Chapter 34
It seemed Alden was going to make it difficult for me to do the right thing. It wasn’t just him teasing me whenever we were alone but also the fact he disappeared again after that morning. I was used to him being gone for days at a time much like I was used to Kyle hanging around like a second lodger but this occasion, his absence was as much torture as it was relief that I didn’t have to deal with him.
“El,” Kyle’s voice broke through my thoughts as we walked home that Wednesday, the early winter evening closing in around us. “Is it okay if 1 crash at yours again tonight?”
“Sure, so long as your foster parents are okay with it.” I replied, glancing up at Kyle as he walked.
He sighed at that, a forlorn look crossing his features as he focused on the path ahead. “They probably won’t be but I just
don’t want to be around them at the moment.”
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“I told them the other night that I’ve decided not to go to college.” He confessed, broad shoulders shrugging up and down before he stuffed his hands into the woolen confines of his jacket. “They didn’t take it well.”
“Oh. well it’s probably because they want the best for you.” I pointed out, inwardly cringing at myself for stating the
obvious.
“I know.” He nodded. “But it’s not like it will be their money supporting me. They are my foster parents. They don’t have any control over my finances.”
“Is this the money you inherited from when your dad died?” I queried.
“Yeah.” Kyle nodded. “Basically I can access a certain amount of it to attend college and then have the rest when I graduate or I wait until I’m twenty one and receive half of it and the other half when I’m thirty.”
“That’s pretty detailed.” I gawked, trying to work out how someone had the time to come up with such a plan.
“It was to make sure my gold digging mom didn’t get hands on it in some way.” Kyle rolled his eyes. “Although, she sorted that problem out when she ended up in prison.”
“Yeah.” I cringed.
Kyle was never particularly shy about explaining his family life. He didn’t brag that his dad had been some wealthy entrepreneur nor did he ever let the fact his father died of cancer, his mother never cared about him and then landed in jail and that Aiden was actually his only family get him down. Yes, he had a foster family who were amazing and supported Kyle and the other foster children they cared for as if they were their own but, they weren’t his real parents and technically, their duty to Kyle ended the day he turned eighteen.
“So what will you do instead?” I asked curiously.
“Get a job.” Kyle chuckled. “Save up and maybe go travelling for a bit. I’m not really sure but I will definitely get a job since I won’t be getting any of my trust until I am old enough to drink and those pepperoni pizzas I love aren’t paying for
themselves.”
We both laughed at this, heading into my dark home. I had noted that Aiden’s truck was missing again leaving me with the weirdest sensation of disappointed relief. I’m not even sure if that is possible and yet I was torn between missing
Chapter 34
Alden and being grateful he wasn’t around so I didn’t end up being party to cheating on Tammy. Things had been case when I simply admired him from afar and assumed I was invisible to him. While the heat of his attention made butter flutter around in my stomach, I couldn’t deal with the guilt of being unfaithful like he seemed able to.
“Speaking of pizza,” Kyle broke into my stream of thoughts as he grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge. “Pizza for
dinner?”
I laughed at this and nodded. Taking one of the cans I followed his tall frame towards the living room to order dinner and find something to watch. We had moved onto a Netflix show and were basically binge watching it whenever we had the chance. It helped that we had five seasons to get through as well so there was plenty for us to catch up on.
“I’m just saying, Dina and Garrett are a better couple than Amy and Jonah.” Kyle shrugged as we waited for another episode to load.
“But they’re not even a couple!” I laughed, pushing myself up to my feet when the doorbell rang.
“Neither are Jonah and Amy!”
I shook my head, heading for the door. The sooner I grabbed the pizza, the sooner I could get back to my very important debate with Kyle. Pulling the door open, my smile dropped along with my stomach when I didn’t find a pizza delivery driver holding a giant pizza box but a woman with wavy blonde hair that I knew was dyed and stylish black clothing.
“Mom?”
“Hi Ellie Beat.” She smiled coyly, her glassy lip gloss shining like water in the light from the front porch. “Miss me?”
A/N: just an FYI that I am focusing on finishing Hellhound at the moment so updates here will be slow. luckily im nearly done which means I can give my time to this book like it deserves!
