Page 4 of Law Of Love

“Where are you sleeping?” asked Kaleb with interest, his eyes flicking over to the couch that was definitely not big enough for the both of us.

“Sarah's in the guest bedroom, and I thought Freya could stay in Brie's old room.”

Kaleb's body tensed up at the mention of the name Brie. His face was a picture of animosity and fury as he remained frozen, his fingers digging into his pizza crust a little too harshly, grease dripping from it and splattering down onto the table.

“I thought we said we would leave the room untouched.” He ground his teeth together, suddenly dropping his pizza on his plate, pushing his chair back and standing. The metal scraped against the wooden floor, a harsh sound filling the room.

“Kaleb, I've already—“

“I've lost my appetite.” He knocked back the rest of his whisky, his knuckles white. I watched in concern as he disappeared upstairs, and Jackie released a heavy sigh as she shook her head.

I hadn't even been here an hour, but I was already dreading spending another second here with Kaleb Evans.

Two: Freya

Iglared at my reflection in the mirror, unhappy with my appearance despite the effort and time I’d dedicated to making myself look presentable today. No matter how many times I redid my makeup, I still wasn't happy with it—it either seemed too much or not enough. There was no in-between.

Why was I so worked up over how I looked, anyway?

After angrily wiping it off, I combed through my freshly washed hair, grabbing my laptop and college work. Shoving them into my backpack, I muttered a string of curse words. Since the other night, I’d been in a foul mood.

Kaleb had made it clear he didn’t want my mother and me here, and he was nothing if not unwelcoming. I didn't understand his problem, and it riled me up, knowing we had done nothing to warrant this behaviour. Hearing I was staying in Brie's room had been his final straw.

I felt awkward sleeping in a bed that wasn’t mine, but the room was cute and cosy. The walls were painted blush pink, and the décor was minimal. Jackie had explained how she’d cleaned it out around two months ago, and although I didn't know who Brie was, I refrained from asking questions. It was clearly a touchy subject.

I made my way down the steps, not looking forward to seeing Kaleb, fully expecting him to subject me to copious snide remarks and judgemental glances. But luckily for me, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Mom, I’m leaving,” I called, smiling when she popped her head around the corner from the kitchen, her arm soon following her to give me a quick wave.

After pulling my car keys out of my pocket, I unlocked my small vehicle and hopped in, turning on the ignition. However, I cringed when it made a loud cracking noise, the engine sounding like it smoked a packet a day.

“Are you kidding me?” I hissed to myself, allowing my forehead to fall forward onto the solid material of the steering wheel, defeat hitting me like a ton of bricks.

What a great way to start an already shitty day.

Shoving the key into the ignition one more time, laughing in disbelief when it made the same abominable sound, I scrambled out of my car, slamming the door shut with fury.

“Freya?” questioned Jackie as she finished her toast, grabbing her own car keys from the hook by the door. “Are you okay?”

“My car has decided it wants to test me today,” I grumbled, tucking my wet hair behind my ears, my lips down-turned.

“Oh, I've got a meeting I'm already really late for, but I'm sure Kaleb could take you,” suggested Jackie as she gazed up towards the stairs, raising her eyebrows at her son, who came rushing down, his face stone-cold. His hair was wet—fresh from a shower.

“I'm busy,” he said, making his way past us, refusing to make eye contact, jumping into his Jeep and reversing off the driveway. His tyres screeched against the slippery gravel as he pulled out onto the road, disappearing.

Jackie stood with her hand on her hip, glaring towards where Kaleb's expensive car once was, clearly not impressed. Shaking her head, she muttered a quick sorry to me before her tall frame ducked through the doorway, pulling the hood of her coat up over her head.

I sighed, my eyes bulging once I noticed the time on the living room clock. I was going to be late, and my lecturer wouldn’t be impressed—he’d dealt with my tardiness more than a few times this month.

“Honey, I would take you, but it's the opposite direction from my office,” said my mom, offering me a small smile.

“No, don't worry,” I assured her, sighing. “I can walk.”

“Have a great day.” She planted a quick kiss on the side of my face before walking out of the door.

Exiting the house, I huffed as the gale of wind slapped me in the face, whirling my hair around violently. I pulled out my phone as I trudged along the sidewalk in the rain, feeling anger radiate throughout my body as I read through the messages I’d sent my father.

Clicking on his name—scowling at the irritating buzzing noise as I called him again—I sighed as the seconds passed. But, just as I was about to give up, the ringing stopped, indicating that the line had been connected.

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