No One But You

45. The Kayles

 Roger

Maddie is tense when we walk up to her front door. I thought she was tense when she met my family the other day, but this is a whole other level. 

"Hey," I whisper to her after she knocks. "It's going to be fine," I smile at her. She returns it, but I still feel her nerves through the air. 

The door swings open and there stands a tall man with bright blue eyes and long brown hair. He grabs the cigarette hanging out of his mouth and holds it between his two fingers. 

"Madison Kayle. Glad to have you home," he says. He outstretches his arms, embracing Maddie briefly before they pull apart. 

"James Kayle," Maddie says with a grin. "It's a pleasure to be home," Maddie gestures to me. "James, this is Roger. Roger, James," 

James looks me up and down. I feel intimidated. He's significantly taller than me and I can't really tell if he's welcoming of me yet. 

"You're the dude from that band," James says. He takes a drag from his cigarette. "Queen. I knew Mads said she was dating one of yous but I didn't believe her," 

Maddie rolls her eyes. 

"It's nice to meet you," I say, not knowing how to respond to his comment. 

James sticks out his hand, to which I take. Then he moves aside and allows Maddie and I to come inside. 

"Mum and dad are upstairs," James says as he leads us through the house. I must say, I don't know what I was expecting but this isn't it. It's rundown and dingy. The panelling on the walls is falling off and the carpet is faded beyond recognition. "Jesse is in the back and Jay...well, Lord knows where Jay is," James laughs darkly. 

Maddie never really told me much about her family so I don't know what to expect from any of them. This is just..well it's different than what I thought. 

"Maddie!" I hear another guy yell as we walk through the hallway to the television room. Another guy, with shorter hair but the same blue eyes, comes over to us and gives Maddie a huge hug. He seems significantly more welcoming than James. 

"I've missed you," Maddie says when they pull apart. 

"I've missed you too," he says. I'm assuming this is Jesse. "I want to hear all about your school, job, friends. Everything," 

Maddie grins. "Oh - uh - Jesse, this is Roger. My boyfriend," Maddie says, gesturing to me once more. "Roger, this is Jesse," 

Jesse and I shake hands and he smiles warmly at me. 

"It's a pleasure to meet the guy that's stolen my sisters heart," Jesse tells me. "I've heard a lot about you,"

"It's nice to finally meet you as well," I say. I wish I could say the same about hearing all about him. To be fair though, I haven't exactly been open about Clare or my mum or dad. 

"Mum! Dad!" We hear James call from the end of the hallway, and up the stairs. "Madison and her fancy boyfriend are here!" 

I laugh awkwardly. 

"Don't mind him," Jesse says to me. "He's the oldest so he's a little hard. It'll take him some time to warm up but he will, I promise," 

"He's five years older than me," Maddie updates me. "Jay is three and Jesse is one, but Jesse and I wound up in the same grade together," 

"She skipped first year. Went straight to second. James nearly had a conniption," 

I open my mouth to ask why James would be upset over that, but I'm distracted by two people joining us in this room.