Kyle realized he and Ryan were not alone in the apartment when a door opened and a leggy blond walked out of Ryan’s bedroom. She strutted across the living room in nothing but her panties and one of Ryan’s designer t-shirts. She scowled at Kyle as she made her way to the kitchen.
“I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t know you had company,” Kyle said to Ryan after the girl was out of the room.
“Don’t worry about it man. You’re my friend. You’re not bothering me or her. Listen, take whichever of the empty bedrooms you like and go to sleep. You will feel better in the morning. If you need to stay longer than a night, it’s okay by me. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks man. I really appreciate it. You’re a good friend.” Kyle tried to get off the couch but was too drunk to keep his balance, let alone walk. He tumbled back down on the couch and Ryan had to go help him get up again. Ryan swung one of Kyle’s arms over his neck and dragged Kyle to one of the bedrooms.
“If you need anything, let me know. I’ll be next door,” Ryan said, patting Kyle on the back and dropping him at the foot of the bed.
Kyle didn’t say anything back. He just crawled up the bed, dropped his head on a pillow and fell asleep immediately.
Chapter IX
The next morning, Abby woke up on her couch. After spending hours crying and waiting for Kyle to come home, Abby finally succumbed to fatigue and fell asleep just before dawn. When she woke up, she immediately checked the time on her phone and saw it was mid-morning. She got off the couch to check the other rooms of the house thinking that maybe Kyle had come home and she hadn’t noticed. She looked everywhere. Kyle was nowhere to be found. She checked her phone again for calls or text messages. There were messages from Brianna but none from Kyle.
Yawning and rubbing her eyes, she made her way to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. While the coffee brewed, Abby picked her phone up off the counter and called work. She rubbed her stiff neck while she waited for Jeremy or the cashier on duty to pick up the phone.
When Jeremy answered the phone, Abby told him she was not going to work that day. She told him she was not feeling well. It was not a complete lie. Abby did not feel ill physically, but emotionally, she was terminal. There was no way she was going to go to work without talking to Kyle first.
After ending her call with Jeremy, Abby called Brianna. Abby was in the middle of telling Brianna Kyle had not come home yet when she heard the jiggling of keys and the sound of her front door’s lock turning.
“I have to go. Kyle’s just walked in. I’ll call you back,” Abby whispered and ended the call. She dropped the phone on the kitchen counter and rushed out of the kitchen and into the hallway. She froze when she locked eyes with a red-eyed, disheveled Kyle who was still standing by the front door. The look in his eyes was the saddest thing Abby had ever seen.
Abby had not fully understood the full meaning of guilt until that morning when she gazed into those sad, grey eyes. It broke her heart. She had broken the heart of a man who didn’t deserve it, and she hated herself for it.
She waited for him to say something, anything to her, but Kyle didn’t utter a single word. He didn’t yell or curse her out like he had done the previous night outside Brianna’s apartment. He just stared at Abby, and Abby stared back at him.
As the uncomfortable silence between them grew louder, Kyle dropped his gaze to the floor, and dragged his tired feet towards the bathroom. Abby watched him disappear behind the bathroom’s door and come out a few minutes later with his hair and face dripping wet. Kyle walked right passed her, without looking at her or saying anything, and stepped into the kitchen.
Kyle’s silence worried Abby more than all the yelling and cursing from the previous night. She followed him into the kitchen. “Where were you? I was so worried about you. Where did you spend the night?” Abby asked, desperately trying to get him to say something, anything.
Kyle ignored her. He kept roaming around the kitchen and opening and closing cabinets as if Abby wasn’t even in the room.
Kyle found a coffee mug inside one of the cabinets and poured himself some of the coffee Abby had just made. He spotted a box of Cheerios on top of the fridge and reached for it. With the coffee mug in one hand and the cereal box in the other, Kyle stepped towards the kitchen table. He made a strange, throat clearing sound as he placed the coffee mug and the cereal box on top of the kitchen table and sat down.
Ignoring the coffee, Kyle opened the Cheerios box and stuck his arm inside it while Abby grabbed a chair and sat next to him.
Abby searched his face trying to figure out what was going through his mind. His calmness and silence were making her more and more uneasy the longer they went. She felt the yelling and cursing from the previous night was preferable to the maddening silent treatment he was punishing her with now.
Kyle kept staring into space, blinking slowly and shoving handfuls of Cheerios inside his mouth. He chewed the sugary loops slowly while ignoring everything Abby said to him.
“Kyle, I’m so sorry for what I did. You’ve been so good to me. You didn’t deserve it. I did not plan any of it and neither did Brianna. It just happened. The day Brianna went to the bookstore to apologize to me, she invited me to a concert. I didn’t tell you because you were so adamant about me staying away from her. I went to the concert with her because I was trying to figure out why you hated her so much.
“After the concert, I went to her apartment because my phone broke and she offered to give me a new one she had at her apartment. One thing led to another, and it just happened. I’m not justifying what I did. It was wrong, and I take full responsibility for it. I meant to tell you right after it happened, but exams and jobs kept getting in the way.”
Kyle did not look at Abby or even react to any of the things she was telling him. He just kept shoving Cheerios into his mouth while the coffee sat on the table untouched and getting cold.
“I love you, Kyle,” Abby continued. “I love you with all my heart, and I would never hurt you on purpose. I don’t expect you to want to be with me anymore. I know what I did is unforgivable, but I hope that one day you find it in your heart to forgive me.”
Kyle remained silent and expressionless.
Tears began to well in Abby’s eyes. “Please say something to me, Kyle. Anything. Yell at me. Get mad at me, please. I can’t stand this silence anymore.”
Kyle kept ignoring Abby and digging inside the box for more cereal.
Seeing that she was not getting through to him, Abby decided to throw in the towel. She got off her chair, still staring at him. “You can keep the apartment. I’ll move out. I’m going to go pack a few things now and get out of your way. I’ll come back for the rest of my things later. I’m truly sorry, Kyle.”
Abby began to walk towards the kitchen’s doorway. She was almost out of the room when Kyle decided to end his silent treatment. “Wait,” he called without turning around to look at Abby who was standing behind him.
Abby froze when she heard Kyle’s voice and slowly turned around. She held her breath as she stared at the back of Kyle’s head and waited for him to say something else.
After putting the Cheerios box down on the table, Kyle stood up and walked towards Abby. Abby searched his face as he approached her. His expression was still unreadable to her. Her stomach flipped when he got within inches of her and stared down at her with his cold, dead eyes. Abby led out a breath she had been holding and waited.
“I’m very angry and disappointed at you for what you did. You hurt me, and it’s going to be a while before I can trust you again. However, I don’t think we should throw away a three-year relationship because of one mistake. Don’t move out. Let’s work it out. Let’s give our relationship another chance.”
Abby’s face lit up with hope. She could not believe what she was hearing. She stared up at Kyle with her mouth hanging open. His proposal that they try to work things out took her by surprise. Those were not the words she was expecting to come out of Kyle’s mout
h. She had spent the last two weeks crying and losing her mind because she thought Kyle was going to dump her after he found out what she did. After how brutal Kyle was with her the previous night outside Brianna’s apartment, Abby thought there was zero chance he was going to forgive her. But there he was, willing to give her another chance. It felt surreal.
Abby felt relieved but also conflicted. Brianna, who Abby also loved, was waiting for her at her apartment. They had made plans to move in together. She had already accepted to move to L.A. with Brianna after graduating from NYU. If she stayed with Kyle, she was going to break Brianna’s heart. But if she turned down Kyle’s offer to take her back, she was going to break Kyle’s even more. She loved Kyle and had hurt Kyle enough already.
Abby had a big dilemma on her hands. She thought there’d be zero chance Kyle would want to stay with her after he found out the truth. That’s what made it easy for her to give into her feelings for Brianna. But now that Kyle had expressed his desire to work things out, Abby realized she couldn’t just walk away from him.
“What do you say Abby?” Kyle asked, his eyes still cold and expressionless. “Will you give us another chance? I’m willing to forget everything if you stay. You owe it to me. You owe it to us to give us another chance.”
Abby realized Kyle was right. She had something good with him. Sure things had gotten a little predictable and monotonous lately, but they had been together for three good years and shared a deep bond. She loved him, and he still loved her in spite of her betrayal. She did owe it to them to try and make that relationship work. It was the least she could do after how much she had hurt him.
Abby then began to doubt her feelings for Brianna. She recognized she shared a strong bond with her too, and the sex was spectacular, but was it love? She had only known her for a couple of weeks. How could she love someone after just knowing them for a few days? Abby came to the conclusion that it wasn’t love that she felt for Brianna. She had simply been seduced by the thrill of the forbidden. Boredom and curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she confused it with love. She liked men, for God’s sake. It was not love.
But even if she did love Brianna, she owed it to Kyle to swallow those feelings and give the relationship with him another try. The pain in Kyle’s eyes and voice when he found out about the affair haunted Abby. She knew that if she didn’t at least try with him, the guilt and the regret were going to eat her up inside, and she wasn’t going to be happy with Brianna or anyone else. She felt awful for Brianna and sad for what might have been but realized that doing the right thing was more important than her own feelings or happiness.
“Yes, Kyle,” she breathed, her voice breaking. “I want to give us another chance.” She lunged at Kyle and wrapped her arms around his neck. With her chin resting on the curve of Kyle’s neck, Abby exhaled and a sob escaped her lips. The guilt that had been strangling her like a noose around her neck had finally been loosened. “I promise I will never betray you again. I will spend every waking second of my life trying to regain your trust and proving to you how much I love you.”
Kyle did not hug Abby back. He kept his arms at his sides as she hugged him. He didn’t say anything to her either. The sinister smile that curled his lips and the darkness that clouded his eyes revealed Kyle’s true intentions.
If Abby had only known what really was in Kyle’s heart, she would have run for the hills. Kyle had no intention of working things out with Abby. He didn’t love her anymore. He was repulsed by her and was never going to forgive her. When Kyle woke up that morning in Ryan’s apartment, he had a chance to think about the whole thing more calmly. He had originally planned to end his relationship with Abby and ask her to move out of the apartment.
But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that was not the smart thing to do. He figured Brianna had seduced Abby just to get back at him. If he let Abby walk, he would have been playing into Brianna’s hands. Kyle wasn’t going to let his sister win. He was determined to not give Brianna the satisfaction of breaking him and Abby up, even if it meant having to pretend he still gave a shit about Abby. The sight of her made him nauseous, and he was going to dump her sorry ass as soon as he got his revenge. Abby had no idea how much heartache Kyle had in store for her.
Kyle grabbed Abby’s shoulders and gently pushed her off him. He stared into her eyes and spoke very slowly. “Before we can move forward and put all of this behind us, there is something I need you to do.”
“Anything, Kyle. I’ll do anything you want me to do,” Abby breathed while nodding eagerly.
Kyle smirked, laughing on the inside at how dumb and gullible Abby was. Kyle had her exactly where he wanted her, and the stupid girl didn’t suspect a thing.
You’re going to be sorry you ever betrayed me, Abigail. Kyle said to Abby with his eyes before Abby lunged at him once more and hugged him tightly.
****
Later that day, Brianna paced the length of her living room while obsessively checking her phone. She had just gotten off a call with her agent who was fuming at her because she did not show up to her Chicago rehearsals that day. Brianna explained to her agent that she was dealing with some personal problems and was too nervous to rehearse. Brianna’s agent pointed out to her the possibility that the producers of the musical could fire her from the musical if she missed the rehearsal, but Brianna did not care.
She didn’t go into details with her agent regarding her personal problems. Even though Parker had been her agent since the beginning of her career, he and Brianna were not very close. That musical was Brianna’s big break, but that morning it meant nothing to her. She was consumed with worry and feared for Abby’s safety. She was also very confused and anxious about a very cryptic phone call she had received from Abby just half an hour earlier.
“We need to talk. I’m on my way to see you.” That’s all Abby said and refused to elaborate before hanging up.
Brianna never drank that early in the day, but the anxiety and the uncertainty was stripping her of her sanity. She made an exception to her no alcohol while the sun is out rule and poured herself a dry martini. She had just finished slamming the whole drink down her throat in a single gulp when her phone rang. The doorman was calling to tell her she had visitors. Brianna told the doorman to let the guests come upstairs. She was so anxious about Abby’s phone call, she didn’t even notice the doorman had said guests instead of guest.
After what felt like an eternity, Abby was at Brianna’s door. She knocked softly a couple of times, and Brianna rushed to let her in. When Brianna swung the door wide open, she found Abby standing in front of her with her gaze cast downward and her hands clasped in front of her. Abby didn’t have any luggage with her. Brianna took that as a sign something was wrong.
“Hey. How did it go? What happened? Are you okay? Where are your things?” Brianna asked.
Abby didn’t answer any of Brianna’s questions or look her in the eye. She just walked past Brianna and stood in the middle of the living room.
Brianna closed the door and rushed to join Abby in the middle of the living room. She was relieved to see no physical signs of abuse on Abby, but Abby’s silence worried her. “What happened? Did you talk to Kyle? Did he hurt you? Please say something.”
Abby shook her head and continued to stare at the floor. “No. He didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.”
“You look so shaken up. Please sit.”
Abby shook her head and summoned up enough courage to look Brianna in the eye. “I’m not staying long. There’s something I have to tell you.”
“What? What is it?” Brianna asked. The profound sadness she saw in Abby’s hazel eyes told Brianna things were definitely not okay.
Abby wouldn’t speak. She kept staring at Brianna, and her eyes began to well with tears.
“For God’s sake, Abby. What is going on? Please talk to me.”
“Kyle is giving me a second chance, and I’m going to try and make it work with him. I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head, Brianna stared at Abby like she had three heads. “What do you mean? What about us? You told me you loved me the other day in the tub, remember?” Her voice began to break and tears started to pool in her eyes.
The hurt in Brianna’s eyes broke Abby’s heart, but she still believed she was making the right decision. “I’m sorry. Please try to understand. I didn’t think Kyle would forgive me, but he has. Well, he hasn’t forgiven me yet, but he said he is going to try. I have to give my relationship with him a chance. I owe it to him to try.” Tears began to dribble down her cheeks.
“But what about me?” Brianna asked with growing desperation in her voice. “What am I supposed to do now? Am I supposed to just forget what happened between us? I’m in love with you. Am I supposed to just stop loving you? How am I going to do that?”
“Please Brianna. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
“How could you do this to me, Abby?”
“I’m so sorry, Brianna, but I have to do the right thing. Please try to understand.”
Brianna rushed forward and cradled Abby’s face with both hands. “But Abby… I love you…” She tried to kiss Abby, but Abby turned her face away.
“Don’t. Please.” With her face still turned away, Abby grabbed Brianna’s wrists and gently pushed Brianna’s hands off her face. She couldn’t bear to look at Brianna anymore. She was tired of hurting people who didn’t deserve it. The guilt was choking her. She needed to get out of that apartment as soon as possible. “I have to go. Goodbye, Brianna. Take care of yourself. I hope you can forgive me one day.”
With those final words, Abby stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Brianna, holding her for a few seconds before turning around and rushing toward the door.
Betrayal: Kyle's Revenge (The Betrayal Series) Page 11
