Zachery Williams

I didn't see Kayla at school on Tuesday. I asked Melissa if she had seen her, but she told me that Kayla didn't come to school.

I called her number but she didn't pick up which had me worried. I couldn't wait for school to end so that I could go check up on Kayla.

When I was done with school I almost ran out of the school but Lydia blocked my path. I sighed in frustration.

"What do you want Lydia?" I asked her as nicely as possible.

"Is it true? Are you dating Kayla?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, Kayla is my girlfriend," I quickly replied.

"What does she have that I don't?" Lydia blurted out.

"What are you talking about Lydia?" I was confused about where the conversation was heading.

"Don't you know how much I love you Zach?" She stepped forward and hugged me.

I was thrown off guard by her confession. I never knew that Lydia liked me that way. And even if she did, I had never thought about her that way.

"Um, Lydia, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't have any romantic feelings for you," I said slowly, gently pushing her away from me.

"No, I know you like me. You just pity Kayla because her life is so pathetic right?" I could see the desperation in her eyes.

"I don't pity her, I genuinely like her. She is different, she is special to me," I said softly.

"No, don't say that Zach. Tell me that you like me," she started pleading me.

"I think of you as my friend, and these past few months you have changed a lot from the girl I knew back when we were kids. I want my friend back. The friend that I had so much fun with," I whispered squeezing her hands gently before I made my way to my car.

****

Parking my car, I went inside the café hoping that Kayla would be there. I looked around the café but didn't see any sign of her. I was worried and my head was filled with different thoughts.

"Becca, didn't Kayla come today?" I asked her urgently.

"Calm down Zach, Kayla is with Jack. She came to work a bit early today. It seems like she didn't go to school," Becca replied.

I thanked her and rushed to Jack's office. I lightly tapped on the door and heard Jack saying to come inside.

When I went inside, I saw Kayla sitting in the chair in front of Jack's table. Jack gave me a smile before looking back at Kayla. "I think you can go back home today, Kayla. You came really early to work here. You didn't go to school either. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's not like that. I just didn't feel like going to school," she replied, not looking up.

"But still, you have done your shift."

"I don't mind doing a few more hours. I can go home at the time I usually get off work," she replied.

"It's not about doing a few more hours. You can't overwork yourself Kayla. I don't want you to, because I take care of my employees. They are like family to me. You are also part of it, so I won't allow it," Jack said stubbornly.

"You can't change his mind Kayla. You might as well give up on that. He won't give in no matter what." I interrupted them.

She sighed in defeat and stood up. She finally looked up at me and forced a smile. She looked tired and had bags under her eyes.

"Zach, take care of her for me. Make sure she gets home safely," he said glancing at me.

I nodded at him and took Kayla's hand. After she grabbed her things, we headed out of the café.

"Kayla? Is something wrong?" I asked her gently.

"No. everything is fine," she said, not meeting my gaze.

"I know you're lying to me. Tell me the truth. You know you can tell me anything you want. I'm always here for you. We're in a relationship. I think we can share our problems with each other. Then only we can move forward." I said as I placed a finger on her chin and tilted her face up to meet my gaze.

"I'm sorry Zach. It's just.. I'm not good at sharing my problems with someone else."

"I understand. But you should know that no matter what happens, I will be there for you. You just have to remember that," I assured her.

"Okay, but can we go somewhere else? I don't wanna go home yet," she said, giving me a small smile.

"Why don't you come to my place? I can help you catch up the lessons that we had today." I asked her.

"We have only two classes together. That's English and History," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but there were lessons that you missed today," I said smugly.

"Okay I will go to your place," she agreed.

I grinned broadly and we climbed my car and I made our way to my house.

***

I opened the front door and led Kayla inside, to the living room. I looked around the house but the house was quiet. I went inside the kitchen and my eyes caught on the piece of paper on the kitchen counter.

'I'm taking Lucy to get your uncle from the airport. I'll be back before dinner. Love, Mom.'

I sighed and grabbed a drink and some snacks and came to the living room. Kayla stood in front the photographs which were hung in the wall.

"You looked so adorable when you were a kid," she commented, looking at my childhood pictures.

"My parents thought it would be nice to display the most humiliating pictures of my childhood days," I grumbled, looking at a picture of me playing with a duck in a bathtub.

"I think your parents are pretty smart, doing something like this." She laughed lightly.

"Can you tell me what's bothering you?" I asked, taking her hand and leading her to the couch.

We both sat on the couch and I pulled her close to me. She played with her fingers and sighed.

"My brother, Ron, he is back. And soon Blake will come too. My dad wants everyone to be here for the twin's birthday. I'm happy that everyone will be coming back together after a long time. But at the same time each of them reminds me of how I was abandoned. They all remind me of the past which I'm trying so hard to move on from."

"Hey, things might have changed since then. You don't know what will happen right?" I whispered.

"I hope so. I mean, Ron is trying to talk to me. And Ashlin seems different too, somehow. It's all a bit overwhelming for me so I didn't go to school. I wanted some time to think about stuff and I didn't want to go back home either. I just wanted to get a break from my family." She looked up at me. "Does it make me a bad person for doing that?"

I looked deeply into her eyes. They held the insecurities she had all her life. The pain she has gone through and the hope of getting her life to normal was clearly evident in her eyes. The short time I had spent with her and knowing about her life was truly blissful for me. The feelings I have been developing since I crashed in to her on the first day of school made me think that she truly is something special in my life.

"No, you have done so much for your family. It's only natural to want a break once in a while." I tried to console her with a smile.

"Thank you so much for being here with me. I honestly don't know how to repay you," she said biting her lip, which drew my attention to her mouth.

"You don't have to repay me or anything. I'm your boyfriend, Kayla, you don't owe, me for being there for you. It's my job." I smiled at her. "But, I won't deny that I would like some reward."

"What kind of reward?" she cocked her head to one side, confused.

"If you don't know what I mean then don't worry about it. You might find out later," I winked with a smirk and stood up.

Suddenly, Kayla grabbed my hand and stepped in front of me. I was momentarily taken aback by her sudden action. I was more shocked when she closed the distance between us and pressed her lips against mine. She kept her hands on my shoulders for support as she kissed me.

I never thought that she would make the first move but I was glad that she did. I composed myself quickly and grabbed her by the waist and kissed her back. Our lips moved together, slowly savoring each other and the moment of our first kiss.

Kayla pushed her hands up and slipped them through my hair, increasing the pace. My heart was racing and I could sense that she was feeling the same things as me. Kissing Kayla was amazing and wonderful. And the soft sound that she made when I deepened the kiss told me that she was enjoying it.

I had been waiting to kiss her since the date but the waiting was worth it and to be rewarded like this in an unexpected way was simply incredible for me.

Kayla pulled back and blushed as she tried to avoid my gaze. She was breathless but she had a huge smile on her face.

"I didn't know that you were so bold," I teased her and lifted her chin up to meet my eyes.

"This is a surprise to me too," she replied, looking at me.

"Then I guess I can kiss you all I want." I grinned as I dropped my eyes to her lips.

She smiled as I leaned in and kissed her again, relishing the taste of her lips.

***

"We're back." Lucy called out as she entered through the front door with my mom following behind her.

I was explaining the lessons to Kayla after our small make out session. She looked flushed as she tried to concentrate on what I was explaining to her.

"Oh Kayla'ss here too?" My mom asked as she saw us on the couch.

"Yeah we are studying. Kayla missed some lessons so I'm helping her catch up," I replied.

"Well, Kayla do you want to wait to have dinner with us?" mom asked as she entered the kitchen with the groceries.

"I would love to," Kayla replied with a polite smile.

"Where's Uncle max?" I asked.

"He is just taking out his luggage. Look, there he is." Mom said as Uncle Max entered the house with his suitcase.

"Hey Zach, wow, you've grown so much. When was the last time I saw you?" he chuckled as he gave me a hug.

"You saw me last year." I returned his hug.

"Who is this beautiful lady here?" He asked as he looked Kayla.

"This is Kayla, my girlfriend." I smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Amanda, Zach has a girlfriend. Why didn't you tell me this?" he asked, pouting like a kid.

"I didn't know that I had to update you of my son's love life," Mom teased. "And this is news to me too, right Zach?

"I was planning on telling you," I mumbled as she gave me a look.

"Sure you were," Mom replied playfully.

"Well, I'm starving. I hope you're making something good." Uncle Max whined like a kid, rubbing his stomach.

"Yes. Dinner will be ready soon," Mom said, getting started on cooking.

***

"That was so delicious, Amanda." Kayla commented as she grabbed her jacket. "Thanks for letting me stay for dinner."

"It's no problem dear. You're welcome any time," Mom replied and hugged her.

"Can you bring Tulio and Tina one day? I want to show them my toys." Lucy said, taking Kayla's hand.

"Of course, they would love to see you again." Kayla patted her head.

"Well, goodnight guys." She waved at them before following me out.

As I drove her home, conversation flowed smoothly between us. We laughed and made jokes. All in all, it had been a nice evening for us.

After parking in front of her house, I followed her to the front door of her house.

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school?" I caught a strand of her hair that was brushing her cheek and tucked it behind her ears.

"Yeah, I'll go tomorrow," she answered. I leaned down and caught her lips with mine. She kissed me back and I slowly pulled back.

"Goodnight Kayla." I mumbled and kissed her forehead. When she went inside, I went back to my car and drove off to home.

***

A/N

Hey my lovely readers. Sorry for the late update. I've been really busy with my job so I couldn't update the story. So here's another chapter for you guys. Let me know what you think!

Love

Ansh