𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫- 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐨𝐰

16.

「 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 」

    tonight is the second to last night kayla would be in la. she didn't know when the next time she would see the cast after this, but she really hoped they wouldn't drift apart.

she texted rudy asking if it would be okay if he met her down by the pier before the cast went out for dinner. she didn't really know why she called him down there when all she really needed was a moment to herself.

rudy nervously stood out of his seat and grabbed his jacket, leaving right when kayla texted him. something about that message made it seem urgent.

"where is he going?" chase looks over at madelyn.

"not sure." madelyn shrugs.

rudy gets into car, picturing every possibility as to why kayla wanted him there with her. it could just be for fun, but he felt off about it. he hated seeing her upset and he wanted to help her out every time.

kayla played with her fingers as she sat on a bench staring out at the ocean. when she heard footsteps coming near her, she glanced at the blonde boy walking towards her.

rudy read the girls face while he approached her. she looked upset about something, but what? "hey." he sits beside her.

"hi." she cooed with a small innocent smile.

rudy held her in his arms hoping it would make her feel better. she gladly hugs him back and rests her head on his shoulder. the hug was exactly what she needed right now. "what are you thinking about?" he pulls apart to face her.

"i don't want to leave." she mumbles, playing with the same bracelet as hers on rudy's wrist. it wasn't just because she wanted to hang out with her friends forever, but she knew once she went back to her house then everything would go back to being the same.

"i don't want you to leave either." rudy watches her carefully as she plays with his bracelet. he really didn't want her to leave. he dreaded the day since she arrived two weeks ago.

"i'm sorry." kayla shakes her head embarrassingly. she shifted her body back to the ocean and watched the waves crash into one another.

"what for?" rudy scoots closer to her with furrowed eyebrows. she apologized too much when she talked about how she felt. he liked every part of the ortega girl sitting in front of him, but that one habit was something he didn't prefer.

"calling you here. i shouldn't spill everything on you." she awkwardly scratches the back of her neck.

"i'm here for you. you can talk to me. what's wrong?" rudy reassures her.

kayla never really opened up to people. in fact she barely opened up to davine and carter anymore since she felt like a burden. "i can't go back."

"why not?" rudy wanted to help her the best he could, he just didn't understand the way she was talking. he wanted to get more out of her. was it because of her household? was it because she was scared? was it because of her friends? family?

"i don't want things so go back to normal." she choked on the sobs trying to escape her mouth. crying in front of rudy was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do in the moment.

rudy's thoughts trailed off to their first facetime call. the arguing in the back was loud and full of anger. noticing the way kayla got scared and scrambled to quickly end the call made everything make more sense.

almost as if the girl read his mind, she speaks up about that night. "remember our first facetime call? well that was my parents arguing in the background. it's basically a nightly routine."

after a long time of thinking of ways he could comfort her, rudy didn't know what to say. he was stuck on words to comfort her with.

kayla knew he wouldn't know what to say. that's part of the reason why she told him. she didn't want someone to feel bad for her and comfort her like she was a baby.

"i'm so sorry." rudy gulps. there was nothing else he could really say about the way her parents acted. he wanted nothing more to take her as his own and not even send her back, but he knew her friends were waiting for her.

kayla went on and on about the things her parents did to her. they would trick her, lie to her, abuse her mentally and sometimes even physically. rudy listened to her the whole time hoping his presence was enough to calm her down.

"please stay here." rudy took her hand, begging her to stay back. he didn't care if davine and carter waited for her, he didn't want her where she was weak and hurt.

kayla shakes her head, taking her hand back from rudy. "i can't. the ticket is already bought. besides, i told carter and davine i would see them soon."

"can you just promise to facetime me everyday? to let me know that you're okay?" his voice is soft and quiet. everything kayla confesses to him made his heart shatter into thousands of pieces.

"i promise." she looks up and rudy, very thankful for his presence. he was so easy to talk to and also very understanding.

rudy smiles, locking his eyes blue eyes in her chocolate brown ones. her lips were slightly parted when she rested her smile. "can i say something now?" rudy questions.

"yeah, go ahead." kayla turns to face rudy again to listen to what he wanted to say.

"actually, i can't say it." rudy washes away his statement he was going to say.

"you sure? i'm here to listen." kayla asks hoping would say what he was thinking.

rudy takes in a breath like he's about to say something, but he closes it and waits for his thoughts to rearrange. he couldn't seem to form a sentence that wouldn't be awkward or weird.

"you okay?" kayla asks worriedly. she was always worried about her own feelings that she never really thought about rudy's.

without a warning, rudy slams his lips onto kayla's. his lips were soft again hers. she was waiting for this moment for a while and she finally accepted the fact she likes him.

her fingers intertwine in his blonde hair. rudy places his hands on her cheeks to deepen the kiss they shared.

kayla melted into the kiss until her thoughts were sent loose. she thought about what might happen if they called it official and how she would feel in the relationship. of course he would make her happy, but would she make him happy?

she pulls away from rudy, disconnecting the kiss. rudy thought it going well, but he questioned whether kayla thought the same. "i'm sorry."

"d-don't be." kayla looks away from rudy.

he watches her in confusion. she was kissing him back at first, what did he do wrong?