blinding lights | lrh

2

"WELCOME HOME KAYLA!" I heard as I walked through the doors of my childhood home. The sudden burst of sound took me by surprise and my hand instinctively flew up to cover my mouth. I looked around the room and saw everyone I had been looking forward to seeing this summer.

"Thanks, guys. It means a lot." I smile, and turn to my brother who had picked me up from the airport. "Did you know about this?" I ask him accusingly, and he smiles with a nod.

I walk around the room and hug everyone who was there. All of my family and friends who I hadn't seen in at least two years were eager to reminisce with me, and the greetings were full of endless small talk about school and plans for the future. Despite the hospitality I was showing, I desperately wanted to escape the situation and find my old room, tuck myself in under the sheets, and go to sleep.

"Kayla, love, come say hi to your uncle." I hear my mother call from across the room and I politely end the conversation I'm in to walk across the space to where they were standing.

He wraps me into a tight bear hug and we sit sit comfortably for a few seconds.

"How's my favorite niece doing? How's school? Are you happy to be home?" He asks me in a string of questions after pulling away.

I smile, look up to the ceiling and prepare to tell him exactly what I've told everyone else who's asked. "She's good!" I say enthusiastically. "School is good, as you can imagine. Lots of work and lots of all-nighters spent studying, but I think it's going well so far. As for the last question," I nod, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

He chuckles, "actually I'd bet you want to be anywhere but here. I told them it was a bad idea to throw a surprise party after you'd flown all day."

I feel a weight fall from my shoulders as I realize I no longer have to keep the act that I was happy to be here on. "I do want to be here. I mean, I've missed everyone in this room so much. But I would have rather met them all on my own accord, instead of being forced to mingle so much you know?" I ask him even though I know he already understands.

After spending two years at a university across the country from my family and only being able to see them through a screen, you'd think I would be more excited to be in a room with all of them. Maybe I'm just selfish for wanting a bit of alone time, but truthfully that's all I could wish for right now.

I scanned the room once more to see if there was anyone I hadn't spoken to, and my eyes land on a boy standing in the corner, looking nervous. As soon as he noticed me looking at him, his face lit up and he motioned me to come over. I feel my stomach churn with anticipation and nervousness, but I start the bridge the gap between us anyway.

"Trevor!" I wave with a sheepish smile. "How have you been?"

"Oh please, this is your night. I want to know all about you." He says, and I give him a pleading look in hopes that he'll answer the question. He does. "But since you asked, I've been good. Really good, even. I got a job at a new coffee shop they built down the road, and I met a girl there that's really lovely." He pauses, and I think I'm so nervous my chest might burst. But, he continues, "I'd love for you to meet her sometime. But enough about me, how have you been? Tell me everything."

I motion for him to follow me up the stairs so we can talk privately. For the most part, I've talked to everyone in this room at least once a month while I was away at university. But for Trevor, we lost touch and never really talked, so I was excited to catch up with him, although I was anxious for being alone with him again.

"So tell me about this girl that you met." I say, walking into the room. "Is she treating you good?"

He smiles and for a moment I even think I see a small blush form on his cheeks. "She's amazing. I mean it, you have to meet her. I've told her so much about you," he pauses, and seemingly catches himself, "you know. When she's asked. Anyways," he chuckles nervously before continuing, "from what I can tell you guys would be great friends. Her name is Jasmine."

I smirk a bit, easing the tension by teasing him slightly "you're my wingman for friends now aren't you?"

He points at me and nods, "yes, yes, it's exactly like that! I know you've been gone awhile and so I can help you get out of your comfort zone and actually meet people this summer! You're only here for two months Kay, you're gonna make the most of it even if I have to drag you out of this room sometimes."

I sigh and look down at my hands. I really did miss him while I was gone. "Trev can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything." He answers.

"How come you didn't call?" I say, averting my eyes from his.

The room fell into a silence that I knew was awkward for the both of us. I was just about to tell him to forget the question when he broke it. "I really couldn't reach out after the fight." He said as he stared at his feet.

"I waited for you to call, you know." I say.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I contemplated calling every single day. But each day that I didn't call I just felt like it was one day too late, and it would be way overdue at that point. But," he pauses. "I did want to. I just couldn't bring myself to dial your number."

I understood. The day before I was due to leave, we got into a huge fight and both ended up saying things we didn't mean. We finally broke up nearing the end of the three hour long screaming match. He wanted me to stay, I knew I had to leave. But, at the end of it, I told him to call me if he ever wanted to fix things. I waited for that call for months after I left.

"Well, it's the past now. I guess I could've called too." I smile weakly, meeting his eyes. "And you have a girlfriend now. So everything's fixed itself, I guess."

We sit in silence for what feels like hours until there's a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I call out.

My mom walks in and immediately I can see the guilt on her face once she realizes who I'm with. "I'm very sorry for interrupting, but, we're sending everyone home so we can have a small dinner with Kayla for her day back. Is that alright with you?"

I nod, and turn to Trevor. "I'm sorry about all of this, but I'd love to meet Jasmine sometime, if you'd let me."

He meets my eyes, a small grin on his lips. "Yea, I'd love that."

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A/N ok hiii I know this chapter was kinda weird but I think it'll start to make sense soon ok bye <3