FREYA
It had been three days since the meal. The meal where Kaleb had pretended to be my boyfriend in front of my old friend Ty. Kaleb claimed it was because he was 'saving me', but I couldn't help but wonder if it was more than that.
I was hurt by what he had said regarding our kiss, but at the end of the day, it was a drunken make out session, and I knew I had been reading into it too much. Kaleb couldn't see us being anything more than friends, and when I took a step back and looked at reality, neither could I. He wasn't going to be sticking around here forever, and our mothers were best friends.
Did that mean that I wasn't disappointed? No. I was drawn to Kaleb. I enjoyed being around him and there was something about him that made me feel warm inside. I wasn't sure what took over me whenever he was nearby, but whatever it was, I needed to get over it fast.
I had a feeling that my mom had also been avoiding me. I wanted to talk to her regarding dad's disappearance and the fact that I couldn't find his company online, but she had been leaving for work early and getting back late, claiming that she was in the middle of a project and had deadlines to meet.
I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the police didn't seem to care about my father's disappearance. It was as if it was some kind of inconvenience to them and his 'case' had been chucked into a pile with others to rot away in a dark room where no one ventured.
"Teachers are staring to ask me if I know where Zach is," muttered Hannah, turning to me with a cocked brow. I had told her briefly what had gone on between Zach and I, but I had utterly dulled down the intensity of the situation, leaving the part out where he had practically sexually assaulted me and Kaleb had beaten the shit out of him.
"I guess he just needs some time to himself after what happened between us," I responded, glancing over at Josh who flung his arm over Hannah, pecking at her cheek. The two of them looked pretty loved up, but I still didn't trust Josh. He was a player and I had a feeling that in a few weeks, he would move onto another girl, breaking my best friend's heart. I was preparing myself with the chocolate and wine.
"He took it that bad, huh?" Josh questioned as he leaned up against the college lockers, and I shrugged, biting on my fingernails. I really didn't want to speak about Zach. I was just glad he wasn't here.
"I really need to get going, but I'll see you both tomorrow," I responded, rushing out of the college building, glancing up at the sky, thankful that it wasn't raining. It had been all week, and since my car still wasn't running, I had been having to walk to and from college- resulting in me getting drenched.
I needed to invest in an umbrella.
Once I got home, I narrowed my eyes at the camera that pointed straight at me as I unlocked the front door, shaking my head at it. Was Kaleb sitting inside just watching them? It was unnerving, but I understood why we had them installed. I just liked the idea of privacy.
Pushing the door open, my eyes widened to see my mom, and I dropped my stuff in relief. It didn't look like anybody else was around, and this was the perfect opportunity to talk to her about dad. "Mom, can we please talk? You've been so busy recently."
My mom paled, nodding after a few seconds and settling down at the dining room table, lacing her fingers together. "I'm sorry. I've been swamped at work."
It was a lie- I knew it was. My mother had never been the confrontational type. She preferred to push things to the back of her mind and leave them for a later time, and then things would come crashing down on her all at once and she would spiral. I was used to her awful coping strategy.
"So tell me what has happened again? You reported dad going missing to the police, and they didn't say much?"
My mom shook her head. "They said to get in contact with them again if he's still missing by next week. I'm not sure what the next step is after that. They might want to interview some of us, but overall, they didn't seem too concerned."
I huffed, running a hand down my face. "You and him just divorced, and he was obviously hiding a shit tone of debt from us. How is that not concerning in the slightest?"
"I really don't know," my mom responded, sighing. "Tell me what you found out about his company again please."
Taking my phone out, I searched up the website Kaleb had showed me, typing in my father's company. There were still no results. "His company isn't registered, Mom."
She hummed, swiping up and down my phone and pushing her glasses higher up onto her nose, squinting at my screen. Passing it back to me, she leaned back, her eyes becoming teary. "I'm at a loss on what to do. I'm guessing if his company isn't registered, then there isn't a way we can get in contact with any of his colleagues?"
I shook my head. "Mom, I'm worried." I gulped, the thought racing into my head and causing my insides to tighten. It had been invading my thoughts the past few days, and it terrified me. "What if he's..."
"No, Freya," muttered my mom, shaking her head and moving around the table to take my hand. "Your father wouldn't do that to us. We may have had issues, but he would never take his own life like that."
I breathed in a shaky breath. My dad had never seemed down or depressed, but then again, I hadn't spent too much time with over the past years. He was hiding a lot. Still, he just didn't seem like the type of person to consider suicide. He was a very straightforward person who said it how it was. He loved his vacations and enjoyed the finer things in life. I didn't see it as an option for him.
My mom and I both jumped as Kaleb burst through the door, followed by Brent, their guns hanging limply by their waists. Brent's lips turned downwards, realising they had interrupted a moment between my mother and I.
"Oh, um, sorry," he muttered, nodding to Kaleb as a quick goodbye and excusing himself, offering me a small smile before he hopped into his car and drove out of sight.
Kaleb didn't say anything, his eyes raking over me before he made his way up the stairs and into his room, causing me to stiffen. He was dressed in a tight black work-out top and dark jeans, his combat boots pounding against the floor as he marched. His hair was tousled, and his grey eyes were as piercing as ever. Even just the sight of him caused my heart to nearly burst.
"He didn't look very happy," my mom said, cocking her head at me and humming, moving away and heading into the kitchen.
Our conversation was over then. Classic mom.
She was right though. Kaleb didn't look happy. Him and Brent had been hanging out the past couple of days and I hadn't seen much of him. I would overhear him telling Jackie that he was heading out to the shooting range, and he would then be gone for the entire day. He really loved shooting. He never took a day off from it.
Grabbing my backpack, taking out my most recent sketch- ready to fix the atrocity- I began walking up the stairs, leaping out of my skin when Kaleb flung his door open. He stared at me, and I froze, gulping.
Say hi. It's what friends do. Remain neutral.
"Hello, Kaleb," I said formally, my inner monologue cursing at myself for sounding as if I was from the 1800's.
Kaleb chuckled, clearly amused by how flustered I was, and the corner of his lip twitched upwards. He eyed up my sketch pad, holding his hand out to me, obviously wanting to take a look.
I widened my eyes, shaking my head. "No, don't look. I need to start again. It's crap."
"Just show me the damn sketch pad, Freya." Kaleb sighed, and I eventually gave in, slowly handing it to him and focusing my gaze on the carpet beneath my feet. Very fluffy. Needs hoovering though.
"This is good," Kaleb muttered, cocking his head and humming, offering the pad back to me. "Maybe your waiter friend was right, your work might be hanging in the Louvre one day."
I rolled my eyes at the mention of Ty. He was fishing, wanting to hear if I had anything to say about him.
"No, he hasn't texted me if that was what you were implying," I laughed, my mouth suddenly snapping shut, realising how flirtatious I sounded.
Kaleb crossed his arms over his chest, nodding slowly. "I wasn't implying anything. Just simply making a comment."
"Okay," I muttered in response, desperate to change the subject. "How come you looked in a bad mood when you came in?"
Kaleb groaned, running his hand through his hair. "Tough day working," he said, leaning against the doorframe, his biceps bulging, making it extremely difficult to focus anywhere else.
I furrowed my brows. "Working? I thought you went shooting."
Kaleb didn't speak for a second, but he quickly nodded at me, seeming casual. "Yeah, shooting is working to me. It's practise. I can't let my skill level drop over Christmas break."
"Oh right, yeah," I mumbled, clearing my throat. Why was I so in his business?
"Anymore on your dad?" Kaleb questioned, peeking down the landing to take a look at my mother who was watching the TV with intent focus, seeming to have no idea we were up here blabbering.
"Mom reported him missing to the police," I told him.
"And...?" Kaleb pressed, raising his thick brows.
I sighed. "They don't seem interested. They don't believe it's out of character for him, so they want us to give it a bit more time."
Kaleb cocked his head, running his tongue along the front of his teeth, appearing a little taken aback. "That's kind of unusual. It's not the procedure usually followed."
That was interesting to know.
"I'm home!" announced Jackie as she rushed into the house, pushing her long hair away from her face, puffing as she dropped the many bags of groceries onto the floor. It caused Kaleb's eyes to widen, and he quickly made his way downstairs to help her carry them to the kitchen.
"How was your day?" I asked, following after them, placing my backpack and sketch pad down on the table, helping them unload the shopping.
Jackie shrugged. "Besides a boss who won't get off my back now that I've got my promotion? Great. Hey, you finally got your car fixed, Freya, that's great."
I furrowed my brows at her, Kaleb faltering for a second as he dug deep into the shopping bag for a sack of potatoes. "I-I didn't..." I muttered, confused.
Jackie glanced at me. "Well, it was parked up on the road instead of on the driveaway, so it had been moved. I assumed you had fixed it?" Jackie had finished un-loading her bag, and she yanked off her work heels and groaned with relief, laughing as she sauntered out of the kitchen and settled down on the couch by my mother, beginning to chat.
I continued to stand by the sink, my brows knitted together as I bit down on my lower lip, taking in what Jackie had just told me. I hadn't even noticed it had been moved when I came in the house earlier.
"Here," mumbled Kaleb as he threw a set of keys at me after taking them from his pocket, and I caught them with a small yelp, glancing at them to see my pink heart keychain staring back at me. My keys.
"You... fixed my car?" I asked in disbelief, causing Kaleb to shrug like it was no big deal, packing away the pasta in the cupboard.
"Don't mention it."
"But why?" I asked, squeezing my keys between my hands. That must have cost him loads. Or had he done it himself? The thought of Kaleb all sweaty and covered in car grease made me gulp.
I didn't have the money to pay him back right now. I was desperately in need of a job after quitting my last one right before my father left for his work trip. I hadn't had time to think about applying for anything since.
"You were walking to college, and you kept getting wet," Kaleb responded, tucking the now empty shopping bags away in a drawer.
I smiled. "An umbrella would have sufficed."
Kaleb made his way to me, smirking. "I'm not really the bare minimum kind of guy," he chuckled, stepping past me into the doorway before leaning closer to me, his lips dangerously close to my ear. "Plus, I only like my women one type of wet."
He then left, and I was stood frozen in the kitchen with white knuckles and my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to fall out of my ass.
•••
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