34. Kayla
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
KAYLA
I pull up to The Bluffs in time to see Mr. St. Clair and Maggie talking in the driveway of the fourth rental house. The man’s pale face is as unpleasant as it was last night, and I don’t have any desire to have another encounter with either of them.
It’s not that he’s ugly by any means, but the frigid look in his eyes combined with his rigid posture lets you know upon first meeting that he’s a snooty man. I clocked it from the pathetic handshake he offered last night. All my internal warning systems were telling me to get out of there. It’s easy to see where Maggie gets it from. She gives her dad a hug before he dips into the back of a waiting, jet-black luxury car. Once she’s back inside the house, I grab my tablet and head to the door.
“Kayla!” Artemis nearly knocks me back down the stairs as she tackles me with a hug. Her curly hair bounces when she tips her head back to smile at me.
“Hey, Artie.” I grin, patting her on the back. “What you been up to today?”
“We went to the museum after lunch to see Ashlie, and she gave us a behind-the-scenes tour! And then , her boyfriend surprised her with flowers and cookies?—”
“That’s not your business to tell, Artemis…” Hu nter says from the door, shaking his head. I lift an eyebrow, just now learning this bit of information. “Bryan showed up at the museum after lunch with grand gestures and an apology.” He shrugs.
“So how is it your business to tell but not mine ?” Artie huffs, scowling.
“Just get inside. Per-son-al bu-bble .” They roll their eyes at each other as we walk into the house. Artemis joins Avery and Hadley outside on the deck after she makes me promise I won’t leave before saying goodnight. I tuck my museum questions aside, making a mental note to text Ash about it when I get home tonight. But watching Hunter kick at a scuff on the floor has me wondering how he’s taking it. I still don’t know the details about him and Ashlie, but I assume Bryan showing up makes it all more complicated.
“Hey, you okay?”I bump his shoulder.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because ashy Bryan is back…”
“He’s not ashy. His babies are going to be ashy.” Hunter smirks, using his sense of humor to try and deflect from the vulnerability in his eyes. He clears his throat, changing the subject as we move toward the couch. “Let’s see that portfolio.”
Chase joins us from the kitchen, bottles of water in hand, with a big smile on his face. Standing behind the sofa, he tosses the bottles on the empty cushion next to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders, kissing my cheek before turning his attention to the tablet in my lap. I show them the problem I’m having with adding pictures from my idea board to my sketches, and then I show them an example of how I need the presentation slides to look. Wordlessly, they get to work. Chase swipes on the tablet, arms still around me, while Hunter grabs a wireless mouse, keyboard, and glasses I’ve never seen him wear before. They’ve turned my tablet into a mini computer, backing up my sketches and moving files around so fast my eyes cross. I watch in awe at how quickly they anticipate each other’s thinking, picking up where the other left off like a well-oiled machine.
“Think you could switch me spots?” Chase says distractedly, still clicking away.
“Sure…” I say, handing the tablet to Hunter and moving off the couch as Chase climbs over from the back. Standing there, looking at these two in their element for the first time, I’m struck by how much I still have to learn about them. My brother and my boyfriend—two things I didn’t have at the beginning of the summer.
Sensing I won’t be needed for a while, I grab a water from the couch and slip out the back door to see what the girls are doing. The sun beats down on the dark blue patio, and I take in the beauty of the waves crashing into the ocean bluffs.
“Hi, Kayla!” Hadley greets me while she mixes something together in a large bowl.
“Hey. What are you making?”
“I’m making a non-Newtonian fluid out of cornstarch and water that I’m going to put on the subwoofer over there so the sound waves will make it dance.”
“…Why?” I ask. She spoke so quickly, I’m only half sure I know what the words in her sentence mean strung together in the way she said them.
With a bright smile, she responds, “Because I can.”
“Is it like slime?” I ask.
“It’s better than slime.” She sticks her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as she stirs.
“And you have permission to do this?”
“Well, nobody said I couldn’t… today. But it’s totally safe.”
Artie drapes plastic wrap on an overturned subwoofer while Avery drips food coloring all over the surface, and I’m only partially convinced of the safety of this experiment.
“Alright, girls, are you ready?” Hadley asks, looking around at us before scooping a spoonful of white goo onto the well of the speaker. “Hit it, Av!” She points, cueing her sister to play some music from the phone in her hand. The pop tune has a nice beat, and we all crowd around to watch the sound waves at work, bopping our heads together to the rhythm. The goo starts rippling, like a puddle surrounded by heavy footsteps as the beat drops in the song. Little rounded globs peak and dip with the music, like gnomes having a dance party. The colors mix, making a mesmerizing display of hues as everything swirls and blends into a colorful rave.
“I see they roped you into a science experiment,” Kendall says from behind me with a chuckle.
“Yeah. That was so cool! I’ve never seen anything like it.” I smile as he walks over to stand next to me.
“The boys showed me your portfolio in there… I hope that’s okay.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s fine. It’s not private or anything.”
“Some people don’t like sharing their work until it’s completed. I didn’t want to mess with your flow.” He holds up his fingers, placing the word flow into air quotes. “You’ve got a good eye for detail. It looks amazing.”
“Oh, thank you.” My face flushes at the compliment. Navigating this new father-daughter aspect of our relationship makes me feel a little clumsy. Neither of us really knows where to begin, which leads to long pauses and nervous laughter.
“You’re welcome.” He takes a beat, letting an awkward silence settle in between us. “I wanted to run another thing past you, if that’s okay?” He waits for me to answer, which is something I’m learning to appreciate about him.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I don’t know if you already have plans with your mom, but how would you feel if Artemis, Hunter, and I visited you at Salima State over Labor Day weekend? We thought it could be nice for you to show us about your life there and spend some quality family time. Only if you want to, of course.”
I guess this is the next step in getting to know them all better, seeing as summer is quickly coming to an end. I’ve been so focused on navigating this new dynamic with them around here, I haven’t considered what we would do once we all got back to our lives. And Mom is a whole other issue. Aside from a few messages with her checking in, we haven’t talked about any of this mess. She’ll still be traveling when I go back to school, and if I’m the Princess of Avoidance, she’s the Queen.
“I think that sounds nice,” I say, offering him a smile.
The smile he returns is just as big as he nods. “Okay, good. I’m looking forward to it.” We stand in another uneasy silence before the door behind us creaks open.
“Hey, Kayla, we need you…” Chase says from the door, running his hands through his hair.
Hunter leans back on the couch with his fingers laced over his torso, glasses resting on his tipped-back head like he’s just gotten home from a long day’s work.
As soon as I’m over the threshold, Chase says, “The images from your idea board needed to be decoded from their proprietary format and then reconverted to the word processing format. We made a template and formatted it with every feature you said you wanted. Hunter’s going to show you how the different features work inside the template. He’ll have you try it to make sure you’re comfortable with the sketch transitions, and then you’ll be ready to insert everything and upload it into the presentation software.” The words flow from his mouth quickly and efficiently, like I have any idea what he’s talking about. My mouth drops as I try to translate the tech speak.
“What—why are you looking at me like that?”
I snap my mouth closed, but my eyes stay narrowed as I try to keep up with how fast he’s talking. With a nervous chuckle, I respond, “I’ve just never seen this side of you before. Either of you.”
“Your girlfriend just called us nerds, bruh,” Hunter says from the couch.
“Hey, she’s your sister…”
“I did not! It just took me by surprise. It’s impressive. ”
“Nerds, dorks, dweebs…” Hunter mocks, turning his hand into a talking puppet.
“Okay, sit, so there’s time to snuggle before you have to leave.” Chase motions toward the couch.
Hunter shows me the template, re-explaining what the problem was and how to place the photos next to my sketches where I wanted them. I quickly insert my photos, and they watch as I create the page spreads in the presentation software. “All you’ll have left is uploading the menu, and then you should be good to send it off,” Hunter explains. He grabs the keyboard and mouse and disappears upstairs.
Closing the cover of my tablet, Chase slides it on the coffee table and turns to me. “Oh, hey, baby. When did you get here?” he teases, taking his tech persona off and slipping back into boyfriend mode.
“So you do remember me? I thought I’d lost you there for a second…”
He pulls me in close, nuzzling my nose with his. “Never gonna happen.” His kiss is soft and slow, like he’s savoring every bit of it, committing the feeling of my lips to his memory. Tingles surge through my core, making me shiver as he pulls away. He flips on the TV, landing on the new detective show I’ve been wanting to see. I snuggle into him, and he slides my legs across his lap, rubbing his hand over my thigh. Apparently, the TV was just a front, because in no time, we’re making out like it’s the only activity that makes sense.
“What about the show?” I ask on a breath.
“I’ve already seen it,” he says distractedly, lips continuing to occupy mine.
“But it’s new…”
“Then I’ll stream it later.” His voice comes out muffled as his lips move down my chin.
“Okay…but what if… I… wanted to watch it?” I mean for it to come out in a teasing manner, but the way my body is reacting to his touch makes my breath hitch enough times that the message is lost.
“Then watch it,” he says with a chuckle, leaving a trail of kisses down the column of my neck and back up. “I’m not stopping you.”
“You’re…distracting me though…” A giggle slips out of me as his breath tickles my ear.
“Sounds like a personal problem,” he whispers as his eyes meet mine. Leaning back in, he wiggles his eyebrows playfully.
I bite my lip and shake my head.
“Okay, fine,” he concedes. “We can watch this, but I get to make up for lost time during commercial breaks. Deal?”
I give in to one last steam filled kiss, running my hands through his hair and trailing fingers down his jawline, pulling away once I’m convinced he’ll be aching for more. Simple payback for making me miss the beginning of the show. “Deal.”
A groan rumbles in his chest as he nuzzles my nose with his. “You’re gonna be the death of me, Kayla,” he whispers.
“Maybe. But not until the next commercial break,” I tease, giving a wink.
“You win.” He props his chin on my shoulder as we try to catch up on whatever we missed on the show so far. We stay like this—whispering in between scenes, kissing during commercials—until it’s time for me to go. I make a brief stop next door to find Artie, just like I promised I would, and then Chase walks me out to my car.
When we get outside, he presses me against the passenger side door for one last goodnight kiss, accidentally kicking the tire as he comes in close. He pulls away suddenly and drops to look at something. I tuck my satchel closer to my body so it doesn’t hit him in the head.
“Uh, everything okay?” I ask, confused why I was just deprived of one of my favorite things. I don’t care if we just spent an entire evening making out, I want my goodnight kiss.
“You have a flat tire,” he says with an amused voice. I bend to look, and sure enough, my tire is squished all the way to the ground.
“Great.” I sigh, hitting the trunk button on my car remote and walking to the back. He moves right along with me, and before I can stop him, he reaches into the trunk. “What are you doing?” There’s a slight edge to my voice, the same irritation creeping in from the conversation at the diner earlier.
“Changing your tire…” He digs around the trunk, looking for the jack and spare.
“No, I got it.” I lift the jack out of the back and lay it against the curb.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m right here. Just let me do it.”
“I’m not the one being ridiculous. I told you this morning I can change my own tire.”
“I don’t doubt that you can , but babe, you don’t have to. Let me help you.”
“I don’t need help with this.”
“Why won’t you let me help you?” he asks, furrowing his brows.
“Don’t act like I didn’t just spend the evening getting your help on my portfolio.” I cross my arms, annoyed he won’t move out of the way so I can get started.
“That’s different. It’s what I do for work,” he says, shaking his head. “You don’t have to do this by yourself, Kayla.” He touches my shoulder with one hand and points at the spare in the trunk with the other. The rage that ignites and courses through me under his hand comes as a surprise to me.
“The only difference is that your ego has deemed changing a tire as something a girl needs a guy to do for her. I don’t need you to save me.” I clamp my teeth together as I try to lift out the spare without bumping into Chase.
He puts his hand around the wheel, stopping my momentum. “…I’m not…trying to save you. God , you’re so hard to figure out sometimes. I’m trying to help you solve this problem. Can’t you just let me take care of you?” His voice edges on frustration as he lets go of the tire and puts his hands behind his head, puffing out an exhale.
“I’m not some problem that needs to be solved, Chase! I’ve been taking care of myself my whole life. I don’t need someone taking care of me now.” It comes out louder than I mean it to, but I double down anyway. I’m overreacting. I know I am. But the frustration in his voice paired with my indignation makes it hard for my brain to care about the consequences of prolonging this fight. I’m seeing red, and my pulse pounds in my ears. All my defenses are up, while all my instincts are telling me to get out of here.
He drops his hands, looking at me with his mouth gaping. “I didn’t say you were the problem, but you’re being so damn stubborn right now?—”
“This is who I am. If you don’t like it, then?—”
“Leave? Is that what you were going to say?” His voice is intense. He’s not yelling, but it’s enough to ignite my already overstimulated senses. “I don’t do that, Kayla, you do. When things get a little too vulnerable, when I get a little too close, you push me away, and you run.” He stuffs his hands in his pockets, the muscle in his jaw twitching as he grinds his molars together.
“I don’t push you away.” I look away from him.
He dips his head to look into my eyes. The frustration is there in his gaze, but there’s something else too. It’s raw and unexpected, threatening to extinguish the anger I’m feeling. Hurt. “What are you doing right now, then?”
I’m hurting him, and I don’t know how to handle it or how to stop it. Desperately trying to slow the air I’m pulling into my lungs, my eyes dart around, looking for any kind of escape. I just need to get out of here. Shaking my head again, I drop the tire back in the trunk and turn to walk down the sidewalk. “Whatever. Change the damn tire, Chase. It doesn’t matter,” I say over my shoulder.
“Where are you going? Kayla—” He starts after me, catching up in a few steps.
“I’m walking home.”
“No, you’re not.” His hand wraps around my elbow to get me to stop walking.
I snatch it back, glaring up at him. “You’re telling me what to do now? Don’t touch me!”
“Kayla, just let me get my keys and I’ll drive you home.”
“No. I leave, remember? So let me leave.”
He covers his face with his hands, a frustration-filled groan escaping his mouth. But he lets me go. He lets me walk away. I allow my anger to propel me forward, down the hill, to the main road. My bag swings wildly against my hip with each step, reinforcing the determination I feel to walk my ass across town. I almost make it to the end of the street before I hear the car behind me.
“Get in the car, Kayla,” Hunter’s voice says from behind the wheel of Chase’s car. I turn, confused for a split second before I remember everything that led to me getting here. My rage surges all over again.
“No. Go home, Hunter.” I continue walking.
“Naw, I can’t really do that. Dad and Chase would have my head if I let you walk home alone this late.”
“I’m not getting in the car.”
“Then I’ll follow you like this until you get home.” He drives slowly beside me for another block, his stubbornness matching mine like it’s built into our newly discovered sibling DNA. The speed in my pace slows, and suddenly, my face is wet. Fat tears roll down my cheeks, and I can’t seem to stop them. The adrenaline from the argument drains from my body. All I’m left with are heaving sobs.
“Kayla, get in the car,” Hunter tries again, with sympathy rounding out the concern in his voice. I can’t look at him, but I trudge to the passenger side door and plop down in the seat. He’s quiet as we drive through town toward my house. The only sounds in the car are my sobs as I play back the scene in my head repeatedly. I overreacted. I hurt him. I left, and he let me leave .
“What happened?” Hunter asks once we pull into my driveway.
“He wouldn’t let me change my tire. I’m fine.” I sniff, talking through the congested sound of my voice.
“You’re crying, so you’re obviously not fine…and neither is Chase, by the way.” He pulls out his phone to show four missed text messages, all from Chase. “He sent me after you because he didn’t think you’d get in the car with him.” His phone buzzes in his hand, and he shoots off a quick text before shaking his head and dropping it in the cupholder.
“I…” I’m not even sure I can explain to myself why I reacted the way I did, let alone explain it to someone else. I hide my face behind my hands, feeling the rough, salty trails left by my tears.
“Look, I’m cool if you just want to sit in here for a while before deciding, but I think you should come back with me and talk it out.”
“I have to open the diner tomorrow,” I croak, shaking my head.
“I hear you. But do you really think you’re getting any sleep tonight, like this? I know he’s not…”
I shake my head again, trying to disrupt the negative thought spiral threatening to take over. My finger scrapes away at the cuticle on my thumb. He’s right, of course. I should go back and work this out. Try to make it better. I hang my head, the war between my stubborn independence and a longing to be back in my boyfriend’s arms raging through my mind.
“Go inside and pack a bag. If you two can’t work it out tonight, I’ll drive you to the diner in the morning myself.”
I take a couple of minutes to decide, and Hunter doesn’t rush me. He doesn’t pull out his phone either, which is odd enough that I notice, even through the battle waging between my head and heart. Sitting with me in the silence, he shares his calm while I spiral in the passenger seat.