You Made Me Fall, But That's Okay

Chapter Eight - Milk is Milk, except Buttermilk

‘Just drive and leave me alone,’ I growled, realizing I barely had a clue about where I was, even though I thought I knew this town like the back of my hand. Were we even in the same town? I wasn’t paying much attention on my way to Ryan’s, too busy staring at him and trying not to throw up with the speed of his driving.

Kyle suddenly took a sharp turn, causing me to swerve violently to the left, slamming my already aching head against the window. ‘Whoops,’ he chuckled.

I glared at him. ‘Now I understand how Ryan doesn’t get along well with you. I actually can’t believe how annoying you can be in less than fifteen minutes!’

Kyle laughed. ‘You know, he actually thinks of me as his bestest friend in the world. Soon enough you’ll be thinking that of me, too.’

‘Bestest isn’t even a word,’ I snapped. ‘And, I already have best friends. None of them are as bloody tormenting as you! In fact, you’re nothing at all compared to them!’

‘Do I look or sound like I care?’

My words echoed in my head. I was being so mean, too mean actually. ‘Sorry, Kyle, I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. It’s not fair … Haven’t a clue what’s gotten into me …’

He chuckled. ‘It’s okay, Laura. I’m only joking. It would be nice if we were friends, though, don’t you think?’

I nodded, smiling meekly.

‘It’d make Ryan jealous too if he saw you with me,’ he added with a wink.

‘Kyle,’ I warned, rolling my eyes.

We were silent for a few more moments after that, and I tried to occupy myself by looking out the window. Millions of trees were shooting past us, making me realize how fast we were going. Just as I was about to tell him to slow down, he interrupted me.

‘You’re really pretty, you know.’

In shock, I unbuckled my seatbelt again. I couldn’t believe he just said that. I was going out with Ryan, for crying out loud! Besides that, I wasn’t even pretty. No one ever called me pretty, especially not male. What was wrong with him? Maybe he needed glasses … He didn’t even have the excuse of being my boyfriend.

‘So I call you pretty and you try to kill yourself again. You don’t even thank me … You’re really funny, you know that? It’s no wonder that Ryan loves you. Hey, I think I’m even starting to like you.’

I blinked at him, unable to talk for a moment. My mouth opened and closed, making me look like I was a goldfish. ‘I’m not pretty.’

‘No, you’re not,’ he snickered.

I stared at him.

‘I’m only joking,’ Kyle chuckled, taking another sharp turn. ‘Is it okay if I stop off at the grocery store? My dad wants me to buy him some milk for him before I get home … You don’t mind, right?’

I shook my head, still not able to talk. He frowned at me for a moment, before switching his gaze back to the road. I heaved a long sigh and flopped my head back onto the seat, closing my eyes. His driving was making me feel dangerously sick. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, I thought of Ryan. I wondered where he had to go … Would Kyle tell me if I asked him? Why didn’t Ryan tell me in the first place? Maybe if Ryan didn’t want to tell me, Kyle wouldn’t. Or would he? Would Ryan get angry if he told me? Why was it such a secret? Or was it a secret? Was I over-reacting? Yeah, I was probably just being paranoid … but usually people told you where they had to go if they had to be somewhere … Was he hiding something from me?

‘Kyle, where did Ryan go?’ I asked, after a minute or so of internally debating myself.

‘I thought you’d never ask!’ Kyle laughed. ‘Um … why do you have your eyes closed?’ he added in a confused tone.