They Are There For Me (book 3 of Running Towards Home series)

CHAPTER 15

SODA'S POV:

I'm waiting in front of the Dingo for Kira. We're going out for dinner. I'm so excited. I'm checking out my reflection in the window, seeing if I look good enough. Someone taps me on the shoulder, and I whirl around, expecting Kira. But who I see takes my breath away. "Hi Soda." She says. "Sandy." I choke out. She smiles at me. "I saw you, and I wanted to apologize to you." She tells me. "What?" I say.

"I'm really sorry about what I did. You deserve better. I've been meaning to apologize for a long time, but I haven't had the courage to see you." She says. I don't know what to say. "Thanks." I tell her. "I was hoping we could talk again, maybe see if the old flame is still there." She suggests. My eyes narrow. She's not apologizing because she cares, but because she wants to get back together.

"You broke my heart, Sandy. Plus I moved on. I have a girlfriend now." I tell her. I go to walk away, but she grabs my arm. "One kiss? Then I promise I'll leave you alone." She whispers. I rip my arm from her grip. "Nope. Leave me alone, Sandy." I tell her. She glares at me. "You said you loved me once. Why not see if we can rekindle something?"She asks. I look into her eyes. My heart melts a bit. I loved her. I wanted to marry her. "I was wrong to leave you Soda. I still love you." She says. Before I know what I'm doing, my lips are on hers.As soon as I do it, I regret it. What was I thinking? I pull away, shame on my face.

"Soda? What..." I hear a voice say. I see Kira standing there, tears in her eyes. Sandy turns to face her. Kira recognizes Sandy, and her eyes go wide. "Dally was right." She whispers. She starts to run away. "Kira! Wait!" I yell after her, but she just keeps on running. I'm about to chase after her when Sandy grabs my shoulder. "I knew you still loved me." She says, smiling. I shrug her off. "No. I don't. I just made a mistake, a big one." I tell her. I start to walk to Buck's. I need to talk to Kira.

DALLY'S POV:

I'm having a beer at Buck's when Kira comes storming in. She runs up the stairs, her hands covering her face. She sounds like she's crying. I run up the stairs after her. I walk into her room and see her crying on the bed. I'm not good with this type of thing, but I need to check up on her. I sit down next to her. She looks at me. "What happened?" I ask her. She starts to cry harder. "I was going to meet Soda for a date. I saw him kissing Sandy." She sobs.

I feel anger race through me. I'm going to kill him. He played with her heart, used her, then dumped her for Sandy. I hug Kira, and she cries into my shoulder. "It's going to be fine, babydoll. It's going to be fine." I whisper. Eventually her tears slow, and she sits up. "Thanks for helping me out, Dal." She says, her voice raw from crying.

"Hey, You're my little cousin. Of course I'll help you out." Kira elbows me gently. "When did you get so soft?" She jokes. "It happened when you showed up, ya little punk." I say, messing up her hair. She chuckles. I don't know what happened. When she showed up, I started getting soft. And I don't mind it. I like having her around. I actually care about her. It's a nice feeling, to love someone and have them love you back. She brushes the hair out of her face, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Soda really hurt her. Next time I see him, he's gonna get a taste of my fist.