King and Queen

King

I went out for a run very early that morning. Just as I was about to walk into the mud room of our house, I smelled someone smoking a cigarette.

The only person I knew that lived around here that did that was LYLA.

She hadn't been here in two years since her parents caught her doing whatever it is that she does.

They sent her to St. Mary's, a very prestigious all-girls boarding school in London.

LYLA refused to even come home for holidays or for the summer.

That can't be her that's smoking though. It can't be.

I finally look over to her house and I freeze when I see that she's staring at me.

Even from this distance, her stare pierces me slightly. She's always been cold, especially to me.

I jog over to where she's standing in her backyard and I smile at her.

She looks over at me with contempt and takes another puff of her cigarette, only to blow the smoke in my face.

"What do you want?" she spat.

Still smiling, I say "So, the rumors are true then? You finally decided to come back this summer."

She gives a harsh laugh, "You're the reason I got sent away in the first place, CALEB. Don't tell me you forgot that already." She shakes her head then says, "But, if you really want to know, I've been back for a while now. My girls and I have been keeping ourselves entertained in the house."

I give her a confused look, my mind still stuck on her blaming me, and I reach out to touch her arm. "I don't know what you're talking about. You left in the middle of the night LYLA. What makes you think I had anything to do with that?"

She shakes her head and notices that my hand was still lightly resting on her arm. She gives me a disgusted look as she shrugs off my touch.

"If you really don't know, then I guess the rumors about you are true too." she says with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"What rumors could you have possibly heard all the way in London?" I say harshly.

My words didn't phase her, but if they did, she concealed it perfectly.

"The ones about how you're nothing but a pretty face. No brains there darling. At least I know that the people that said it have horrible taste." she laughed and finished the cigarette she had forgotten she was holding.

I reached out to her again but she surprises me by putting her hands on my chest. Just when I started to smile at her, she shoves me away.

"Did you actually think that I would want you to touch me?"
She laughs, "I guess a lot has changed in two years. At least I know that you're still completely full of yourself."

I shake my head at her in disbelief and I turn to walk away. I look back over my shoulder and start to speak, but then she gives me the finger and I continue walking to my house.

Yeah a lot had changed in two years. Especially with her. I wonder if she even remembers the night before she left.

There was a party at her friend's house and everyone was getting drunk and dancing.

I was walking upstairs with a girl so we could be alone. I heard a scream over the loud music and I dropped the girl's hand and quickened my pace.

As I rounded the corner I saw her being pinned against the wall by someone.

He was kissing her neck and had one hand running up and down her body, while the other covered her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing to her?" I yelled over the music.

He looked back at me and went back to kissing her.

I walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder to spin him around.

His grip on her loosened and she side stepped him to stand behind me.

She pulled on my arm trying to get me to walk away.

I had too much anger building up inside of me from seeing him try to assault her. Even though she treated me horribly, but she treated everyone like that so it didn't really matter.

I shoved him and when he stumbled back I punched him in the jaw.

He'd clearly been drinking because he stumbled over and fell.

Only then, did I walk away with her. I found the girl that I'd been with on the couch with another guy.

She wasn't worth it anyways.

I pulled LYLA off to the side and asked her if she was okay.

Her expression was blank as she thanked me and turned to walk away.