Page 26 of Crashing Into Me
“Well,” Maureen started as she eyed Lana in disapproval, “I see nothing’s changed one bit.”
She took off her coat and handed it to him like he was a servant, and he placed it on the coat rack. She was dressed in Chanel from head to toe, typical of what you’d see in old family money. A snobbish and trite cliché. The blonde walked through the door next, dressed in jeans so tight, she was sure to contract a yeast infection by morning.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Kayden asked angrily. The blonde smiled at him, turned her nose up at Lana, and returned her attention to him.
“I’m happy to see you too, Kay,” she replied, then followed Maureen into the living room, shooting darts through her eyes at Lana.
Captain Jackson walked in and nodded to Kayden and Lana and followed after Maureen and Kim. As Kayden closed the door to the house. He mouthed the words “I’m so sorry.” She felt raw and intruded upon by the brat pack that just waltzed into their space without invitation or warning.
“Who’s the blonde?” she asked, her arms still folded across her chest.
“My ex, Kim, and trust me, I have no idea what she’s doing here.”
Kayden stalked into the living room, still in his boxers, towards the group as Lana slowly made her way into the kitchen, hoping she could make it upstairs to put on more clothes.
“What’s going on, Mother? I figuredyoumight make an appearance, but why isshewith you?”
“Please put some clothes on, dear. There are some pressing matters we need to discuss,” she replied, like she was the queen of England.
He turned around and started for the stairs that Lana was almost halfway up. She caught Kim looking at him in his boxers and didn’t like it. When he made it next to her, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and she kissed him on the shoulder as they walked up the stairs together. Kim’s smile faded quickly when she saw the affection between the two of them and looked over at Maureen.
“Not to worry, I’m sure that’ll be over and done with once we leave here in the morning,” she replied.
Kim relaxed on the couch a little, but still didn’t like what she saw. Lana and Kayden walked into her room and closed the door behind them.
“I’m so sorry, Lan’, I had no idea she was coming,” he said, turning her around to face him.
“I know Kayden,” she replied, raising her eyebrow to him.
She grabbed his hand and sat him on the edge of her bed. “Listen, I meant what I said. It’s crazy and wild, and we might both be insane, but I’ve spent my entire life playing it safe for far too long. I will marry you, but what I was trying to tell you earlier wasn’t about that.”
“Then what is it?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“It’s Rachel.”
Kayden’s face went from frustrated by the drama downstairs to instantly blank. He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving, and it was as if he’d turned into a statue before her eyes.
“The other day, when you yelled at me for going to see her in the storm, I didn’t have a chance to tell you everything. Things have just happened so fast between us since then,” she said, talking a mile a minute.
He put his hand over hers. “How bad is it?”
She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. And he dropped his head.
“I’m so sorry. The receptionist wouldn’t let me go up to see her. She said she wasn’t in the room any longer?—”
“Shh,” he cut her off, and stood from the bed, walking to the window.
Suddenly, his eyes were full of tears, and he ran his hands through his hair. It was something she’d recognized as a stress signal in him. He’d done it on the highway, at the diner, and the first night by the fireplace. She wished there was something she could do, but was drawing a blank.
“Kayden, I didn’t know how to tell you. I wanted to so much the last few days, but you’ve been so happy and inspired, I didn’t want to ruin that for you. It was selfish of me, and I’m sorry.”
He turned to her now, his face now the one full of tears, and she leaped from the bed and ran across the room to him. He held onto her almost too tightly, and she let him as he cried softly on her shoulder.
“It’s my fault. I’m the one who keeps ruining people’s lives,” he said, wracked with emotion. She hugged him even tighter.
“Don’t say that. Don’t you think like that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he pulled away from her, “I deserve whatever happens to me this time.”
