsteady on my feet. How could somebody's eyes hold so much emotion?
“Fuck. Fine, but I swear to God, Brent, keep it small,” Kaleb muttered. "I want everyone gone by eleven."
I craned my neck to look at him. He’d ended the call and was studying me. “We have the house to ourselves tonight, and apparently , I'm having people over.” He huffed. “If you’re going to come down, try not to do or say anything to embarrass yourself.”
I mentally cringed, my nostrils flaring.
Ouch.