Chapter 32: Kyles Are Assholes

There's a lot of things I would rather be doing right now.

Throwing myself off a cliff into raging waters below is one of them.

Eating a live octopus is another one.

At this point, I'd even consider sitting through one of Mr.Griffith's lessons without falling asleep if it meant getting out of talking to Aaron.

But, unfortunately, I'm the one that decided I was going to attempt to talk to him, and, again, unfortunately, I have to go through with it.

Talking about myself is not something I thought I would have a hard time doing, especially if it's with someone I know.

It's hard.

And something i would rather not be doing at this particular moment in time, as we already established.

But––

"You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Great!

Wait, no, not great; I need to talk to him.

Cue exaggerated sigh.

"Okay...right."

I can do this. I just have to say words. Words are easy. I talk good.

Deep breath. "I met Kyle when I was fourteen." Jesus, hardest thing I've ever said. Did my throat just close up? "He was fifteen, and we became fast friends. When I turned sixteen, he was seventeen, and he asked me out." I swallow nervously. Fuck. "I, uh, I'm pretty sure I loved him." Did I? Because I only like Aaron at this point, and I've known Kyle longer and the things I feel for Aaron are stronger than anything I ever felt for Kyle. "We started dating and having..." Why did I tell myself to do this? "Having the sex." Yep, that was definitely a good way of wording that. "I was a sophomore, and looking back I know that it was a little too early for love, but it didn't feel like that when I walked in on Kyle having sex with a girl in my bed." Aaron lets out a series of coughs, but I ignore them and continue. "It...broke my heart. My first serious relationship, and he ruined my trust like that. I was crying just now because he, um, he called me, wanting to talk, and tried to apologise, saying he was drunk, and I said something, and he said––"

Nope, that's as much as he's getting.

"I'm hungry. Do you want a sandwich? I would love one." I stand up from the couch.

Aaron grabs hold of my arm and pulls me back down to the couch, causing me to sigh.

"He insulted my dog that died when I was fourteen. Freshman year. I lashed out at everyone, and he knows that, and he used it against me and then I started thinking about things and next thing I knew I was crying."

We sit in silence for a few minutes until he speaks. "Kyles are assholes, huh?"

I shoot him a confused look. "What?"

"The guy that got Autumn hooked on drugs? His name was Kyle, too."

My eyes widen as I take in this information and pair it with Autumn's reaction to seeing Kyle at the mall.

I jump off the couch––bad idea––and start hopping on one leg towards the stairs, hopping up them once I reach them.

I feel myself start to fall backwards––come on self, I though you were coordinated––but someone––Aaron––catches me.

"Where are you going, Cassie?"

"Autumn's room." I feel him start to ask why, but I interrupt him before he can. "Just take me there."

He obliges, and soon we're bursting through her unlocked door to find Autumn snoring her face off, sound asleep.

Aaron carefully sets me down so I'm standing, more like leaning, against the wall and goes to shake his sister awake.

When he starts to roughly shake her, she wakes up with a start and, once she sees it's him, rolls over and goes back to sleep.

"What was Kyle's last name?" I ask quickly, hoping she's not asleep.

I wasn't expecting her to roll back over as sit up, looking more awake than she did a couple of seconds ago.

"What?"

"Your Kyle's last name," I repeat. "What was it?"

Please don't be Buchanan, please don't be Buchanan, please don't be––

"Buchanan."

My eyes widen.

Her Kyle is my Kyle?

Aaron made him out to be such a bad guy and––besides the whole cheating incident––he wasn't that bad of a guy, so it never crossed my mind that Autumn knew him.

"Why?" Autumn asks me. "What does it matter?"

I look at her. "Are you sure? Kyle Richard Buchanan?"

She nods and I curse, tears coming to my eyes.

Was my entire relationship with him a lie? Would he have eventually gotten me started on drugs? Would I have had to go through the same thing Autumn went through?

"Cassie," Aaron says, coming closer to me to place his hands on my shoulders. "Why did you ask?"

I can't make my mouth open to tell him that my ex-boyfriend is the Kyle that ruined his sister's life.

"You know him."

Autumn says that, and I look at her to see her with tears of her own gathering in her eyes. "You know him," she repeats, her voice a barely heard whisper.

I nod.

Aaron looks between the two of us, confused. "Know who? What is going on here? Why are the two of you crying?"

Autumn raises a hand to her mouth and starts to cry, and I push past Aaron to slowly and loudly make my way over to her.

Hopping is not a good mode of transportation. Never use it.

I fall on to her bed and cuddle in next to her, wanting to receive and provide comfort at the same time.

Not every Kyle is an asshole.

Just this one.

---------

"Oh my God, yas, you go Edward."

I shoot Autumn a look of horror. "No. Ew, no, take it back."

She shoots me a confused look. "What, why? Have you seen Edward?"

"Yes, and, like I said, ew, no, take it back."

Autumn gasps, offended. "You're Team Jacob, aren't you?"

It's my turn to gasp. "You're Team Edward, aren't you?"

We glare at each other for a couple of seconds while the fist Twilight movie plays in the background.

And then break out in giggles.

"Girls are weird," Aaron comment from where he's laying in the floor.

"No, we're not," Autumn says. "How are we weird?"

"A while ago you were just crying over your body problems and now you're watching a movie like everything's fine, and arguing over what team you're one."

"Okay, well, what team are you on?" I ask, remembering a conversation we had about Bella Swan and Clary Fray.

"Me? I'm on Team Mike."

"What?" I say. "That's not a thing."

"Yes it is. Mike is the only guy that––despite his stalkerish tendencies––isn't weird. And by that, I mean isn't a vampire or a werewolf."

I scoff. "The only choices are Edward or Jacob."

I hear him shrug on the floor. "Well, I choose neither."

"You have to choose one," i say, mocking the words he said to me the first time he was in my room.

It feels like everything happened years ago, when, in reality, it only happened not more than six months ago.

"I do not. That rule only applies to you."

"Aaron, I swear to God I will fucking murder you."

"You won't."

"Bet."

"How are you going to reach me, Cassie? You can't walk."

"You fucking asshole."

"Can you guys just fuck already?" Autumn says. I shoot her a glare and she gives me an innocent smile. "What? I was just asking a question."

"For the record, Cassie, I'd do you."

"You are so dead."

Autumn's cackles fill up the room.

---------

I am so bored right now, you don't even know. I don't know what's wrong with me, but my chapters just keep getting shorter and shorter (this one was only around 1350 words) and this is like the third time in a row it's happened. Sorry, I'll try to work on that for the next chapter.

Does anybody have a cure for migranes? Painkillers aren't working for me.

We're almost at the end, guys! Just a few loose ends I need to tie up. That sounded suspiciously like I was a hit man or something, but I swear I'm not. Or am I?

Enjoy your next 24 hours.

--Rose