Page 26 of Sins of a Rebel

“You got plans tonight?” she asks, glancing over at Madden to see if he’s looking.

“I’m gonna call it an early night.”

She winces, the pang of rejection evident on her face before she quickly smoothes it over.

“I’ll see ya around, Tysin.” She shakes her head.

“Kyla.” She stops in her tracks, peering back over at me.

“I’ll hit you up when I get home, all right?”

She flicks her eyes over to Madden, then looks around to see if anyone is listening before focusing on me.

“Listen, I don’t know what’s gotten into you tonight, but I’m not going to stand here and watch you flirt with other women and take them home, then come back to me when you’re bored. It’s not gonna fuckin’ happen.”

“Now is not a good time to talk about this.”

“I’ve said what I want to say on the matter. I won’t let you treat me like I’m some backup plan or a second choice.” She snaps her mouth shut, the emotion burning in her eyes.

“Kyla—”

She holds her hand up to stop me. “I haven’t spoken to you in days, Tysin. I know we haven’t talked about what’s going on between us, but you need to figure out what you want. Or I’ll be the one to figure it out for us both.”

Chapter Nine

Kyla

I wanted to believe it was all in my head.

“I swear I’m never dating another man for as long as I live,” I grumble, collapsing on my bed.

I quickly changed into my pajamas as soon as I got home, my hair tied into a knot. The weight of exhaustion settles over me, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach says I won’t be able to sleep tonight. Foo Fighters plays in the background, helping drown out the thoughts hitting me one after another.

I attempt to focus on the lyrics, absentmindedly scrolling TikTok to occupy my mind. All I’ve been able to think about is how different things seemed to be with Tysin tonight at Whiskey Barrel.

He was on edge, distant, and didn’t seem to pay attention at all to the fact I was there. The same thing happened with Ivy. Even though she insisted she didn’t feel well, I couldn't figure it out.

When the band wrapped up their set, I waited for Tysin to signal for me to meet him at his place. Things were perfect the last night we spent together. I wanted to believe there was something else going on.

I try justifying in my mind that maybe he got into an argument with his mom again, or maybe he was not getting along with the guys before their show? He’s been working on his motorcycle for weeks. What if something happened with his bike?

I was using anything to justify the distance between us. I couldn’t cover up the feeling churning in my stomach. Something was going on.

It has nothing to do with his mom, the band, or his bike. None of it. It’s all about me, us.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and Ivy’s name flashes on the screen. I glance over at the nightstand, the time just after two in the morning.

Why would she be calling so late?

“Hey,” I answer. I’m met with the sound of a heart-aching sob filtering through the phone.

I sit up quickly, pressing the phone firmly to my cheek. “Ivy, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen?” I rattle off.

“Can I stop over?”

My parents are out of town for their annual weekend trip to Raleigh. They grew up there and make the drive every summer for their anniversary. It left me home in the quiet house, taking care of our dogs.

“Of course, I’m home. I’ll see you in a few.”

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