Broken Heart

Chapter 24

Zachery Williams

I turned around when I noticed that Kayla wasn't following me. I saw her standing in front of a guy. I walked towards them to hear Kayla say his name. She looked shocked and unsettled.

"What are you doing here?" Kayla composed herself and asked.

"I came for the science fair project with others," he replied, looking her up and down.

The nerve of this dude to checkout my girlfriend so shamelessly. I hurried forward and placed a hand on Kayla's shoulder, pulling her to my side. "Kay, we’re about to leave." I moved back a lock of her hair behind her ear. I could see from the corner of my eyes that the guy was glaring at me.

She nodded, her eyes silently pleading me to take her away from there. I took her hand and started walking towards my car with Kayla in tow. I had many questions about the guy but I knew better than to ask Kayla right then. She looked too shaken. From what I saw, I gathered that they both knew – or used to know – each other well and that the guy had somehow hurt her in the past. I had my suspicions but I kept quiet, giving Kayla the space she needed. I knew that when she was ready she would come and talk about it. That is how she was. Silent and trying hard to figure things out by herself. But eventually she would confide in me. One thing I learned just by being with Kayla was to be patient.

We both climbed in my car and I started driving while Liam and Melissa followed behind us in Liam's truck. The ride was silent and I took quick glances over to Kayla to see if she was alright. She was in deep thought and her hand was fidgeting. I slowly took her hand and intertwined our fingers. She relaxed under my touch and gave me a sweet smile before turning to look out of the window.

I knew she wouldn't get much comfort unless she talked about what was bothering her. Even so, I wanted to give her anything I could offer. If it was time that she needed to sort through her thoughts, I’d give her just that. She was that important to me. She was nothing like the other girls I had met or dated. She was so much more in every single way. She was caring and dedicated to the people she loved. She was down to earth and even if people hurt her she still forgave them. She was so strong even when her life was like hell, and she didn't stop smiling. She never treated others bad and always looked for the best in people. Kayla was the girl that I had fallen in love with. I knew that my feelings for her were strong and genuine. When I looked at her it was all so clear that she was the one I wanted to spend my life with.

It was still early so we decided to grab some dinner and head to my place. Liam and Melissa also joined us. My house was free since my mom had left with Lucy to visit my grandparents.

We all ate and then watched a movie. I invited Liam and Melissa to spend the night at my place but they declined, saying that they had plans which I clearly had an idea about but didn't want to know.

I saw them to the door and came back to find Kayla texting someone on her phone.

"What's up?" I asked, flopping on the couch next to her.

"Nico texted me, he wants to hang out tomorrow," she replied.

"So you’re meeting with him?" I hoped that she would say no but I already knew the answer.

"Yeah, he’s leaving in two days so I want to spend at least one day with him." She put her phone aside and turned her attention to me.