Melody's Crush

Chapter 27

He chuckled before looking down at the car seat as his fingers drummed across the roof of the car as he searched his mind for a picture of Lia. But then it looked like he knew what picture I was talking about as he looked back up at me, all merriment faded from his eyes. "That pic is of the youngest sisters, Chelsea."

"Oh," I said in surprise. My mind rewound to the names Kyle gave. Liv and Victoria. "I thought you only had two sisters."

"We do. Chelsea died on her way to pick up Kyle the day he punched that guy."

Shock rippled through me paralyzing my lids. I couldn't blink.

"What?" I asked, the word was merely a breath passing my lips.

For a second, I didn't think Max would continue but his facial expressions took on a hard mask as he explained. "My mother was, well... being my mother and couldn't be bothered with a disobedient Kyle. You see, Kyle was a little rebellious back then. Never wanted to do what Mom told him to do. That is until... until Chelsea was killed rushing to pick him up."

For some reason, I felt this door to Kyle's closeted secret should have been left closed. But Max continued to pry it open further.

"Chelsea always stood up for Kyle to our mother. Always treated him like she was his protector or savior or something. When my mother refused to go get him, Chelsea took one of the cars without my mom knowing. Being a very inexperienced driver, she rushed to my brother's aid." He paused to swallow, the sound echoing from his throat. "My mother didn't even know she had died let alone been in an accident when she started greeting guests for Chelsea's eighteenth birthday dinner party that night."

My eyes stung. "Why," I could barely find my voice. "Why are you telling me all this?"

He gave a sad but warm smile. "Because I like you. And," he nodded. "I think you can save Kyle."

"Wha..." it was merely a puff of air.

He chuckled. "Hey," his voice changed its tone just as quickly as Kyle changed his personality. "You wanna go with me to the homecoming game tonight?"

My eyebrows pushed together as my chin pushed forward, my lips forming an 'O' in surprise. How could he just switch from a serious subject like that without flinching when I was all about ready to cry?

My God, he was just like Kyle!

"Cool," he said at my non-answer before pulling out his phone and swiping to unlock the screen. His finger tapped it a few times before he handed it over to me. "Here, type in your number." He retracted his arm as I took it.

I was dumbfounded. He just... omigod. I shook my head as I started deftly typing in my number.

"Oh," his finger pointed at it. "You're address, too. Gotta know where to pick you up at."

"I can just meet you at the school," I said as I finished.

Wait. My fingers froze. Was I actually thinking about going to the homecoming game with Kyle's little brother?

"Heyeyey, give me that," he said reaching for the phone before I could backspace out the numbers. Lifting the rectangle contraption, he angled it in front of my face and I heard the sound of a digital camera going off.

"Hey!" I protested. "You need permission from someone before you just take a picture."

He stuck his tongue out between his lips as he smiled which was so darned cute, I had to resist the urge to reach out and pet him.

"Okay," he said. "See you at the game entrance at say, six o'clock? Or did you want to go out to dinner first?" He raised both eyebrows simultaneously as he bent his lips into a mischievous grin.

"This isn't a date!" I exclaimed.

He laughed. "I'm just teasing. Say you will see me at six and I will let you go to school."

"Fine," I barked. "Six then."

At that moment, we both witnessed Kyle staring through the windshield from the front of the car, his arms crossed as he shot daggers at both of us.

I blinked a few times before chancing a glance at Max who was bouncing his eyebrows up and down at me, again with his tongue between his smiling lips.

I snarled at him for getting me, yet again, in trouble with his brother.

Max closed the passenger door as he said loudly, "I'll see you at six," before waving at me through the passenger window.

I jerked my head for him to cut it out. But instead, he stood jabbing a fist into his pocket as he waved to his brother.

Oh I wanted to smack him!

Kyle didn't give me Chloe when we got to the school. Instead, he marched through the courtyard and disappeared into the crowd of students without even saying a word to me.

It was evident he was not happy about Max chatting with me nor was he pleased to hear his brother yell out our meeting time. Several times during the day, I thought about going to his locker to try and talk to him, to tell him it wasn't what he was thinking.

But then, what was he really thinking?

Surly he wasn't thinking I was hitting on his little brother? Because that would just be an insult!

Lunch came around and I half hoped to see Jake at my locker. But, he didn't show. Sorrow gripped my lips tugging them downward. How would he and I be able to mend from all this?

One week.

It took just one week and one guy to completely shred my whole three year crush and wishes to pieces leaving me empty handed and my best friend broken hearted.

Sliding down my locker door, I kept my back to it as I let my butt plop to the floor. My mind was flooded with what Max had told me earlier in the morning.

Kyle admitted to me he had a crush. How awful if it was true about that girl Lia asking a guy to... to... wow. Why was he even still talking to that girl? Did his mother have that much control or was Kyle just that stupid?

Or was it guilt?

Pain shot through my chest at envisioning a young fifteen year old Kyle having to live with the guilt of knowing his sister was killed while coming to get him from school. I couldn't even imagine how he dealt with it.

How could his mother not go to her son's aid, rebellious or not? Isn't that what mother's do? Stick up for their kids? Come to their rescue.

My heart ached for Kyle. For some reason, the more I learned about him, the more I understood and the more I found myself falling for him.

My eyes widened.

Oh God. I was falling in love with Kyle Warner.