The Mentor

Chapter 37

I looked out the window to se Kyle's bewildered face staring back at me. He looked like he really needed to talk to me. I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to talk to him, but something in me that day told me to roll down the window.

"What?" I asked, coldly.

He pursed his lips and thought for a second, glancing at the ground.

"Can I sit with you for a second?" He asked.

I sighed and glanced into my passenger seat. My jacket and drawing books were sitting nicely stacked on top of one another, but I tossed them into the back.

"Sure..." I murmured.

Kyle came around the other side and got in, rubbing his hands together from the chill in the air. He was wearing regular old black jeans and his Parkway Drive t-shirt that he wore often during the competition.

He didn't say anything for a little while and his scent of body spray was filling the car quickly.

"What? If you're going to say something, you have to actually say it." I pestered.

He leaned forward to stretch and turned toward me, draping his arm over the head rest of the seat.

"Well, I know you probably don't have a whole lot to say to me right now..."

His low baritone voice was a little refreshing to hear, especially so softly. It was kind of sexy. I'd missed it.

I said nothing and looked him up and down.

"Look, I know that if we are going to be working together it might be tough. I don't want it to be. I don't want things to be awkward and...I guess I just wanted to apologize to you."

Again, I said nothing and waited for him to continue.

"And I'm sorry for what I said to you about Scott. That was really insensitive and rude and I'm sorry. I wanted to come out here and formally apologize to you for all of that."

I let my gaze fall to the floor and looked around before speaking.

"I hope you can understand that...I'm not upset with you for what you said about Scott. I'm upset with you because you led me on and then disappeared, especially when I needed you. You promised to be there for me and you weren't."

He licked his lips.

"I know...and the reason for that was because I had so much I wanted to say to you that I didn't know how to say. When I have to make difficult choices, I get scared. I knew there was a lot that needed to be said and I didn't want to say it in a text message."

"So you stopped talking to me? You ignored me at the shop and through that entire stupid interview?" I barked.

His eyebrows turned up into a worried expression.

"I got scared, Jamie. That's about all I can say and that's why I decided to come clean to Candi. I didn't want to keep everything a secret from her."

"Isn't that special." I rolled my eyes.

We fell silent for a few minutes.

"Truthfully, being back with Candi isn't exactly what I had hoped."

"How come?" I mumbled.

"She uh..."

He stretched and let his long legs sprawl out in the small area on the floor of the car.

"She doesn't give me any time for myself. Sometimes I just want to be left alone and play video games and she's always just around. I wish she would go out with her friends or something and give me an evening by myself but she never does."