I love me

Chapter 28

-Taylen

"Where did Aiden go?" My mom practically burst into my room. She can be rude like that sometimes.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe I would tell you things if you didn't just burst through the door! He went to break up with Kyle."

"What are you talking about!"

"I don't know, mother. I guess it didn't work out between them."

"Not that. I'm talking about the door, I knocked three times! But yes, it is a shame. I thought they were adorable together."

I rolled my eyes. I love my mom, but she interrupted my jam session. Nobody does that.

"Yeah, sure." She stood in my doorway in silence for a good 20 seconds before turning around and walking away, leaving my door wide open.

"Thanks, mom, for nothing!" I yelled after her. I slammed the door shut and got back to my music.

I was listening to Dua Lipa while texting Sheila. I told her how I came out to my parents and Addie. She was thrilled that we didn't have to hide anymore. It was exhausting, to say the least, and now we were free.

Her parents weren't very supportive of her. They didn't understand it, but they didn't try to stop it. Luckily they allowed her to be herself even if they didn't like all of her choices. I knew I was extremely lucky to have supportive parents.

Then I saw the time on my phone. It was already 6:30. No wonder my mom asked where Addie was! It's almost dark out!

He couldn't have taken that long just to break up with Kyle, could he? The answer is no.

I texted Sheila that I had an emergency. Luckily she was a very understanding person. I saw my future with her and it made me all giddy when I thought about it. I wasn't used to feeling these types of emotions for somebody, but Sheila made it feel effortless.

I couldn't think about that right now. I needed to find Addie. He probably chickened out and stayed with Kyle at the diner or something. He could be a very indecisive little bitch sometimes.

I ran over to the diner while my brain stayed empty of any thoughts. I was laser-focused on the task at hand.

I walked through the door to find Kyle mindlessly staring into nothingness behind the counter. Aiden was nowhere to be seen, which started to make me nervous. I walked up to the register and rang the bell. Kyle looked up at me while showing no change in his expression.

"Hey, Kyle. Was Aiden here?" He gave me a broken smile through his teary-eyed expression. "Sure. He broke up with me out of nowhere and then he left." He said while trying to keep his composure. I could tell if he let one tear slip he would fall apart.

I was shocked that Aiden followed through with the breakup. Kyle made him happy and everyone knew it. Then again, he never gave any of us the reason.

"I'm so sorry Kyle. I know he made you happy."

"Please go." He said, finally allowing the tears to fall. I sighed and turned to leave when a random guy grabbed my shoulder. "Hey, get off me you creep!" I gained the attention of everyone at the diner as I yelled at him.

He held his hands up in defense and at the same time looked annoyed. "I don't want any trouble. I just overheard you saying that you were looking for someone. This might be a long shot, but I saw a boy laying on the sidewalk not too far from here." He spoke like he didn't really care if it was useful information or not.

"Where did he go?" He sighed and thought for a moment.

"He went that way. Straight down that street." He said while he pointed in the direction. Kyle spoke up behind me before I could leave. "Why would Aiden leave town?" He was right. That road led straight to the town next to ours. "And isn't that bridge still under construction?" He said.

"No, it isn't. We were out of town a few days ago and it was fine." The question still stands. Why would he want to skip town, especially when that town is pretty much dead? It occurred to me that Aiden might possibly want to jump off of the bridge.

It looked like Kyle had the same realization as he mirrored my worried features. I didn't even have to say anything as he got up and got his car keys. His coworker was kind enough to cover for him.

The stuck-up pervert rolled his eyes while we rushed out to Kyle's car. Everything happened in a blur after that. My brain couldn't comprehend the situation we were in.

Kyle's car smelled like coffee and another sweet scent I couldn't place. At least it was clean. He nervously tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel as we drove in silence. He must really care a lot about Addie if he's willing to do all of this, even after they just broke up.

I felt the need to comfort him but at the same time, I didn't know what to say. "Kyle, I'm really sorry about everything. If you want to talk about it, I'm here to listen. After we get Aiden."

I shouldn't have said any of that. Once I open my mouth I can't stop. "Just... stop." He said through a sigh. This day has been really rough on him.

The rest of the car ride was silent until we got to the bridge. I spotted something hanging over the railing of the bridge. It was Aiden's jacket. "Stop! That's his!" I pointed at the jacket as Kyle abruptly stopped the car.

I opened the door and ran straight to the railing. It looked so rusty that it could fall apart at any moment. I looked down at the dark water. Who knows for how long he's been here? If he jumped there's no way we'd ever see him down there.

"Holy shit. This is bad, this is really really bad." I held my head in my hands while I tried to think. What if he didn't jump? Where would Aiden go?

"Kyle, we need to get to my house. Right now." I grabbed the jacket off the railing before me and Kyle both ran back to the car. We're coming for you Addie, so sit tight.