4. Maybe...?

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(Kylie's POV)

I woke up late the next morning, and thankfully it was a Saturday. The rest of the household was already up, and they were all in the sitting room.

I rolled out of bed and washed up before making some breakfast for myself and joining them.

The sheer silence that filled the room when I entered was astounding. Especially considering that it seemed like no one had prepared to face me.

I took a noisy bite of my cereal to fill the vaccum silence, and was rewarded with stares more intense than ever.

"What?" I asked.

Alex refused to meet my eyes, and my dad didn't even bother looking at me. But, it was my mum who spoke.

"Where did you go last night?" Mum asked.

For a brief moment, I was tempted to tell her where I really went. But, I realised it wasn't worth the risk.

"I went to the mall."

"The mall closes at 11."

"I know. But I'd gone to the town one. And there was a lot of traffic. The cabbie took me down some narrow lanes. Plus I'd wandered around for a bit after the mall closed."

"And you didn't think to tell anyone?"

"My phone had died. I only got a chance to charge it in the cab."

My mum paused for a second, I knew my story sounded believable, so I could tell she was racking up other ways to question me.

"What about your behaviour last night? You spoke back and went against your father."

"I replied to his questions." I corrected. "And I didn't go against him. I just avoided a slap."

My mum didn't seem to know what to say to that, but suddenly she deflated.

"Kylie..." She began gently. "Are you okay?"

She reached over and touched my hand. Instead of pulling back, I interlaced our fingers, and summoned all the conviction I had.

"I'm fine, mum. Last night, I was just tired and disoriented. I'm sorry." I offered her a smile, and she smiled back.

"Just know... That you can tell us anything. And if you don't feel comfortable venting to us, you know Keith is always there, right? He really cares about you, Kylie. Don't throw that away."

I nodded at mum, taking note of the glassy film on her eyes.

Somehow this was worse than the yelling I'd expected.

But speaking of Keith...

"Hey, did you guys know Keith is playing his last English game, today? Let's call and wish him."

The awkward tension seemed to lighten by a lot at that. And immediately, I was met by a chorus of yeses and oh yeahs.

So, I plastered a smile as genuine as I could muster onto my face and pulled out my phone.

~~~~~~

After the entire family had wished Keith, I went back to my room for a private conversation with him.

Obviously, no one seemed to mind because this was the most social I'd been in a while, so they left us in peace.

"Keith..." I breathed.

"Kylie." He had a faint smile on his face.

"What you thought I'd screw this up too and forget to wish you?"

The smile grew a little bigger. And a little sheepish.

"A little." He admitted, pinching his finger and thumb together.

I laughed, though it was forced.

"I knew it."

"Hey, can you blame me?"

Suddenly, the smiles evaporated, and my behaviour dropped between us like a rock.

"Yeah, no. I guess you can't."

Neither of us wanted to touch my recent activity, I could tell. So, I changed the topic.

I cleared my throat and forced another smile.

"I didn't call for that. I called you wish you. So, all the best, handsome."

Keith's eyes widened for a moment before he burst out laughing.

"Di-did yo-u just callme a handworm? What's a handworm?"

"What? No! Are you going deaf, Keith? Are your legions of adoring fans taking your hearing from you?"

"Maybe they are. But, we all know there's only one fan I'd ever pay attention to." He looked purposefully at me, and I felt myself turn red.

"Awww, sweetheart! I can see you blush halfway around the world!" Keith sent me a flying kiss and laughed, doing nothing to help my situation.

I smiled. A real, genuine smile that only seemed to come out around Keith. He knew how to make me feel again, and he knew how to make me feel normal around him. And I loved him for that.

Wait, what?

"What were you saying, sorry?" I asked, as I realised Keith had been saying something. He didn't look bothered that he had to repeat it all again.

"Wow, you're swooning so hard you can't even concentrate. Shame on you, Kylie." A faceless voice said.

"Ryder!" I shouted through the phone, making Keith jump and drop his phone on his face.

"Oh my god, Keith! Are you okay?!" I yelped.

Keith rubbed his bruised nose and nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Of course he's fine. He talking to you, Kylie. He's been waiting to do that for a long long time you know."

Ryder's voice dried up towards the end of the sentence, and I realised I'd been ghosting him too.

"I know. I'm sorry."

Neither of them replied to that, but Keith cleared his throat.

"Anyways, it's almost time for the game. We've got to go. Take care, Kylie. And please, don't shut us out."

I nodded, but made no promises.

"All the best, you guys. Don't come home if you lose."

My sad attempt at a joke was taken with a small smile from Keith, before he said bye again, and blew me another kiss -which I caught- before the call blinked off.

That went better than expected.


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Artemis_phoneutria.

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