Chapter 14

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Kyla's POV

          Kylie, Tom, and Luca go and sit in the living room while Jessie reaches for the snacks she baked them. Olivia grabs my hands and drags me to her room. I smile as she asks me to help her pick a dress to change into. She explained that when people come over to visit she likes to wear her princess dresses so she looks good. My little sister is too cute.

          Once I help her into her "Sleeping Beauty" dress we go back into the living room. Nathan explains they are going to do a little movie night and that they do this every Friday. This seems like a nice little tradition.

          I sit down at the end of the couch and Olivia jumps onto my lap. Everyone gives a little laugh at how clingy the little girl has become. To my right is Kylie. Nathan and Jessie are sitting in the middle. Tom and Luca are on the opposite end of the couch looking rather squished, I have to stop myself from laughing at this.

           "So," I ask, "What are we going to be watching?"

          Tom grumbles, "Well I wanted to watch a horror movie but there's too many little ones here."

          Olivia is the only young one here...is he counting me?

          Kylie laughs at him, "Dude you sound like a little one yourself getting all pout-y like that." We all laugh at this which makes Tom grumble more. 

          We ended up watching a comedy. It was good but some parts of it I was very confused about. Kylie was so nice to me though. When she saw my confusion she would lean over and explain the joke to me so I didn't feel left out. I really appreciated this gesture.

          About half way through the movie, Olivia started to feel quite heavy. I look down to see she is sound asleep. A smile forms on my face, this little girl has so much trust in people. I wish I had the ability to trust others this much. This family has been so sweet, but I still feel a bit standoffish. 

           As I was in my own thoughts I didn't realize Nathan had come over and started to lift Olivia into his arms. I jumped at the close proximity which made Nathan stop in his tracks.

          He smiles gently at me, "It's okay hun. I'm just going to take Olivia off your lap and out her to bed. Are you okay?"

          I nod silently and give the best smile I can as my skin starts to get goosebumps. Memories start to fill my head from my foster home. No man ever gets this close unless they are hurting me in some way. I know Nathan promises he won't, but it will take me a while to get used to this type of normalcy.

          Kylie leans over and whispers in my ear, "Do you want to take a little walk out front? I can tell you need some space and you won't get that crammed on the couch."

          Turning my head toward her, I stare in shock. It's like she can read my mind. My body is starting to shake, a panic attack is building and the only way for me to calm myself is having lots of space. I nod to her and we both stand.

          "We are gonna go outside for a minute. I need a smoke and Belle wants to join me. We'll be back in a few," Kylie announces to the room.

          Tom stares at me for a second before looking at Kylie, "Light?"

          "Yellow. It's fine," Kylie responds back. Tom nods and starts to speak lowly with Luca.

          I don't understand what that means but I just ignore it and follow Kylie out front. She starts walking down the street, slowly so I can keep up. As she walks, she pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one up. 

          She reaches the carton toward me and offers me one. I hesitate. "It calms my nerves when I have panics," She says to me, "You don't have to if you don't want to. There's no pressure just an offer."

          I reach in and take one out. What the hell, if it helps it helps. She passes me the lighter and I stop and look at it. I have no clue how to light it. She sees my confusion and helps me out by lighting mine and handing it back. Then she explains how to inhale it.

          Placing the stick to my lips, I inhale. My chest squeezes and I start to cough violently. Kylie laughs softly to herself, "You really don't need to do that if you don't want."

          Shaking my head I say, "No, I want to try it."

          We continue walking, smoking, and holding light conversation. Kylie keeps the conversation to simple things, like how my day was and what she did at work. It was nice, relaxing almost. I feel normal in this moment.

          "How are you feeling?" Kylie asks, "I know the look you had. When Nathan got close you started to panic. You know he wouldn't ever hurt you, right?"

          I nod, "I know it's just-"

          "You've been hurt in the past. Trust me I understand. My prick of an uncle molested me as a child. I know how hard it is to learn to trust again. But believe me when I say that it will get easier and you will learn to trust again."

          This information made my blood run cold. I never would have guessed that Kylie was assaulted before. She looks so strong and so tough, it doesn't look like anyone would mess with her. She must have known where my train of thoughts were leading me because she answered my question without me even asking.

          She sighs slightly, "I know I look strong and I have the big muscles and all but I didn't always have them. When I was about thirteen I met Tom. He became a good friend of mine. One day I opened up about what my uncle was doing. He got me help. My uncle was arrested and I moved into my grandmothers house until she passed away last year. Tom was into boxing back then, still is now. He started taking me to the gym and had his instructor teach me how to defend myself. I fell in love with boxing and I started going to that gym every free hour of the day I had. Now I am what I am. No one will ever hurt me again."

          I smile at her, "You're so strong, Kylie. I wish I could be as strong as you."

          She laughs loudly, "You are way stronger than me Belle," I look at her confused, "You survived years of abuse and rape. You are still alive. You fought through it. You are here today, with your family, because you are strong."

          I smile with tears in my eyes and take another puff of the cigarette before coughing hard again. "Okay," I say between coughs, "I don't think these things are for me." We both laugh together and she takes the cigarette from my hand to throw away.

          With that we turn back around and head back to the house to finish the movie night.

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