a few days later, i was getting analeia dressed when alex came in and gave me a kiss.
"good morning, beautiful." he said, walking into my room.
"good morning." i said, kissing him.
i didn't know if i wanted to tell alex about me and justin because this was a relationship i was really looking forward to being in. something about alex was different. i didn't want to mess it up.
"go eat. i'll watch her." alex told me. i nodded, closed the door to my room and went downstairs, only to see lanie and matt setting up the table.
"what's... what's this?" i asked.
"justin is having his home visit today and we were hoping that we could have analeia for the day." lanie said, smiling.
"yeah, of course. right now she's with alex, but... damn, i forgot. i, uh, i can't be here when they do that because i am considered a runaway and i don't want you guys in trouble." i told them.
"okay, sweetie. that's fine. just clean up your room and head out to school." lanie told me. i nodded and walked away. when i did, i saw clay.
"they are particularly high strung today." clay said to me.
"yeah, because i need to make it seem like i don't live here." i replied.
"why?" he asked.
"because i ran away from my legal guardian's house when i was 13." i said to him.
"wait, i thought you told tony that they kicked you out." clay said to me, confused.
"i told him that so he wouldn't ask questions and i wouldn't have to talk about it. but i ran away and they've never come looking for me, but they filed a report when i was 15 but i ignored it because i started living with jeff." i admitted. "then i started living with you guys."
"well, does justin know about this?" clay whispered. "does alex?"
"guys, bryce was shot." justin said, coming down the stairs.
"what?" clay and i said at the same time.
"yeah. the evergreen county register reported it this morning." justin said, handing clay his phone.
"shot... with a gun." clay read.
"i know. it's fucked up, right?" justin asked.
"okay, neither of you say anything to them yet." clay told us.
"we won't." justin said, looking at me.
"i just have to, uh... make a call real quick." clay said, walking out.
"are you going to school?" justin asked me.
"yes, justin. you know my situation, you know i can't be here." i explained.
"are you fucking kidding me? you should at least want to support me." justin said to me.
"i do, justin. but i'm considered a runaway. so if i stay here, i'm putting lanie and matt in danger." i said to him.
"in danger of what?" he scoffed.
"getting arrested. once again, i am considered a runaway and they've let me live here for the past two years." i replied. "i can't believe how insensitive you're being right now."
"i'm being insensitive? this is the one fucking time that i need you and you're leaving to go to school." he said in a rude manner.
"i wanna graduate and go to college for our daughter, so excuse me, justin." i said to him.
then he asked me something i never thought would come out of his mouth.
"is she even mine?" he asked me.
"excuse me?" i asked.
"you heard exactly what i said. is she even mine?" he asked again. "because lately, when i've been looking at her, i don't see a single facial feature of mine." he told me with tears in his eyes.
"i have to go to school." i said to him, walking away from him. i went upstairs and opened my door.
"come on, alex. we're leaving." i told him. he handed me my daughter and we went downstairs. i handed the baby to lanie.
"will we see you for dinner?" matt asked.
"i, uh, i don't know." i replied. "but if you don't, i'll let you know so that i can pick her up. but have to get going. i'll see you guys later." i said, hugging both of them.
when alex and i left, i let out all of my frustration tears. he pulled over.
"what happened? are you okay?" he asked me.
"i haven't been spending enough time with my daughter." i replied. "i'm not going to be a good mom. no better than mine." i told him, continuing to cry.
"hey, look at me. you are nothing like her. you are so much better than her. you're sweet and kind, you're gentle and loving, and analeia is so lucky to have that." he said to me, holding my cheek.
"i love you." i said to him, kissing him. "let's go before we're late." i said to him.
we drove to the school and alex and i said our goodbyes, walking into school. i saw tony.
"hey." i said to tony, walking up next to him.
"you okay?" tony asked.
"yeah, long story. i'll explain later." i replied.
"where's clay?" tony asked me.
"he's still with the social worker." i replied. that's when ani walked up to us.
"what's going on?" ani asked.
"tyler came up to me last night and said he had a gun that he needed to get rid of." tony replied.
"and this morning, we find out..."
"bryce?" ani asked.
"yeah." tony and i replied.
"you don't think he would-- but he's been doing so well." ani said to us.
"at least we thought so." tony said.
"i just don't believe it. not tyler. i mean, what reason would he have?" ani asked.
"did he have a reason last time?" i asked. then we saw him pull a paper bag out of his locker.
"what the fuck?" i asked.
"i got this." tony said, beginning to walk up to him until dr. singh called him out.
"mr. padilla! welcome back! we haven't seen you in a long time. care to join me in my office and explain why?" she asked. he began to walk away with her.
"don't let him out of your sight." he told ani.
"i have to go, but if i need you, i'll text you." ani told me. i nodded and walked away. when i walked into my homeroom, i sat down and immediately got a text from justin.
from: justin
we still have to talk about our conversation later. don't think i just fucking forgot.
to: justin
no, i'm not talking about it right now. i'm in class.
from: justin
we're talking about it when the fucking social worker is gone.
alex came and sat down next to me.
"hey." he said to me, smiling.
"hey." i replied.
"you hear about--"
"yeah, i did. everyone thinks it's tyler now. that he had something to do with it." i told him.
"why would you even say that?" alex asked me.
"it's not me saying it. both clay and tony think he might've done it." i told him.
"i don't wanna hear this." alex told me, continuing to do his work.
"it's not that hard to believe." i said to him.
"you guys aren't going to pin this on him. tyler's my friend. he's in a good place right now. you'd know that if you did any job at all with him last summer." alex told me.
"jesus, keep your voice down." i whispered.
"well don't accuse him of shit." he said to me.
"alex." i told him.
"we can talk later, kylie." he said to me.
"no, alex, look." i told him, as i saw tyler begin to pull something out of his bag. we were relieved once we saw that it was just a protractor. we let out a sigh of relief and the bell rang.
"i'll see you later." alex said, kissing me. he walked off.
my phone went off when i got up.
from: clay
i know you and justin aren't on good terms at this very unfortunate moment, but meet us in the library.
i grabbed my things and i walked to the library and saw them sitting at a table. i walked up to them and hesitantly sat next to justin.
"anyways, say he does have it and we get it from him, what then? do we turn him in?" justin asked.
"first we make sure he doesn't hurt himself or anyone else, and then...we'll figure it out." clay replied.
"do you think he could do that? do you think you should?" i asked.
"well, let's just pray it's a non-issue." ani replied.
"okay, but how can we know for sure?" justin asked.
"yeah. how can we know?" zach asked, hopping over to us and sitting down. justin looked at me and then at zach. "and, um... why aren't we calling the police?"
we all looked at justin.
"seriously, justin? you told him?" i asked.
"he's, like, part of this." justin said to me, not looking at me.
"hey, kylie, nice to see you, too." zach said to me.
"he's been pretty clear that he doesn't wanna be part of it." clay said to him.
"guys. we should call the cops." zach told all of us.
"you really think that?" clay asked. "or is this just your chance to do what you wanted to do all along?"
"look, forget about spring fling. forget about everything, okay? somebody shot bryce. tyler has a gun!" he quietly exclaimed.
"look, i know. but... tyler didn't have any reason to kill bryce, did he?" clay asked.
"actually, he did. i'll admit, i wasn't the nicest to him after everything, and i told him that bryce saw what went down at spring fling. after that, he got a little bit freaked out." zach said to us.
"why would you tell him that?" clay asked.
"because he was... i don't know why." zach admitted. the bell rang and clay got up to follow tyler.
"no cops." he told him, before walking out. i got up and began walking away, when zach walked up to me.
"what the fuck is justin pissed at me for?" he asked.
"he doesn't think the baby is his." i replied.
"who does he think she belongs to?" he asked.
"you." i replied.
"we went over this when you were pregnant." zach said to me.
"i know, but... he's kind of right. about her not belonging to him." i said, holding back tears. "but he's wrong about who her father is."
"but... we were together when you got pregnant." zach said to me.
"the night in february, remember when we got into that really bad fight and i didn't come back to your house that night because i told you i went home?" i asked him. he nodded hesitantly. "well, i didn't really go home. i, uh, i cheated on you and i slept with... monty." i struggled to get out.
"so it's not justin's kid, it's not my kid, but monty's? god, just... stay the hell away from me." zach told me, hopping away.
i wiped away the little tears i had and went to the h.o. meeting i had to go to. i was zoned out until casey spoke to me.
"i'm glad he's dead. i mean, aren't you?" casey asked me.
"i mean, it's complicated." i replied.
"well, i think whoever shot him did the world a favor. the only question now is: how do we make sure they don't turn him into a martyr?" she asked the club.
"i don't know. i don't know what to think." i responded.
"well, look. just because he's dead doesn't mean we can't still make him hurt. so, we should protest bryce's funeral this weekend." casey suggested. "it's genius, right?"
"i don't know, you guys. i mean, bolan is already on me about homecoming. i don't think it's the right time to start--"
"it's the perfect time." casey interrupted. "homecoming was just the start. we have to go big or go home, kylie." i looked around at everyone.
"and you all feel this way?" i asked, many of them agreeing.
"i don't." tyler spoke up. casey slowly turned around and we were all facing tyler. "sorry, but is dancing on someone's grave really the way to show we're the bigger people here?" he asked.
"i'm sorry, did you just tell the only actual sexual assault victims in the room how we should be running our club?" casey asked, rudely.
"no, i was just--"
"good. because, you know, allies are welcome and all, but be a fucking ally." she said, turning around to face me. "alright, so it's gonna be at that church on first street. i think i have a list of people who can carpool." she continued.
i looked down after that, but noticed that tyler got very uncomfortable after she snapped at him.
"okay, meeting adjourned." i announced.
when i walked out, i was met by justin who walked next to me.
"so who's is she? because i know she's not mine and i know she's not zach's. so who else did you sleep with, huh?" he asked me.
"justin, don't." i told him. "you're analeia's dad because you're the one raising her. no matter what, you are her dad. nobody else will ever be her dad."
"answer my question, kylie." he told me.
(HI, A/N FOR JUST A SECOND!! I'M WRITING THIS AND I HAD TO STOP HERE FOR A SECOND BECAUSE LIKE... HOLY SHIT, I'M SCARED FOR HER RIGHT NOW LMAO)
"montgomery." i hesitantly replied. he chuckled and then scoffed.
"i never want to speak to you again. i'll bond with my step-kid when i'm not working. have a good day." he said to me, walking away. i ran up to him and pulled him into a storage closet.
"don't disrespect her like that again!" i exclaimed. "regardless of whose shitty genetics she has, she is your daughter. you were there when she was born, and you've been there ever since. she doesn't have his last name, she has yours and as far as i'm concerned, you're the one who she's gonna call dad. she's never going to have another father except you." i said to him.
"for eight months, you lied to me. about everything." justin told me in defeat. "give me space. please." he told me, walking out, leaving me by myself.
after school, i got home and began feeding my daughter. there was a knock at my door.
"come in." i said, covering myself. justin walked in.
"what?" i asked, not looking at him.
"i'm sorry." he said, closing my door. "i shouldn't have said that about my daughter. i shouldn't have disrespected you." justin told me.
"come and sit." i said to him. he came in and sat next to me.
"how is little foley?" justin asked about analeia.
"she's fine. she's got a little cold, so i can't leave her with lanie right now, but she'll be fine." i replied. justin kissed me, but i pulled away instantly.
"i'm not doing this anymore. what happened the other day shouldn't have happened. i'm with alex now and i care about him." i told him. he scoffed.
"why do you always do this?" he asked me.
"do what, justin? you're the one that initiated it." i said to him.
"you don't tell me to stop and when i keep going you blame me! it's both of us, kylie!" he told me. i was quiet for a few seconds. "well then i guess we just won't do that anymore then." he said to me. i finished feeding the baby and handed her to justin.
"put her in her carseat. we need to meet everyone at monet's." i told him. he nodded.
"are we sharing a car?" he asked.
"i guess clay is taking us." i replied.
we all got in clay's car and we drove to monet's. once we got settled in, i spoke up.
"so what's the plan here?" i asked.
"tony and i will get rid of the gun." clay told us.
"because we just believe him?" zach asked.
"we believed you." clay told him.
"i believe him." i spoke up. "i trust tyler."
"so, where's alex?" zach asked.
"he's on a ride-along with his dad." i replied. "guess it's the only time they get to spend together these days.
"yeah. okay, see this is the thing, guys. this is a murder investigation. we're hiding tyler and his gun--"
"bryce wasn't shot." justin said, reading his phone.
"there was a hole in the back of his head." i told them.
"so the papers guessed it was a gunshot. they were wrong. it's saying he was beaten." justin told us. i subtly looked at zach who did the same thing to me.
"this? this is fucked up." zach told us.
"zach--"
"no, you know what? you guys do whatever the hell you want. i don't wanna know about it. not anymore." he said, hopping away.
"they think it might be blunt force trauma and they're looking for the murder weapon. they're dragging up the river on both sides of the bridge." tony read out loud.
"oh shit." clay told him.
"the river? let me guess, is that where you dumped tyler's guns?" justin asked, taking his phone back.
"correct." tony replied.
"so... new plan needed for this one, then." clay said to us.
"give me the gun. i'll deal with it." justin told him.
"justin, you can't do that." i told him.
"you don't get to tell me anything anymore. we're not dating." he said, getting up and walking out. everyone except tony walked out.
"is that what was happening this morning?" tony asked.
"uh, yeah." i replied. i waited for alex outside monet's. when he came to pick me up, he knew something was off.
"what's wrong? is everything okay?" he asked. "because if this is about what happened with tyler in math class today, i'm sorry." he said, grabbing my hands.
"no, no, i get your frustration with that, but that's not it." i said to him. "can i... can i stay at your house tonight?" i asked.
"yeah. of course." he replied. i put the baby in the car, drove to my house and i packed a bag and picked up everything i needed for her. we drove off to his house and when i got there, i carried my daughter and alex carried my things in. when we walked in, we noticed his dad was up.
"hey, kylie." deputy standall said.
"hello." i replied.
"i'm assuming that you're my son's new girlfriend? the one with justin foley's kid?" he asked. i hesitantly nodded.
"it's nice to meet you." he said to me, smiling.
"you too, deputy standall." i replied.
"well we're gonna go into my room." alex told him. "goodnight."
"goodnight, you two." his dad told us. we walked into the room and alex closed the door behind me.
"i'm sorry. i know you probably have stuff to do." i told him.
"no. i got all of my homework done for the week." alex said to me. i looked over and analeia was asleep.
"can i kiss you?" i asked him.
"you never need to ask." alex, smiled, leaning into me and kissing me. he stopped and checked his living room. he scanned the living room, then closed the door.
from there, we began to kiss until analeia woke up. i knew she was hungry so i began feeding her.
"i'm sorry." i told him.
"don't be." he said, caressing my cheek.
"i don't know if we can do anything tonight. my daughter's had a cold and she's been latched onto me." i told him.
"that's fine. we can just lay here. i know you need a break from the jensens sometimes." alex said, kissing me. i held my daughter and fell asleep in alex's arms.
unfortunately, avoiding your problems only makes them worse.