Right in Front of You

30. Break me, shake me

Time seemed to have stopped, and Kay was painfully aware of everything around her. Since it was the end of classes, the crowd was huge. She could see Sonia smiling satisfied, Joey and Kelly looking worried, Erin with an animalistic eager smile on her face, just waiting for the drama to happen. Lucy and Mia appeared behind Cecily together with Darla and two more girls Kay didn't know.

They were all watching, waiting for Cecily to blow fire and turn her and Kyle to ashes. Kay wasn't even sure if she was scared, annoyed or morbidly fascinated by what was about to happen. And there was only one thing that truly mattered now.

"Did you tell her?" she whispered to Kyle.

"I totally forgot," he whispered back and tightened his hold on her waist.

"You have some nerve," Cecily spat and Kay wasn't sure if she was talking to Kyle or to her. "Humiliating me like that. You devious, backstabbing, bitch!"

Okay, so she was talking to her. Kyle took his hand off her and made to step forward, but Kay touched his chest to stop him. She wouldn't hide behind him. If Cecily wanted a war, she'd get one.

"Me being a backstabber would actually require us to be friends. Which we're not."

"Oh, so that makes it okay to get him to cheat on his girlfriend," Cecily spat.

Kay bit her tongue, reminding herself that she hadn't actually done anything wrong, so she shouldn't feel guilty, but she couldn't help but put herself in Cecily's shoes. Though, to be completely honest, Kyle should be hearing the worst of it from both of them. If he'd actually done anything wrong.

"Him cheating or not has nothing to do with me and everything to do with your relationship." Exactly like it had been for her and Donnie, only she'd been too stupid to see it. Now she was giving Cecily sound relationship advice.

"It's little skanks like you that destroy relationships," Cecily said between her teeth.

The crowd murmured in agreement. Kyle tried to go around her again, but Kay pushed him back. It was skanks like Darla, not her.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, but your relationship is something else, isn't it? You don't love Kyle, so stop being so dramatic."

The muttering in the crowd died down. Cecily's eyes widened and shot towards Kyle, giving him a look that would cripple a lesser man. Kyle glared back, looking annoyed rather than sheepish or embarrassed.

"You don't know that," Cecily whispered.

"Yes, I do. I know how your relationship works. You don't love him and he doesn't love you. I wouldn't have come between you if it were any other way. I couldn't have come between you."

Kay had no idea why she felt the need to justify herself. She shouldn't care what everyone thought, but a part of her wanted to show she wasn't even a pretend-home-wrecker, that she respected love. But even after everything that had happened with Donnie, she still craved it, wanted her happily ever after

Cecily let out a cruel laugh. "I'll say he doesn't love me. Isn't it just too obvious? But do you think he loves you? News flash, sugar. Kyle Grant doesn't love anyone but himself."

Kay's chest tightened as Cecily used the pet name Donnie had for her. She'd done it on purpose, Kay could tell by the way her eyes flashed with satisfaction. Cecily would surely start using Donnie against her and she wasn't sure she was ready.

"Cecily, that's enough," Kyle said, pushing Kay behind him. "This is between you and me. Kay, go home. And the rest of you," he said to the crowd. "Don't you have something better to do?"