Wrong Number

Wrong Number [24]

Kylie fiddled with the corner of her mathematic engineering study guide as her study group went over the problems yet again. She tried to be apart of their conversations, and she sort of was. But her mind has been distant.

Leigh has been staying on her ... sort of good side ... ever since she woke up to read the conversation she and Dennis had had while Kylie was asleep. She understood where Leigh was coming from. What she did was out of her protective nature that wanted to help Kylie.

"I just want him to be quiet for a few days," Leigh murmured, shifting slightly under the demanding gaze of Kylie. "You cried a lot last night, Ky. I can't just sit here and watch you two text all day knowing you're hurting. All I asked was that he let you go to him when you're not so busy studying anymore." She bit her lip.

Kylie had sighed, but then thought over Leigh's words. She could tell from the texts themselves that Leigh was using their upcoming winter finals as an excuse for Kylie to not have to text Dennis for the moment, but eventually, she knew she'd have to. So she hugged her roommate. Kylie truly was grateful for being given this out, this escape to work her feelings over and actually try to focus on finals.

But her brain was distracting her so easily. She felt so embarrassed and foolish that she was hurt that this guy she met by accident, this guy who was probably all the way across the country, and who could truly be anyone, was dating. She shouldn't feel this way, they held no conversations to suggest they liked one another.

Kylie had pushed her feelings so far down that she ended up convincing herself that her feelings for Dennis didn't exist. So far down, in fact, that when the announcement of Dennis' date suddenly popped up over text, they punched her in the gut.

It was shocking and unexpected and she had no idea what to make of it. Dating was never on her agenda. Not with her mother's insistence that getting a good job to help pay for her extravagant travels was the most important thing. Her mother, who sent Kylie's father to jail for fraud but played innocent. Her mother, the silver-tongued, narcissistic strategist who had her daughter's entire life planned out from birth so that it worked in her favor.

And Kylie, who's only true freedom, who's only choice, was the person on the other end of the phone somewhere in the world. Emotions weren't Kylie's thing. But she, for once, had a choice. She had made a choice with Dennis, and it felt good.

Now it just hurt. Maybe her mother was doing the right thing in making her decisions for her. At least she was secure this way, as suffocating and annoying as it is. The pain of less space was better than what she felt now.

"Ky?"

"Huh?" Kylie snapped her eyes up to the one who said her name, and Angela smiled gently.

"I asked if you could walk us through question seventeen?"

"Sure."