Break Free The Night (Book 1) (19 page)

~

              Andrew was just describing Prince Humperdin
k’
s proposal, a proposal so weak it was comical, a conversation that entailed his not loving Buttercup and Buttercup not loving him and the decision that therefore they would be the perfect married couple when Kayle
e’
s attention was drawn towards the dark kitchen. He was so still that Kaylee almost missed him. His presence did
n’
t scatter the light into diffuse and darker shadows as Emm
a’
s had done. He stood, quiet and still, sentry-like, at the doorway, watching the three teenagers laugh quietly over the absurd characters. Emma was tucked into Andre
w’
s side and Kayle
e’
s legs were still draped over his lap. They were comfortable, close and happy, a family. Kaylee saw him there only fleetingly, a quick glance, her gaze drawn inexplicably over the back of the couch. His expression was unreadable, poised as he was on the threshold of the living room, and he melted back into the darkness of the kitchen before she could do much more than blink.

             
“
Tha
t’
s as much as I can do
,”
Andrew croaked moments later, folding the corner of the page he had been reading and tossing the book unto the table. Emma stretched her arms above her head and then sunk back into the cushions, her feet once more pulled up under her, her side flush with Andre
w’
s. Kaylee fought through a yawn, the unnatural buzz of caffeine that she was so unused to wearing off. She felt a crash coming.

             
“
Thanks Drew
,”
Emma murmured. Her demeanor was quiet again, her eyes drawn to the flickering light of the nearly burnt out candle
.“
Hope your foot feels better Kaylee. Sorry about before
.”
Kaylee snorted and nodded her acceptance of Emm
a’
s apology. Her siste
r’
s eyes darted only once to her, a muted smile that seemed more a grimace stretched her lips, and then Emma was standing, muttering a goodnight, and heading towards the stairs.

             
“
That was new for her
,”
Andrew whispered, watching the doorway Emma had just disappeared through
.“
Think sh
e’
ll be okay
?
”

             
“
Emm
a’
s always okay
,”
Kaylee replied, rolling to her side and sitting up
.“
But
I’
ll wait a bit before going up to the room. She hates it when I see her cry
.
”

             
“
Want more company
?”
Andrew asked, the vowels stretching as a yawn broke through. He was smiling but his eyes looked tired. It had been a long night for him.

             
“
You get some sleep
,”
she said, patting his knee
.“
And thanks so much for this Andrew. You know how much
I
—”

             
“
I know, I know
,”
he interrupted
.“
Best friends, right
?
”

             
“
Always
,”
Kaylee answered, overwhelming gratitude towards Andrew evidencing itself with a smile. He grabbed her hand and squeezed before he stood, his joints popping as he stretched.

             
“
Tell Emma
,”
he paused, his brow wrinkled as he thought
.“
Well, just tell her I had fun tonight and I hope she did too. I hope sh
e’
s all right
.
”

             
“
She is
,”
Kaylee reassured. Because if there was ever one constant in her life, it was Emma. Emma was tough. Andrew nodded and offered a little wave and then he left her too.

              The worn sofa was still warm from the three bodies that had curled up on it. Kaylee sank into the cushions gratefully. Her eyelids were heavy and sleep was pulling at her but she really wanted to give Emma some time alone. Privacy was a hard thing to come by in the small firehouse and Kaylee tried to be as respectful as possible of her siste
r’
s needs.

There always seems to be someone walking in on you here.

The thought came to her unbidden but un-ignorable. Jack. It was he that had been watching them, watching her. Why had
n’
t he joined them? Where was he before and where is he now? The need for sleep forgotten, she stood, her eyes cast in suspicion to the kitchen.

The room was darkened and in her haste Kaylee left the candle sputtering on the table by the sofa. But she could still see him, or rather, the silhouette of him. In the dense, blackened shadows that dominated the crowded kitchen he sat, his outline undeniably defined.

“
Yo
u’
ve been ignoring me
.”
It was the first thought to come to her mind and it sounded like an accusation as it blurted past her lips. His quiet chuckle rang through the air and she heard chair legs scrape against the old linoleum floor as he pushed back and stood up.

“
Should I apologize
?”
he asked, sounding amused.

“
Why
?”
Kaylee asked, ignoring his prosaic response. His footsteps echoed as he walked around the edge of the table
.“
I thought, I mean, the other nigh
t
…”

“
You thought
?
”

“
Was I no
t
—
”
Kaylee broke off, turning her gaze from him and huffing in frustration
.“
Did
n’
t you have fun
?
”

She nearly growled as she heard his low laugh. There was no furniture separating them now, the space between them filled only with a low pulse of energy that Kaylee found hard to deny. There was something about him, some energy or sense or feeling that sparked whenever he closed the distance. Even now, even in the darkness with only the low glow of the dulling candle, when she could
n’
t see one single feature, could
n’
t read his expression, or see that laughing glint of his eyes as his lips curled to grin, she was drawn to him.

“
Why would you think I had
n’
t
?”
he asked and she was taken aback because here he was, soft and serious, when all along she had been picturing him with an infuriating smirk.

“
Yo
u’
ve avoided me since
,”
she answered, embarrassed that her voice squeaked. But he was coming closer, walking slowly and carefully, and soon she could feel the heat from him.

Or was it her? Because her cheeks were flaming and her chest was seizing with warmth. Her breath was staggered, not so much that he would notice, but enough to make her stop talking so as to avoid betraying her feelings.

Wait, what feelings? For Jack?

Kaylee struggled to swallow, lifting her face to search through the darkness for his. He was obscured completely. But she could
feel
him. He was close, inches maybe. If she reached out, she would touch him. His breath washed over her and that delicious woodsy aroma with the tinge of pine trees that was so very Jack clouded her mind even further.

              I do
n’
t have any feelings for him. I ca
n’
t. H
e’
s leaving.

              He had made that much clear, the only thing clear. Everything else felt like a muddled mess.

             
“
Do
n’
t you know why
?”
he asked. Kaylee had to pull her mind from her own thoughts to remember what she had even accused him of.

             
“
Kaylee
,”
he started, looming over her as he spoke
,“
Andre
w’
s a good guy. I do
n’
t want to mess things up for you here
.
”

              Kaylee staggered back as though slapped.
Andrew
. Tha
t’
s why h
e’
s avoiding her, to make things easier for Andrew. Because there could be nothing between them, Jack and she, and he did
n’
t want to get her hopes up.

              But you knew that. You knew that all along.

              Then why this crushing sense of loss, worse even than that: despair? Why did she feel as though everything important was just ripped from her, leaving a blank, hollow hole? She struggled to come to terms with this new, intense, and unpleasant feeling that stung her eyes and carved out a ravine in her chest.

              Rejection.
Was that the word for this horrible feeling? It did
n’
t seem harsh enough.

             
“
Kaylee
?”
he stepped closer again but she moved back. She did
n’
t want to feel that heat and the confused, half-formed hopes that accompanied it, not when his tongue could squash them all so easily with a well-placed jab
.“
I have to leave. You know that. You said you understood
.
”

              And she did, she really did. But to have him ignore her, push Andrew in her directio
n
…

              It was one thing to leave, to never show interest, or to show it and grieve over love lost. But this cold indifference, this attempt to shove her into Andre
w’
s arms as though it would
n’
t have mattered who she partnered with, who she loved. As though one man is the same as any othe
r
—

             
Wait. Love?
Kaylee drew a hurried breath and turned her back on Jack. She gripped the worn fabric of the faded sofa, not even sure how she had backed up enough to get into the living room.
I do
n’
t love Jack. I do
n’
t. I love Andrew, bu
t
…

              Her thoughts twisted and taunted her, because the words that formed next, those words made absolutely no sense at all.

             
…
not like I love Jack.

             
“
But
,”
she stammered, trying to force her thoughts into cooperation, force her mouth to respond to what Jack was saying
.“
But maybe w
e’
ll leave too, mayb
e
—”

             
“
Yo
u’
re not
.
”

              It was cold and very nearly indifferent. It was matter-of-fact and straight to the point and said without inflection or emotion. And worst of all, without even asking anything more, asking how he found out, she
knew
it was true.