Saved By You (16 page)

Full on paranoia was taking over at this point. Her hand tightened around mine. Everyone in the room quieted as they watched the mania setting in. Grandma came in from outside, and, with a single look at us, knew something was wrong.

“Hey everyone, why don’t we head out to the pool?” she announced. Everyone looked around at each other, and nodded their ascent. Slowly, they all filed out of the tiny guesthouse. Mom watched them like a hawk, still demanding we tell her what was going on—still insistent that we knew something she didn’t.

Grandma gave me a look. “Maggie, dear, why don’t you come out to the pool with me. Everyone wants to visit with you.”

I hesitated for a second, but nodded my head. I squeezed Mom’s hand, and told her that everything was fine. She paid little attention to me, her focus still on Aunt Denise. Grandma wrapped an arm around me as we slipped out of the house. When we were outside, I gave her a confused look.

“What happened?” I asked, hoping she had answers.

Grandma gave me a tight smile, and she shrugged. “It’s just too much for her. Too much all at once.”

I shook my head. “But, it’s not true, right?” I said. “Everyone’s just here to visit, right? There’s not something that we’re not telling her?”

Grandma winced and squared her shoulders to me. She gave me a soft, sympathetic look.

“Maggie, you know why your mom was sent home, right?” she asked.

I shook my head, sharply.

“No,” I said. “No one’s told me anything.”

Her eyes deepened.

“Maggie,” she began. “She’s here because the doctors thought she’d be more comfortable at home.” She swallowed, and I felt my arms tense. “She’s came home to spend her last days with her family.”

Her last days
?

I stared at Grandma for a long second before what she said sank in. The idea that Mom was on her
last days
was nearly impossible to comprehend. She was my mom—this couldn’t be happening.

Grandma’s eyes were soft. She knew the thoughts going through my head.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” she asked.

I hesitated a second, then nodded.

“How long?” I asked.

Her lips pursed, and she shook her head once.

“They’re not sure. Could be a month. Could be a week.”

“A week?” I said.

She waved a hand in frustration. It the first sign of frustration I’d seen on her. “Their words, dear,” she said. “I think your mom has a little more fight in her.”

“A
week
?” I repeated.

Grandma’s eyes softened, and she stared at me. She looked like she was about to say something, but nothing came out.

My hands began to shake as I thought about what she said. A
week?
It didn’t make any sense to me. How could that be possible?

“She doesn’t know?” I asked.

Grandma winced. “She knows—but it’s all confusing to her.” She put a hand on my shoulder, rubbing it softly. “The cancer is eating her. Her body is in overdrive trying to keep up with everything.” She let out a soft sigh, as tears bubbled to my eyes.

“I can’t handle this,” I said. I took a few deep breaths, trying to center myself. “I need some space.”

“We’re all here for you, Maggie,” Grandma said. “We’re all going through this together.”

I took a step toward the house. “I just… I need some space,” I said.

She gave me a pained look, but didn’t try to stop me. I raced into the house, straight to the kitchen. The keys to the ‘Vette were sitting where they always were. For the first time, I realized just how useful it was to have a roundabout driveway in front of the house. The ‘Vette sat at the front of a long line of cars—nothing stopping me from getting out.

I fired up the engine and pushed the pedal to the floor. The tires squealed as the car launched out into the street, and I spun the wheel hard, keeping it under control.

I just needed to get away. I needed some space. I needed Haden—he would know how to calm me down.

The only place I could think to go to was the Saloon. Haden was off practicing with the band, but I didn’t know where they were. I just needed to see him. I needed to be near him, again. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow for our date. I wiped at the tears in my eyes, and said a silent prayer that Scottie would know where he was. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t even know the first place to look. The only thing I’d be able to do would be to go back to his hotel, and sit there until he showed up.

When I pulled into the parking lot of the Saloon, I didn’t see Haden’s Beamer.

Scottie will know where he is
, I reminded myself.

Pushing open the door, I cleared the small hallway in a few strides, and froze dead in my tracks. A few people were scattered around the bar, and Scottie stood in his usual spot. He was perched against the back side of the bar, leaning forward. He was talking to someone. A chill rifled through me.

Kyle
.

As though it were meant to be, Kyle’s eyes shot directly to me the second I cleared the hallway. We looked at each other for a long, tense moment. Scottie’s eyes were wary as he watched us regarding each other.

“Well, lookie what the cat drug in,” Kyle said, his voice lazy and slurred.

My nostrils flared as I sucked in a deep breath.

“I’m not in the mood for your games,” I said, walking up to the bar.

Scottie studied me, his eyes tight. His back stiffened when he saw the look on my face.

“Something wrong?” Scottie asked.

I shook my head, tightly.

“It’s nothing,” I said, not wanting to tell him the truth. “I’m looking for Haden.”

Scottie studied me for another second before shaking his head.

“Can’t help you there, haven’t seen him all day,” he said. He grabbed a dish towel, and started wiping the bar before turning back to me. “You sure everything’s alright?” he asked, again.

I hesitated for a long second before answering.

“No, I’m not sure,” I said, my tone harsh. His eyes widened, surprised. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

I swallowed when I saw the pain flash through him, but I pushed my concerns aside. I didn’t have time to talk the situation over with him—I just needed to find Haden.

“What a little turn of events we have here,” Kyle said. “It looks like you need me to get what you want.”

“You know where he is?” I asked, quickly.

The corner of his lip turned upward.

“Maybe,” he said.

My lips pierced together in the meanest glare I could give him.

“Just tell me,” I said. “I’m not in the mood for your little games.”

His lips puckered into a little circle, and he let out a groan.

“That hurts, Red,” he said. “I thought you’d be a fan of our witty banter by now.”

This time, it was Scottie’s turn to step in.

“Easy, Kyle,” he said. “You don’t always have to be an ass.”

Kyle’s eyes pinched and darted to Scottie. His mouth moved like he was going make one of his usual quips—but he didn’t. He gave a nod, and turned back to me. The look in his eye was sincere, and caught me off guard.

“Can we talk?” he asked. His voice was low—less grating than I’d ever heard it. I stared at him for a second, stunned, before I could respond.

“This better not be another one of your jokes.”

He shook his head once. “It’s not,” he said.

I followed him over to one of the tables, and we sat down across from each other. He stared at his hands for a bit, and then back up at me.

“I have something I need to tell you,” he said. After a second, I nodded for him to go on. Kyle was normally very quick with his tongue, but now he was thinking through each word deliberately. He was taking his time, as though he didn’t want to misrepresent something. “I want to say that I’m sorry for everything I put you through.” He took a deep breath. “I feel bad about it, and needed you to know that it wasn’t personal.”

I stared at him in disbelief. My jaw would have fallen straight to the floor if the table hadn’t caught it on the way down.

“You’re
sorry
?” I said, incredulously.

His eyes flashed for a second, pained, but he nodded. I sat in silence, unable to say anything, letting it sink in. For the first time, it looked like Kyle was speechless, too.

“Why now?” I asked, after a time. “After all the shit you’ve put me through, why are you apologizing now?”

He turned his palms face up, and shrugged.

“You have to understand where I come from,” He said. “Everything that I’ve been through to get to where I am today.”

I shook my head. “We’ve all been through hard times,” I said. “My mother’s literally on her death bed right now, so don’t give me some excuse about a rough childhood.”

I groaned as I thought about it. The words felt funny coming out of my mouth.

His eyes winced pain, but he pressed on. “It’s not just that,” he said. “Haden and I have been through a lot together. We’re about as close as two friends can be—he’s like a brother to me.”

“Fine brother you are,” I said. “Sleeping with his girlfriend like you did.”

“Is that what he told you?” he asked.

I frowned. “Of course that’s what he told me,” I said. “He told me all about how he caught you and Zoe having sex behind his back.”

Kyle shook his head. “That’s not how it happened,” He said. “Haden saw what he wanted to see.”

My brow pinched together as I stared at him. “What are you talking about?” I said.

Kyle took a deep breath and gave me a long look.

“Zoe and I never hooked up,” he said. “Haden caught us in a compromised moment, but we never did have sex.”

I shook my head, disbelieving. “Just because you didn’t actually have sex, doesn’t mean you didn’t betray him,” I said.

“I know that, but what really happened wasn’t even close to what Haden thought was going on.”

I tilted my head forward, giving him a wide-eyed look. “Go on,” I said.

“Zoe had been hitting on me for a long time,” he said. “First it was just a little flirtation, then it crossed a line. She said it was because I was the lead singer of the band, and she thought I had all the talent, and a whole bunch of other shit that just didn’t matter.”

His voice trailed off as his eyes grew distant. He was living in that moment, letting the memories come back to him.

“I told her that I couldn’t do that to Haden. That we were like brothers, and I didn’t want to hurt him,” he continued. “But it was obvious that she didn’t care.”

There was a long silence while he stared at me. I studied him for a time, wondering if what he was telling me was the truth. What reason did Kyle have to lie? Did he even need a
reason
to lie? He was Kyle, after all—the man that had made my life a living hell from the moment I’d first met him.

“So what happened on the day that Haden found you?” I asked.

Kyle closed his eyes, and let out a soft breath. I could imagine the rush of memories that were coming back to him.

“I had a moment of weakness,” he said. “Zoe and I had been drinking—which I should have never done without Haden around—and then one thing began leading to another…” My eyes widened and I gave him a hard stare. He raised a hand before I could interrupt. “But it didn’t go
that
far,” he said. “Not before I stopped it, anyway.”

I frowned at him, shaking my head.

“So where does Haden come into this?” I said.

Kyle waved his hand again. “It was just bad timing, is all,” he said. “I had a moment of clarity, and stopped Zoe, but it was right as Haden found us. We were both half drunk, and half naked.” He shook his head and stared at a spot on the table. “I would have thought the same thing if I were him.”

I shook my head, confused. “But, why didn’t you tell him the truth?” I said. “Why didn’t you tell him that she had been trying to seduce you that whole time?”

He shrugged, and I could see the pain working its way through him. “I guess I just didn’t want to hurt him like that,” he said. “I knew how much he cared for her, and I didn’t want him to find out that the girl he loved was actually just a player who was trying to climb the social ladder.” He let out a soft breath, and closed his eyes. “I was hoping that she could change—so they could be happy together.”

“Well, a lot of good that did either of you,” I said. I swallowed hard, and was finding it difficult to remain upset toward the man who had just bared himself to me. He was Kyle. On some level, I was
supposed
to be upset with him. “So why didn’t you tell Haden what really happened that night?”

His eyebrows raised, dismissively. “I tried to, but he ran off too fast. I wasn’t even close to sober that night, and by the time I came to my senses, he’d disappeared.”

I closed my eyes and remembered the story Haden had told me. Everything fit into place. This whole time, Haden had had thought his best friend betrayed him, and in a way I guess he had, but it wasn’t the same.

“Is that what you had to tell Haden when you first got here?” I asked, remembering the first time I’d met Kyle outside of the Saloon. “To tell him everything that had happened?”

He nodded. “So why did Zoe come to Green Falls?” I asked.

Kyle let out a groan. “She came for the same reason I did,” he said. “To try to get both of us to come back to LA.” He shook his head. “We both told her to get lost.”

I frowned and shook my head. “So why is she still here?” I asked.

Kyle let out a chuckle. “She’s not,” he said. “Put her in a cab for the airport first thing this morning.”

I let out a sigh of relief, despite myself. At least that was one less thing I had to worry about.

“So, what did Haden say? When you told him what really happened with Zoe?”

There was a long pause before Kyle responded. He gave a soft laugh, and his lips pursed into a nervous smile. He shrugged his shoulder.

“Well, that’s kind of why I wasn’t very nice to you,” he said. I stared at him, confused by the answer. “He said that he didn’t care about what happened with Zoe anymore. He said that he’d found the real love of his life here in Green Falls.” My heart raced. Kyle’s eyes met mine, and he gave me a look that spoke more than it needed to. “He said that he didn’t care what happened anymore, as long as he had you by his side.”