I updated a few minutes ago and it didn't work, so I deleted the chapter and reposted it. So hopefully this works.
23
Kylie's POV
Shit..
I couldn't breathe. There was an uncomfortable pressure in the center of my chest and my lungs had completely stopped functioning. Before I could even think, I was being squeezed tightly by Levi. His arms were around me so firmly that I'd never felt so trapped in someone's arm. I just wanted him to let me go.
Suddenly, Levi leaned in to kiss me and it all happened so quickly that I didn't have time to reject his kiss. His lips slammed into mine sloppily and I literally wanted to barf. In no way, shape or form did I want his lips on mine, especially not in front of Tyler. Completely oblivious to me trying to wiggle out of his grip, he hugged me again. About eight months ago, I would have loved this, but things had changed.
Why was he trying to act like I was the love of his life now? He still had no idea that I'd seen him and Adrienne, but how could he act so innocent? He knew the truth.
I was doing everything to get out of his grip but I wasn't strong enough. I looked back at Tyler as if he could help me, but it was completely useless. He just walked away, disgusted from the sight of his younger brother and I. Dammit.
Finally, after an overbearingly long embrace, he let me go and held me at arms length.
"Kylie I missed you so much," he lied. Oh you missed me huh?
I gave him as much of a smile as I could. The only reason I wasn't wringing his neck was because Ms. Tompkins was standing a few feet away and I didn't want to cause a scene. This was her house and I would respect her.
"What are you doing here?" I managed to ask. He wasn't supposed to be back for another week or so, right before school started again.
"I left early. I figured I'd already done so much there and I didn't want to be away from you guys any longer," he cooed.
Mhm. That was the reason.
I just nodded my head. How gullible did he think I was? I wasn't the easy-to-fool girl he'd dated a few months ago. I'd changed just like he had.
"So mom told me you went to visit your aunt or whatever?" He asked me, not really seeming to care. If it wasn't about him, it wasn't important. Not once did he call or text me after we'd visited to see how I was. I guess he was too 'occupied.'
"Yeah. I'm really tired," I cut to the chase in hopes of him letting me go.
"Oh okay," he looked kind of disappointed. "Well go get some rest, I'll finish catching up with you tomorrow," he said before kissing me on the cheek.
I almost threw up again. Yeah, we'd catch up alright.
I walked upstairs calmly, then snuck into Tyler's room. He was already shirtless and in pajama bottoms. The mere sight of his tight abdomen and strong biceps would drive any woman wild. It definitely had that affect on me.
I quietly shut the door behind me and made my way over to his bed. He seemed stressed and I knew he was probably upset, but he had to understand right?
As I got onto the mattress, he sat up. I could feel the tension suffocating us and I didn't like it at all.
I gave him a confused look. "What's wrong? I thought I was your good-sleep charm?" I joked, attempting to lighten the mood but he stayed quiet. He didn't laugh, chuckle, smile, smirk or even blink. I would be surprised if he was even breathing at that point.
Even from behind, I could see his jawline was tight. I touched his arm soothingly. "Tyler, really. What's going on?" I asked again. He couldn't be that mad over Levi coming back. "I'm going to break up with him as soon as I can. Your mom was right there."
His fierce heartbeat was his only response. His breathing became so heavy that I gradually became worried. This wouldn't be good. I could feel it.
"What happened between you two when we went to visit him?" He asked curiously. "You and Levi."
I looked at his room and observed the dark wall, reluctantly answering his question. "I saw him kissing this girl. Then I heard him say that he was the only guy I had so he couldn't break up with me," I answered truthfully. "And that I have daddy issues."
I watched as Tyler looked calm, just nodding.
"So that's when you came to my room?" He put the pieces together and I just nodded.
What he did next didn't surprise me at all. He smiled. I knew he was angry, but like always he'd hide how he really felt.
"You used me, the entire time, to make yourself forget about Levi and feel better," his voice was so calm and steady that it scared me.
"No. It was not for a second like tha--
"Do you even love me?" He cut me off.
The question had caught me off guard. I didn't know what to say. "What?" I asked him.
He just shook his head, obviously disappointed in my response. I just wasn't ready to put myself out there again with someone.
"Tyler , I care about you so, so muc--
You care about me?" He cut me off becoming more and more serious by the second. "Kylie you don't care about anyone but yourself. I'm literally walking around OBLIVIOUS to the real situation," he boomed and I shushed him cautiously.
"Dont shush me Kylie!" He exploded and I looked down in shame. He was even more mad than when we'd visited his dad in Oregon and I couldn't believe I was the one who'd caused it this time.
He took a moment to contain his anger before speaking again, lower this time. "Do you still love him," he asked through gritted teeth, looking directly in my eyes and at that moment I couldn't find any words. I was completely speechless.
"Tyler," I mumbled unbelievably.
"And to think, I thought I loved you?" He said it like it was a joke and my heart shattered.
"You can let yourself out," he demanded without looking at me. I could see the rage on his face and I knew he was done with me. I'd messed everything up by lying to him and I had no idea how I was going to fix it.
I looked at him once more, before picking myself up and leaving like he'd ordered.
::Tyler's POV::
I tossed and turned, having trouble falling asleep. It was about six in the morning and thick beads of sweat had outlined my forehead.
That was my first real fight with Kylie last night and though I hated it, I couldn't just forgive her. She'd completely used me and I would be an idiot to just let her think everything was okay between us. It wasn't. Our whole 'relationship' was fake. I thought she liked Levi and me, and that she would have to make a choice. Instead, I was really only her distraction, her backup plan since things fell through with Levi.
She didn't make it seem like she planned on breaking up with him when we argued. She said it, but I don't think she meant it. Was she that willing to work out her relationship with Levi? There wasn't even a relationship to save! Both of them had been cheating on each other for weeks! But who was I to keep them apart? They were meant for each other.
I tried ignoring it, but I couldn't. She would never love me the way she loved him. She'd even told me that it would always be Levi over me. I guess they both deserved each other after all.
I sat up and walked over to my dresser, grabbing my luggage. For now, I would do the only thing I could do. I would leave.
I threw clothes into the suitcase, slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe I was thinking irrationally, but I couldn't stay in this house. I couldn't stay under the same roof as the girl I loved and her boyfriend, who was my brother. I made it seem like I didn't love her anymore, but truthfully, I always would.
I grabbed a pen and notepad from my nightstand. I wasn't going to go into detail, but I at least would have the decency to tell my mom I would be okay. I wouldn't bother with the other two because let's face it, they didn't give a damn about me, especially Levi. He'd proven that more than once.
Next, I took my luggage downstairs and before anyone could wake up, I slipped out the front door.
::Kylie's POV::
I tossed and turned, having trouble falling asleep. It was about six fifteen in the morning and thick beads of sweat had outlined my forehead.
That was my first real fight with Tyler last night and I hated it. I'd messed everything up and I felt horrible about the whole situation. He was so good to me and I was so... stupid. I didn't deserve him at all, but I had to make things right with him. Even if he didn't take me back, I had to tell him how I really felt.
Pushing myself off the bed, I made my way to my door. I didn't know what I was going to say, but I prayed that I would find my words when I saw his face and those beautiful eyes.
Just as I was opening the door, someone stopped me in my tracks. It was Levi.
Great.
"Levi, what are you doing?" I asked him. He sighed before waltzing into my room without permission. Uh?
I moved my hand over my face impatiently before closing the door behind him. I didn't have time for whatever Levi wanted. The more time I spent away from Tyler without apologizing, the more time my guilt had to claw away at me.
Levi paced around the room. "I just feel like," he paused and thought. "I have something to tell you Kylie."
Yeah so did I.
He sat on my bed. "I did something over the summer," he confessed guiltily before looking down. "Something bad."
I just watched him as he struggled to admit information I already knew. "I had this summer fling with this girl, Monica." --
Woah woah woah. So he was playing multiple girls over the summer?
"You know what the funny thing is though, I saw you kissing Adrienne, while we visited the school." I said calmly and sat next to him. "I saw you two when we were visiting. I saw you two kiss and I heard everything you said about me, Levi. So now you mean to tell me you were with more than one girl over summer?"
"Well I wasn't sleeping with Adrienne," he mumbled.
"What?" I yelled.
He looked at me shocked, like he hadn't meant to say that part out loud. "Ky I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't even sleep because I knew I messed up. Please forgive me. Just one more chance Kylie."
"Forgive you?" I asked him. "How many times Levi? How many times do you expect me to forgive you before I give up on us? I'm done trying with you."
"Kylie," he pleaded in a mere whisper. Surely, he didn't expect me to just forgive him that easily. I knew I wasn't a perfect angel because I'd cheated on Levi too, but I hadn't slept with Tyler until after I saw Levi with Adrienne. The signs were evident in the beginning of our relationship that he was a cheater. He would always have girls lined up and he wasn't strong enough to reject every single one of them. I didn't blame him for anything, I just knew we weren't meant for each other anymore. I didn't want him.
"I'm sorry but I've moved on. We're over Levi," I said before getting up and heading to the door.
I wasn't going to yell or scream at him because I'd been cheating on him as well, but for him to say those things about me? That was the part I couldn't accept. I'd never said a single bad thing about him. He never cared and I wasn't going to try and force a real relationship out of him. I just wasn't.
Before I could even reach the doorknob, my door flew open. Ms. Tompkins held a piece of paper in her hands while tears slipped down her high cheeks.
"Oh my god. What's wrong?" I asked her.
She just shook her head and handed me the note.
My eyes skimmed over the words briefly, letting them soak in.
'Dear mom, I think it's time I leave again. I'll call you to make sure I'm okay when I land, Ty."
Tyler was leaving.
My chest tightened as I thought of potentially not seeing him again for a while. Levi mentioned his brother often leaving when times got rough or when things didn't go his way. Even as a teen, he would run away from home for days. Now that he was nineteen, he could be gone for months.
"Well we have to go get him and bring him back," I told her before reaching over and getting my keys and sweatshirt. I had on pajama shorts, but I didn't care about my appearance. I just wanted to get to Tyler before he did something irrational. He was so unpredictable.
"How do we know where he's going?" Ms. Tompkins asked.
"Well he wrote in the note that when he lands, he'll call you to make sure he's okay, so obviously he's catching a plane. I think if we go to the airport and tell one of the workers our situation, they'll be willing to tell us what flight he's getting on," I spoke.
We were just about to walk out the door when Levi finally spoke.
"You're going after him?" He asked, shocked .
My head snapped towards him. "Yeah and you should come to, he's your brother," I tried convincing but he wouldn't get up. "Suit yourself."
Ms. Tompkins and I rushed downstairs and to my car. In a flash, we were on the highway, heading to the airport. Though we didn't live longer than a good fifteen minutes away, it took us about thirty five to get there. It was early in the morning and many people were trying to make it to work.
Finally, we made it into the airports' drive and many people were jumping out of their cars, grabbing their luggage from their trunks.
"What are we going to do about the car?" I asked. We didn't have time to drive all the way to the parking garage, especially since we didn't know what time his plane took off.
"You go ahead," Ms. Tompkins ordered. "I'll park the car." And with that, I was out of the car in a few seconds.
I quickly made my way to the front desk. The lady was typing on her computer until she saw me.
"Hi," she greeted. "May I help you?"
"Yes. I was wondering if you could enter a name into your system and see what flight they were getting on?" I asked politely.
"Oh, we're only supposed to do that in case of emergencies," she informed me. "Sorry."
I thought quick on my feet. "Well you see, this is an emergency. My grandfather suffers from alheimers, and we fear that he may be flying out to where he grew up," I stated and I could tell I had her intrigued. "Problem is, he was from a military family. They moved around at least a dozen times so we have no idea where to look and he is really ill," I lied and lied and lied.
"Oh my goodness!" She sympathized and typed what seemed to be a code onto the computer. "What's his name?"
"Tyler Alvaro. That's A-L-V-A-R-O," I spoke.
He should be in Terminal South, Gate 27. His flight to San Diego ends boarding in about ten minutes," she gave me everything I needed to know willingly. "Wait, here it says he's nineteen," she stated.
"Thanks!" I yelled before taking off. I'd nearly skipped the entire line for security and I still only had six minutes left. I didn't know how I was going to make it, but I hoped to god that I would.
I was getting off the train that led to Terminal South when I saw another clock. I had three minutes.
I ran and ran, passing each gate, until a security guard yelled out, "HEY! What do you think you're doing? Stop running!"
I just kept running and I guess he was too lazy to follow me.
Gate 18.. Gate 19... Gate 20..
For it to be the early hours of the morning, many people filled the airport, blocking my way. I guess a lot of travelers were returning home from their summer vacations.
Gate 23... Gate 24.. Gate 25... All I could think about was Tyler. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to not know the next time I'd see him.
I looked to the right and finally saw gate 27, but it was clear. The worker had just sealed the door shut.
"No no no," I said running up to her.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but boarding is over," she replied politely before returning to her desk.
I was too late.