More than friends

Chapter 17

BRIE

My eyes fluttered open as I looked toward the window. Who said we need sleep? Someone needs to tell my body that it needs it.

Last night I tossed and turned till I stared at the window with the blinds open.

What happened last night and Kade's words filled my head. "You were my everything, my forever," he said.

Closing my eyes, I shook my head, trying to get the words out. They didn't need to be there. He never likes me like that, surely? He would have—

But then, more words came flooding my brain. "I want a chance to prove that I have changed," his voice echoed.

He might want to prove he had, but I was confused.

When a man like a woman, shouldn't they be together? Or try to, at least? I would have been with him no matter what, but there was more to the story. There has to be when it came to Kade.

I move up and got out of bed. I walked over to the window and looked out. Today was my sister's wedding. I should be excited for her, but the thought of being in the same room as my mother made my stomach twist.

But I knew I had to be there for Larissa and Dominic, and after, I can wash my hands and leave.

The thought of leaving was an option, but I promised Dad I would stay, and not only that, I wanted to sort out things with Kade. I know we are supposed to go on a date. Maybe if we opened up about what happened back then, it may help us. Get everything in the open, what we both felt, and what truly happened.

The thought of talking about why I left sent a shiver through me. I hadn't talked about it openly with anyone. Not even Larissa. My father might have known parts because of the diary, but he doesn't know the full story.

Shaking my head, I moved away and headed to the shower. I needed to clear my head, and the shower was the best place to form a plan for what I was going to do next.

I stripped out of Kade's clothes and headed into the bathroom. I switched on the shower and stepped in when the water was warm. I went under the water and closed my eyes.

My mind was racing. What was I going to do?

I didn't want to leave, not yet. I wanted to figure out my next move.

I needed my clothes, so that will be the first thing we will get—my suitcases. I packed a little anyway and didn't unpack when I arrived. So there wasn't much I had to do.

That's a start.

I start to wash and rinse off. Quickly switching off the shower, I leaned over and grabbed the towel from the back of the door. I wrapped it around me and walked back into the bedroom.

My eyes scanned the room and landed on Kade's clothes. I didn't want to wear the dress from last night, and his clothes were comfy. Decided, I walked over and picked up the clothes. I put them all back on and threw the towel in the basket.

Scanning the bedroom, I move to the bed and made it. It wasn't my room. After I did that, I headed to the door and opened it.

I walked out and headed to the kitchen. Only there was a mouthwatering smell coming from it. I close my eyes and breath it in—Pancakes, my favourite.

I walked into the kitchen but stopped. Thereby the stove was Kade, flipping pancakes. My eyes trailed over him. He was in sports shorts and a vest. "Morning," he said, making me look back into his eyes.

The mischievous grin he would wear appeared. I knew he caught me looking at him, which made my cheeks blush.

"Morning," I said, licking my lips. "Pancakes."

"Your favourite," he murmured, which made my mouth drop open. Did he remember?

Quickly closing my mouth, I nodded. I didn't know what else to say.

I walked over to the talk and sat down.

Kade moved from the stove and grabbed a plate. "Here," he said as he placed the plate down. "Have these."

I stared at the plate and counted four pancakes. "I'm making enough for us," he said. "Wedding is in a few hours, and I know you won't eat."

I said nothing as I tucked into the pancakes.

After a few moments, Kade sat down on my opposite side, like last night, and ate. We ate in silence until Kade opened his mouth. "So, what are you planning on doing after the wedding?" he asked.

My eyes darted to him, and leaned back in my seat. I shrugged. "I don't know," I said after swallowing the last pancake. "I don't want to stay in my parents' house. Not after what happened last night. I don't want to see my mother."

Kade nodded. "Where will you go?" he asked.

I stared at him and shrugged. I played with the plate and let out a sigh. "I could get a motel room," I said, my eyes never leaving mine.

Kade swallowed his food and leaned back. "You don't have to do that," he said. "You can stay here with me."

My eyebrows shot up. "Here," I said. "With you?"

Kade grinned and nodded. "Here," he said, moving closer and placing his hand in mine. "Stay with me. We used to do it all the time when we were kids. I don't mind staying on the couch; you can stay in bed."

I searched his face, but I could only look at his mouth. My tongue darted out and licked my lips, which suddenly seemed to have gone dry.

"Okay," I murmured. "But no funny business. We still need to air everything out."

Kade stared at me for a moment but gave me a nod as I continued. "I need to get my things from my parent's house," I said. "We can do that after the wedding."

"You still want to go," he said, sounding surprised.

I gave him a nod. "I don't have a problem with Larissa or anyone else," I said. "Only my mother. I can ignore her if I have to."

Kade said nothing but held my hand. "You know, stay with me for the rest of the—" he said, but he stopped when he was cut off by his phone. It rang.

I looked at it from the side as Kade moved to get it and placed it on the table. He answered it—it was his mum.

He placed it on speakerphone. I looked at him as my eyebrows pinched together. What the hell was he doing? He pressed his finger to his lips and answered. "Hell–" he said, but his mother cut him off immediately. "Kade, have you heard from Dominic?" she asked, with worry in her voice.

"I heard from last night," he muttered. "But that was to make sure Brie was okay. Nothing else," he said. I watched as my shoulders tensed. He was lying.

"Can you ask Brie if she heard from him or Larissa?" she asked.

"I haven't," I murmured, my eyes on Kade. "I left my phone in my parent's house last night as I didn't take a bag with me."

I could hear movement and people talking in the background. "What's going on?" I asked.

His mum sighed. "We can't seem to find them," she said. "It is like they disappeared from the face of the world."

My stomach twisted.

Where the hell are they?

"You both need to help us look for them," she said.

"We will," Kade said, cutting her off. "We will be there in fifteen minutes."

He hung up on his mother and looked at me. "We better get going," he said and moved up.

There was something clearly going on with him. He moved away and moved our plates to the sink. "Leave them. I can do them when we come back. We can get your things when we searched for Dominic and Larissa."

I nodded.

Worry was crippling me. Where the hell did they go?

Kade and I walked over to the door and walked straight to his truck.