I was lying across the bed studying for finals when a knock came from my door. Expecting it to be Kyle, I swung the door open.
"Met your psycho broth... oh." My eyes went wide when standing in well fit jeans and a muscle forming t-shirt with his hair now slightly wet from a shower was Kyle's brother.
The corner of his mouth lifted for merely a second giving away his amusement of my outburst.
His lips pursed as if to say, please continue.
"Where's Kyle?" I asked not caring about formalities or introductions.
"Downstairs waiting for you. Something about not eating until you arrive."
"Something wrong with his legs?" I asked dryly.
He huffed a short laugh suppressing quickly his enjoyment.
"I'm just the messenger," he said, the deeper baritone notes drifting to caress my ear.
"Pha... right. Like you don't have enough of those running around here." I moved to close the door only to stop to swing it back open. "Oh, messenger boy," I called out to his retreating frame. He stopped without turning around. "Tell your boss I'll be down in a minute."
"I'm sure he could care less." He picked up his stroll again.
"Fine. Just start without me," I yelled while smiling.
"I've no doubt I will," he yelled back over his shoulder turning to disappear around the corner.
Oh, this was gonna be fun.
Quickly, I changed into a pair of clean jeans and slipped on a thin ribbed sweater.
Grabbing the monitor from the nightstand, I turned it on but there was no sound. Kyle must have left the transmitter off. Reaching his room, I knocked knowing he was already downstairs. Turning the knob, I pushed the door open and stepped timidly into the room.
The other night when I barged in, I really didn't have time to see what his room looked like. There was a king sized bed placed between two double French door windows that went all the way to the top of the ceiling that looked to lead out to a stone balcony. The furniture was dark but the bedding was a light grey with light blue geometric designs that were hardly noticeable. On the far left that separated his room from mine was a 'love me' wall lined with shelves that housed trophies, medals, certificates and more. My feet moved on their own as they walked over to the wall. I couldn't help but smile when seeing some older pictures of a toothless Kyle beaming as he held up a medal or palmed a trophy. It seemed in these pictures, life hadn't snuffed out his dreams yet. He was a boy full of aspirations of being greater than a hotel manager.
I wonder why all that changed.
Shaking my thoughts, I turned to scan the room for the transmitter. Next to Kyle's sleigh bed, there was an actual bassinet cradled on a stand. Sitting on the nightstand behind it was the transmitter. Walking over, I reached for the power button but my fingers froze when I saw a picture of a young girl in a frame sitting next to the lamp. Not thinking, I picked it up to study her.
Whoever she was, she was beautiful. She was wearing one of those school uniforms Kyle's brother was wearing only she had on a skirt and her blonde hair was neatly piled high on her head. Her neck looked even longer as her head was playfully tilted to the side as she smiled a dazzling smile. But what really stood out were her eyes. They were a deep sapphire blue full with life that made her breathtaking.
For some reason, she looked familiar. Who was she? Why was she granted permanent placement next to Kyle's bed?
Acid somehow reached my throat making it difficult to swallow. A wave of suspicion washed over my nervous system stirring a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. Hearing the door behind me open wider, I quickly replaced the picture and acted like I was reaching for the power button on the transmitter.
Turning, I acted surprised to see Kyle standing there. "Oh, hi. You forgot to turn on the transmitter." Giving a fake smile that didn't feel as well rehearsed as his mother's, I brushed pass him and moved to the hall not looking back to see if he was following.
Reaching the bottom stair, I turned to go left. Stopped before turning right. Two hands cupped my shoulders from behind as they steered me back to the left. Squirming out of Kyle's hold which only made my knees weaker, I stepped to the side and waited for him to move forward in order to lead the way.
Kyle didn't turn into the banquet room as last time. Instead, he led me farther down the hall and turned into a room that was just as extravagant, yet less grand in size with a smaller table that seemed to sit about six people.
Now this was a normal table. Not a normal room, but at least it was a little cozier than the banquet hall.
Maybe I thought too soon since the only person already sitting at the table enjoying a salad was Kyle's little brother.
Looking around, I searched the corners for mommy dearest to pop out with her condescending stare.
"Where are your parents?" I asked in a hushed tone.
"Out," he stated.
"Hmm. Works for me," I said unable to hide my pleasure. He cut his eyes toward me causing me to look away.
Hey, it wasn't my fault his mother was psycho.
Reaching the table, I pulled out a chair and sat down across from psycho brother. Kyle took the head of the table in place of his father, naturally.
A salad was already sitting on my plate. Picking up a fork, I stabbed at the tender leaves.
"Wrong utensil," his brother spoke as he pushed a bunch of leaves into his mouth, his smug smile shimmering with a trace of dressing on his lips as he shook the fork he was using.
My lip curled involuntarily as I stared at him.
"Use whatever fork you want," Kyle said before cutting his eyes to his brother silently demanding him to cool it.
"Tsk, tsk," his brother clicked while shaking his head disapprovingly.
"Ignore him," Kyle said not really looking at me as he, too, started to shovel salad into his mouth.
"You mean... it?" I asked emphasizing the word to replace his brother's name.
"Wow, nice comeback." The boy looked up with mock surprise. Looking over at his older brother, he continued, "Are you sure she's as smart as you say she is?"
My chin jerked back. Why would Kyle be telling his brother how smart I am?
"You wanna throw football later?" he asked his brother as Kyle merely shook his head yes after taking a sip of water from the crystal goblet. It was like I disappeared or something as the two continued to talk about sports and school. So I just kept my eyes to my plate and fed my face.
"So how did you get so unlucky to pair up with her?" his brother asked while thumbing in my direction without looking at me.
I honestly thought Kyle would defend me but he said nonchalantly, "A hat."
Blink. Blink.
That was it? A hat!
"That explains it. Public schools, man." He shook his head expressing his distaste.
"Pha..." I let out a huff without realizing it.
Both of them turned to look at me with a double crystal stare that had me shifting uncomfortably in my plush chair.
The younger one broke his stare first as he turned his attention back to his brother. "Are you going to homecoming with Lia?"
Kyle's eyes blinked in surprise at his brother's question before breaking his eye contact with me by looking back down at his plate.
The question had my ears perked as I continued eating.
"I haven't asked her," Kyle responded a little bitterly.
Was the girl in the picture this Lia they were talking about?
"I talked to her just before coming home. She said you two were going."
Kyle glanced at me for a second before returning his eyes back to his plate. "Like I said, I didn't ask her."
"Yet," his brother extended as he smiled at me.
"Max," Kyle bit. "Keep your nose out of it."
"Max?" I said out loud while blinking in surprise. "They named him Max?" I chuckled.
Max's eyes cut to me as his nostrils flared and his jaw muscles flexed.
"Oh, sorry," I said with a smug smile. I reached for the glass of water looking away to pretend interest in the room décor while suppressing a giggle.
"Maximillian," he corrected in a curt tone emphasizing the million in his name as if saying it raised the value of his worth somehow.
I chuckled. "Maxi," I said under my breath smiling to myself still looking around the room not seeing anything. My throat made a weird sound as I tried to stop myself from giggling. My eyes stopped on Kyle who was practically glaring at me to be quiet.
"How long is she staying?" Max pointed a butter knife toward me while addressing Kyle.
Kyle's eyes faltered a moment before answering. "Tonight's her last night," he said quietly as he moved his eyes back to his plate.
"Can she leave tonight?"
"Trust me." I started. "I would lo..."
"You two cut it out," Kyle snapped causing both his brother and I to blink in surprise.
Max and I exchanged a glance that seemed to show our willingness to call a truce... for the moment.