The Year of Second Chances (A Sunnyvale Novel Book 3) (7 page)

“I don’t think he’s an asshole,” I say, but I’m not so sure anymore. “And I still want to try to be friends with him.”
Well, I used to. I really don’t know anymore.

He shakes his head. “Yeah, I don’t think you should do that.”

I grow apprehensive. “Why not? Because you don’t like him? Or is it something else?”
Do you know he’s spending time with Hannah?

“No, because …” He drops the phone on the cushion and takes ahold of my hand, threading his fingers through mine. “Look, just trust me on this, okay? Go have ice cream with Kyler, tell him what you need to say, and then cut ties with him … And be careful while you’re with him. If anything seems weird, call me.”

“Kai, you’re worrying me. Is there something you’re not telling me? Because on the phone… Kyler was asking me questions about my mom, and I swore I heard Hannah in the background… It could’ve been my imagination... but I don’t know.”

The muscle in his jaw ticks. “You thought you heard Hannah?”

I nod. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?” Is Kyler dating my sister and just messing around with me?

Kai swallows hard. “There are a lot of things I’m not telling you, but you’ll just have to trust me.”

“That’s a huge thing to ask a person. Trusting someone isn’t something I do very easily.”

“I know that.” He carries my gaze. “But the question is, do you trust me?”

It feels like his question holds an underlying meaning, a huge, epic, relationship changing meaning. Still, I find myself easily nodding.

“Yeah, I do trust you,” I admit. “A lot.”

He smiles, and I mirror his reaction.

“Why do you two look stoned?” Grandma Stephy startles both of us, and we both jump back from each other as she enters the living room.

Crap, I didn’t even hear her come in!

Kai goes back to texting on his phone while I act as chillaxed as I can, kicking back on the sofa and throwing her sassy attitude back at her.

“So, what have you and Harry been up to for the last hour?” I ask nonchalantly.

She waggles her brows at me as she runs her hands across her shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. “You really want me to answer that?”

I make an
ew
face. “Um … no, thanks.”

She grins, combing her fingers through her hair. “Then don’t ask.” She wanders into the kitchen and begins pulling out ingredients to make a cake.

While I love cake, I know she’s baking one right now because that’s what she does every time she and Harry go at it. How do I know this? Because the last time I asked her why she was baking a cake for no apparent reason, she explained to me with way too much detail that, “Harry loves to have some sugar after I give him some sugar.” She winked at me. “If you know what I mean.”

“Have you heard from Indigo at all?” I ask, getting up from the couch and going into the kitchen.

Shaking her head, she takes out a large mixing bowl and sets it on the counter. “Not since yesterday.”

“I hope everything went okay.” I sink down onto a barstool. “I hope she was able to get her mom checked into rehab.”

She collects the flour from the pantry. “I’m sure she did. I tried to call her a couple of times, but she’s such a weirdo sometimes about accepting help. I’m not that surprised, though. All of my granddaughters turned out to be little weirdoes.” She winks at me. “I am your grandma, after all.”

I give an exaggerated nod. “You are pretty weird.”

“Yep, I am.” She grabs the sugar from the cupboard above the stove. “So’s your little guy friend over there. That’s why I like him so much.”

Kai pauses from texting and shoots me the most adorably pleased grin. “
She likes me,
” he mouths with a giant-ass grin.

I roll my eyes, but on the inside, I’m thinking,
So do I, cute boy, so do I.

Turning back to my grandma, I watch her measure cups of flour and dump them into the bowl. “How about my dad?”

She stops mid-pour and glances up at me. “What about him?”

I trace a crack in the countertop. “Have you heard from him at all?”

She sets the measuring cup down. “I actually heard from him yesterday, too. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it, but we haven’t had a chance to talk alone.”

Kai gets up. “I have to make a call. I’ll be outside.” He walks out the front door, giving my grandma and me some privacy, though I’ll more than likely tell him whatever she tells me because he’s starting to really become my go-to person.

“So, what’d he say?” I ask after a heartbeat or two goes by.

She presses her lips together, seeming anxious. “He had a lot to say, actually.” She sets the measuring cup down and reaches over to put her hand on mine. “I guess this whole thing with his company being under investigation has gotten pretty out of hand. There are some fraud charges going on against the company, and it looks like they’re going to lose the house over it.”

My eyes pop wide. “
What
?”

She nods. “I’m so sorry, Isa. I know you aren’t on the best of terms with your father, but that was the house you grew up in. It has to be hard to hear this.”

I swallow the emotional lump wedged in my throat. “I guess it is.” I suck in a breath and slowly let it out. “I’m actually kind of conflicted. On one hand, I feel bad. But on the other … Well, that house really doesn’t carry too many good memories for me.”

“Oh, sweetie.” Worry fills her eyes, and I realize I’m crying.

“I’m sorry.” I wipe my eyes with my hand, but more tears pour out. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

She doesn’t say anything, just walks around the kitchen island and folds me in a bear hug. She hugs me while I bawl my eyes out, only letting me go when I finally calm down.

“Better?” she asks, and I nod. “Good.” She forces a tense smile.

“There’s more, isn’t there?” I ask through a sniffle.

She hesitantly nods. “But it can wait if you don’t think you can take any more today.”

I shake my head. “I want to know.

She sighs and heads back to her mixing bowl. “I’m going to make this while I finish telling you. That way, when I’m done, there’ll be a yummy cake to put in the oven.” She picks up the measuring cup and adds another scoop of flour. “After your father told me about the house, I asked him about what happened to your mom. When he refused to tell me, I told him about the stuff Kai found out.”

“Let me guess.” I struggle to keep my voice even. “He denied it was true.”

Shaking her head, she reaches across the counter and pats my hand. “He broke down, sweetie. He started crying and told me she was in jail, that he felt guilty she was there.”

My stomach ravels into tight knots. “Guilty? Why?”

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me. But it’s definitely true … what Kai found. And there’s more…” She gulps. “I found out who your mom was accused of… killing.”

“I know that already,” I say in a strained voice. “Kai found out about it a few days ago.”

“How did he…” She shakes her head. “You know what. Never mind. I don’t want to know.” She sighs heavily. “So, how are you feeling about all of this? I know that might be a dumb question.”

“I’m fine,” I lie, picking at a crack in the countertop. “But grandma…How did you not know about Lynn’s son? Didn’t you ever meet him?”

She shakes her head, her jaw ticking. “Your dad met Lynn right after we got into a huge fight over some inherited money. He thought he was owed more, which he wasn’t. And the papers were proof of that. But your dad being your dad… Well, he got upset and cut me out of his life for quite a while. We didn’t talk for a long time and by the time he finally came back into my life, things had already happened.” Her hands tremble. “I don’t know why your father chose to keep all of this a secret. I really don’t. Whether he was protecting you or if there’s more to the story than even we know.”

“I wonder that too.” Worry and anger stir inside me.

My dad kept so much from everyone. But why? To protect me? For some reason, I feel doubtful. And why did he tell my grandma that he felt guilty? Guilty over what? I need to find out what happened. And not from the papers on Kai’s phone. Not from any papers, period. I need to find out from the person who knows what really happened.

“Grandma … I have to ask you for a favor. A huge favor, actually.”

She hesitates, reluctant. “Okay.”

I summon a deep breath. “I want to go visit my mom.”

Her expression crumbles. “I don’t really think that’s such a good idea.”

My heart aches with disappointment. “Why not?”

“Because she’s in jail. And it’s far away. And …” She cleans off the flour on her hands with a dishrag. “I just really don’t want you going there.”

“But I need to talk to her,” I practically beg, tears welling in my eyes again. “I need to hear her side of the story; otherwise, it’s going to drive me crazy … And I want to meet her … I don’t even remember her at all. What kind of a daughter does that make me?”

She rubs her hand across her forehead, leaving a trail of flour on her skin. “I don’t want you going to a jail to talk to her, but what I can do is get ahold of some people and see if we can arrange a phone call.”

While I want to see her, I don’t want to upset my grandma by doing so, so I nod, feeling a droplet of relief plink through me.

“Thanks, grandma.” I walk around the island and give her a hug. “I really appreciate it.”

She hugs me back. “You’re welcome. I just hope this helps and doesn’t make things worse.”

“It will,” I say, hoping my words are true, hoping my mom is innocent.

Deep down, a part of me fears that maybe she is guilty.

Chapter 6

Kai

I can tell Isa’s grandma wants to talk to her alone, so I wander outside to give them some privacy. I need to make a call, anyway. That part wasn’t a lie. And it’s a call I definitely don’t want Isa to overhear.

After I exit the apartment, I dial Kyler’s number while hiking down the sidewalk toward nowhere in particular. The scent of rain lingers in the air, remnants of yesterday’s crazy-ass rainstorm that flooded the grass and gutters, causing panic throughout the town. But the storm only lasted a few hours before the clouds cleared and the sun started working to dry up the mess.

“Hello?” Kyler answers the phone, sounding exhausted.

“You and I need to have a little chat.” I get straight to the point.

“About what?” He goes from exhausted to annoyed in two seconds flat.

“Not over the phone.” My boots splash in the mud puddles as I pace the length of the sidewalk. “I want to talk to you in person. Can you meet up with me tomorrow afternoon?”

“I have practice from three until six and classes from nine until three on both Monday and Tuesday. I could do it Friday night, but I have a date with Isa at seven,” he says smugly. “But if you want to meet up, we can do it later … unless the date goes well.”

I roll my eyes. Of course he would think it’s a date.

“All right, how about we meet up at eight?”

“I know you don’t go out on a lot of dates, but for future reference, you should probably know that they usually last more than an hour,” he replies in his typical douchebag, I’m-better-than-you tone.

I grind my teeth, battling back the compulsion to put him in his place. “How about nine, then? She usually can’t stay out very late.” Lie. But he probably doesn’t know that.

“Fine,” he agrees reluctantly. “But if she wants to stay out later, I’m going to blow you off. Sorry, man, but that’s just the way it works.”

“Fine by me.”

“Okay, talk to you Friday, then.”

“Wait a sec. I’m not done yet.”

He heaves a sigh. “What else do you want? Money? A place to stay? I know you need both.”

“No, I don’t, actually. I just got my own place.” Which is true. I got the text from my friend Jules a couple of minutes ago, telling me I can move in with him in two weeks, and he’ll let me crash there for two weeks for free before he starts charging rent. “And I have money. I got a job a few days ago.” That part’s total bullshit. I haven’t heard back from any of the places I applied to. I’m trying to convince myself it’ll take a few days, but it’s hard to be patient when I have T’s threats hanging over my head. My only hope left is that my friend will be able to sell some parts off my trashed car, an idea he came up with when I told him I owned the car. Who knows if he’ll be able to make enough cash and fast?

God, I fucking hope so, or else I’m screwed as shit.

“That’s good,” Kyler says, drawing my attention back to the conversation.

He seems like he means what he says, but I never know for sure with him. Sometimes, he can come off as the nicest guy ever, only to set me up for some trick or joke. And I can’t help but think of that phone call he just had with Isa, how he asked her questions about her mom. How Isa said she heard Hannah in the background. When she told me that, my suspicions of him grew even more.

“I know we don’t get along, but I don’t want you living on the streets or anything.”

His words almost make me feel bad for what I’m about to say, but not enough to stop me from saying them.

“Look, I just wanted to say—or kindly threaten, anyway—that you better not do anything to hurt Isa, or I’m going to pay you back big time.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he snaps.

I sneak a glance over my shoulder at the apartment door, making sure Isa hasn’t wandered outside. “It means that, if I find out you have done anything or plan on doing anything that will hurt or has hurt Isa, I’ll find a way to make you hurt a million times worse.”

He gives his response a long amount of thought, and I actually—and very stupidly—start to think he’s going to confess that he did play a part in the flyer incident. That he did take the photo of Isa. That he set her up.

Instead, he warns in a low, threatening tone, “That’s a pretty big threat for someone whose ass I’ve kicked a million times.”

“I’m not the same guy as I once was,” I retort. “You couldn’t shove me in a locker if you wanted to, and if you tried, I’d kick your ass.”