Kaylee's POV
It was close. Almost too close.
My heart was pounding as I ran the last block of the way home. I was just lucky enough that I left fast enough that he didn't get a chance to ask any questions.
So close.
I could feel my lungs collapsing as I lunged up the porch stairs to my house and fumbled with the door, trying to unlock it. Finally the door unlocked and I shoved it open.
I turned away from the door slowly, expecting to find Ayden waiting for me, but instead he seemed distracted by the show he was watching on the television. I walked slowly over, wondering what he was so caught up in.
As I walked closer I could see him lounged on my couch, his long legs spread across the couch with his feet resting on top of the armchair. A bowl of popcorn rested on his lap as he chewed away, eyes glue to the screen. He didn't even acknowledge me when I was in his view.
I could see he was watching football now. It was Friday Football anyways.
"Where were you last night?" he finally asked, glancing up at me for a second before deciding I wasn't worth his time and returning his attention back to the game.
I didn't answer.
"Fine." he said. I didn't know how long I stood there until he asked me another question.
"Don't you have therapy in twenty minutes?" I glanced quickly at the clock into the corner of the room. I nodded, not questioning how he knew that.
"I expect you back in two hours." he said simply. "Do you have a watch?" I shook my head, and was about to pull out my phone to show him I could just check the time there, but instead he pulled the watch he was wearing off his wrist and threw it at me.
I barely caught it before it fell to the ground. It looked expensive, too. I glanced at Ayden, wondering where he got it from and he replied, smirking.
"Stole it," he grinned, reading my mind. "Poor guy didn't even notice it was missing."
I nodded slowly, feeling even more uncomfortable, and made my way back over to the front door. But before I could make it out the door, he called over the loud cheering of the fans from the TV and repeated, "Two hours." He held up two of his fingers and I opened the door and walked out.
My heart walked faster than my feet as I made my way over to the therapy building. It was only supposed to be a ten minutes walk, but today seemed to take longer than it usually did. And I found myself constantly staring at the watch. The watch he handed me was strange. It wasn't the regular kinds that just read the time, instead it was like a timer, counting down from 120. Two hours.
To be honest, I wasn't even sure how I made it through the front door of the building without knowing it and down the hallway.
I was just outside the door when I heard the conversation drifting out.
"Tell me, Will, honestly, how have you been?"
"Fine." he answered coolly. There was no emotion in his voice.
"How am I supposed to do my job if you won't even talk to me?" I could hear Dr. Joseph sighing in frustration.
There was silence on Will's side.
Then there was a sound of a clearing throat and then, "Today's appointment is over. Don't forget to take your meds, though."
The sound of a chair was pushed back and I started to back up against the wall behind me so that I wouldn't be in his way when he got out, but he was faster, and a second later, the door swung open and we were face to face.
He opened his mouth, and I turned my cheek so that the bruise I had forgotten to cover up was not facing him, hoping that he'd forgotten what had happened just a few hours ago. And then maybe deciding better, he closed his mouth and his arm brushed against mine as he left. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed that he didn't ask.
"Kaylee?" Dr. Joseph's voice rang out from inside the room. I almost didn't even hear him because I was concentrated on watching Will's retreating back.
I stepped in and closed the door finally when he disappeared out of the building.
Dr. Joseph was shuffling some papers on his desk when I walked in. He set them down though when I sat down.
He seemed tired for some reason today. Older too, maybe for the same reason. I wondered if Will had anything to do with it.
Shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose, he began the day off with, "Why don't you start off with why you couldn't come last week?" Then he paused and seemed to rethink his question. He seemed to be trying hard not to stare at the large lumpy bruise on one side of my face. I could feel the awkward tension in the room today.
I was about to respond when I realized I didn't have anything with me that I could write on. But seeming to read my mind, Dr. Joseph pulled out some Post-It notes and pushed them towards me along with the pen.
I tried to think up a lie or something that was good enough to pass off as an excuse as I set the pen's ink tip down on the note. But the only thing I came up with was: I was sick.
I looked up just in time to see Dr. Joseph nodding his head. "That's what your friend Chance came in saying, too, as well, last week, I believe." I sighed in relief, silently thanking Chance and the gods above that we both gave the same answer.
The rest of the appointment went by unbelievably slow with me just answering blindly one question after the other. I didn't know how long that went on or whether Dr. Joseph and I were even paying attention to anything. Until he asked me the question I had been dreading since the moment I stepped through the door.
"Kaylee, would you like to explain where you got that bruise--" I was beginning to panic when the closed door burst open just at the moment and Louis came barreling in. He took us both by surprise and I think we both jumped in our chairs.
"Kaylee, I thought I told you that if he touched you I would-" He bent down close to me and turned my face gently as to not hurt me. "Damn it," he cursed. "I am going to kill that b-" Dr. Joseph cleared his throat. And maybe noticing him there for the first time since he came in here, Louis stuck out his hand and said surprisingly, "I"m Louis," and shook Dr. Joseph's stunned hand. Louis then looked back at me once before leaving, saying, "This isn't over yet. I'm going to wait outside." The door slammed shut behind him. I could feel my face turn red as I turned my attention back to Dr. Joseph.
He was quiet for a moment, thinking, and then he spoke up. "I suppose you have something important to discuss between the two of you. So how about we cut this appointment short today?" I could feel relief flood into me. After saying a quick goodbye, I quickly walked out of the room and into the hallway, where Louis was leaning against the wall waiting for me. He seemed be occupied with his phone though. He was still grinning down at it when I saw him, but he put it away quickly when I walked over. Was it Will he was texting?
"Hi," he said, seeming calmer than a minute ago. I leaned against the wall beside him and nodded to acknowledge him. A second passed before he asked, sighing as he did so, "Did he hurt you?" I turned slightly at his words, and he added, "Besides you-know-what..." he trailed off, waving at the purple bruise.
I shook my head. He sighed again.
It was quiet again before he asked, "Do you want to come over and get a drink or something before going back to that bastard?" he laughed dryly.
I started shaking my head, saying no, because the watch in my hand was still counting down, and I had maybe thirty minutes left. And it would probably take me the whole time to walk back since I was so out of it today.
But Louis didn't give me a chance to fully respond. "That's it," he announced, peeling himself off the wall and grabbing my arm, pulling me through the front doors of the building. "You don't have a choice."
The whole walk to his house was silent, except the fact that every now and then his phone would chime with a Ping! of a new text and he would pull it out and grin like a weirdo and type back a quick response before putting the phone back in his pocket. Finally, when he burst out laughing and slapped his hand over his mouth to stop, I couldn't restrain my curiosity and leaned over his phone as well, peeking over to see what he was laughing at.
And of course, I should have guessed whose comment he was laughing at.
It was Chance's.
They were discussing their singing abilities and talents, and apparently Chance was referring himself to a "singing squirrel."
I bit back a laugh as we reached his house and he pulled out a key out of his pocket to open the door.
The door opened with a soft click and the warm smell of something burning hit me in the face. Louis must have caught my confused panicking look because he laughed and said, "Chance was over last night and we were trying to come up with a new recipe for the December Christmas Special for the café. And he kind of burned everything," Louis chuckled to himself. "Remind me to keep the fire extinguisher close by whenever he tries baking again."
I nodded. Chance couldn't even microwave something without setting the the whole house on fire, let alone bake something in an oven.
"Do you want to drink something? I'll boil some tea..." he said, more to himself than me. He seemed to be thinking hard about something. I glanced at the watch again. Twenty minutes left.
I started to shake my head, but a few seconds later he set a hot cup of tea in front of me. Instinctively, my hands wrapped around the steaming cup, and the heat immediately burned into my skin, warming me up. The smell of honey drifted through the air from the cup and I smiled to myself. Lemon was one of my favorite kinds of tea. Even though the liquid was still scorching hot, I forced myself to swallow. I didn't want to know what happened if I was back home late. The feeling of his hand colliding with my face went through my mind again and I winced.
Louis tried to make small talk but I found myself too concentrated on the watch that kept ticking down to hear it. Until he mentioned Chance's name for the second time today. I looked up immediately.
Louis stared at me and then said, catching me off guard, "I really like him, Kaylee."
It took a moment for me to register what he meant and once realization settled over me, I couldn't help but smile. Chance kind of had that effect on people. Never in my life had I met anyone who didn't get caught up in his bubbling enthusiasm and humor the second they met him. And besides, he was sweet and cute. No wonder Louis fell for him so quickly.
Louis went on. "He makes me laugh and he's so sweet. I mean, for God's sake, he almost burned down my whole kitchen, but I think I would've gladly let him do that if it meant I got to spend the rest of my life with him." He looked up at me quickly before blushing, lowering his head, and continuing on. "He has the most damn beautiful face and smile and laugh and I know that I don't deserve him in any way, and that damn smirk he wears on his face, Jesus," he laughed, "I don't know what I would do without him." Just when I was about to wonder what this was leading to, the ticking number five on the watch caught my eye. Five minutes. Louis' eyes caught mine as he spoke the next few words. "He makes me happy, Kaylee. Really happy. And I just want you to promise me that-" The number four sent me over the edge and before he could finish, I jumped out of my chair and knocked over the chair. Louis's eyes widened, confused, as I mumbled a 'sorry' and burst out of his house, barreling myself down the street, towards my house.
I felt bad for leaving like that, but I knew I would feel worse if I found Ayden waiting for me back at home with whatever he had in mind. I made a mental note to myself to remind myself to ask Louis what he wanted me to promise later on.
Halfway down the second block, my feet started aching, and the boots I were wearing seemed to weigh ten times more than it usually did. So without thinking, I slipped them off my feet and ran the rest of the way with only socks on.
The wet snow permeated through my socks as I made my way down the third block. And even though it burned and left me shivering, and I felt myself gritting my teeth, I pushed through block after block, street after street. One minute left.
I didn't think I could make it. There was still one more block to run. And less than a minute to run it. My lungs were on fire by the time I reached the end of the next street. My feet were numb underneath my body and to be honest, I was moving so slowly that I wasn't even sure I was moving anyway. Every thudded step seemed to shoot pain up my body, too. Short, heavy breaths were escaping my throat by the time I reached my street. I could see the tip of the blue roof my dad had painted before he left unannounced.
I had five seconds now. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe Ayden didn't even care if I was back late. Four. I couldn't help wondering what Louis was going to ask of me. Three. My hair whipped in my face as I bounded up the steps of my porch. Two. Where were my damn keys? One. I slammed my body against the door and it finally budged open. The watch was empty of numbers now.
Almost immediately after I opened the door, Ayden's figure by the door caught my eye.
"You're late," he said simply.
I opened my mouth to protest, but no words came to my rescue. In two long quick strides, he reached my probably messed up, freezing body, and gripped my arm tightly, pulling me along behind him. I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but that only made him secure his grip around my arm tighter.
When my bathroom came into view, he pushed me inside it. My lungs were still burning when I realized what he was doing. But by then, it was already too late. I whipped around and pulled at the doorknob, but I could hear Ayden putting the key away. And although there was a way to lock the bathroom from the inside, the lock itself was damaged. Ayden probably had done the damage when I was out.
I slammed my body against the door, but I knew it wouldn't do me any good. Slowly, feeling defeated, I let myself slide from the door down to the floor. I had no energy left in me to fight. My wet toes were frozen and numb and even though I still had the winter coat I was wearing from before, I felt exhausted and cold. And most of all, I just felt... numb.
~A/N: Well I don't feel bad at all lol that I didn't update for like almost two months. Sorry guys xx Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed that. And what do you think Louis wanted Kaylee to promise him? Don't forget to COMMENT, VOTE, AND FOLLOW :)
Forever_Yours_Too