Sweet and Spicy [COMPLETED]

Distance

Five days. It had been five days since Ransom's meeting with Mr. Golde. Ever since, Ransom and Tobin had avoided Kaya on numerous occasions. Heck, she hadn't spoken with Ransom since that day. Confused didn't begin to describe Kaya's state of mind. 

Lawrence didn't speak a word about anything. Not even about Lina, which Kaya found strange considering what Lina had told her about their chemistry. 

The rest of the kitchen carried on with their jobs, oblivious to Kaya's internal turmoil. 

The sixth day offered a reprieve, somewhat. Notified the night before, Kaya learned that Ransom would be away from the office all day. Thus, she needn't come in to work. 

Which was how Kaya found herself curled up on the couch in Jade's apartment, moping. To be fair, Kaya expected Jade to be out all day at meetings or photoshoots or something of the like. She might have made an effort to look more chipper if she had known that Jade would come sailing through the front door halfway through the afternoon. 

Jade, of course, stopped immediately after seeing Kaya's state of dishevelment. "What... in the world... did my cousin do to you?"

Kaya scrambled to sit up, hugging the pillow to her chest in an attempt to shield herself from Jade's investigation. 

"Lady Jade, I highly doubt this is Ransom's fault. He's a simp for her and we all know it." 

Kestrel? Oh, great. Just what Kaya needed. Two interrogators. 

Jade smacked a palm against Kestrel's shoulder. "Stop using new-generation slang. It doesn't make you appear any younger."

"But it does help me relate to my fans." Kestrel shrugged the same shoulder that Jade had hit. "Back to the problem at hand. Why is Kaya here all alone and depressed? Come. Tell me." Kestrel wove his way into the room, leaving the door open behind him. 

Kaya didn't want to trouble anyone, but as always Kestrel had a way about him. An aura that begged the people next to him to open up. "It's probably nothing."

Jade snorted a laugh. "If it were 'nothing', you wouldn't be lazing around on my couch staring at a blank television screen."

"I'm not..." Only, too late, Kaya realized she had in fact been staring at the television without anything playing. Dang it. Caught in the act. 

Kestrel settled into the seat beside Kaya, suddenly serious. "Did the two of you fight?" 

"No." Kaya bobbled her head, unsure. "I mean... I don't think so." 

"Don't think so? Oh, dear." Jade found her way to the chair on Kaya's left. "Tell me more. What did he say?" 

"Nothing." That was the God's-honest truth. "That's the problem. He and I haven't spoken in days. Do you think I did something wrong?" 

"I doubt it," muttered Jade. 

Kestrel looped an arm around Kaya's shoulders. "I'm sure he has his reasons. You could ask, you know." 

Ask? It had never occurred to Kaya to ask. Questions had turned sour quite often in her life. Asking them of Ransom was sure to lead to trouble. 

The front door banged against the entryway wall. Ransom folded his arms over his chest. "I will thank you, Kestrel, to unhand her." 

"See? He's not angry with you." Kestrel grinned, lifted his hands up in surrender, and scooted back an inch. 

Kaya hid under a blanket as quickly as she could. Why did Ransom choose now, of all times, to show up?

Try as she might to become invisible, Kaya felt the hand atop her head through the blanket's warmth. 

"Come with me."