Zachery Williams
Kayla Wilson was a mystery to me. Maybe it's beacuse she was all new to place or the fact that I just met her today. Either way, I can't help but feel that there is more to her than she lets on. It was like there was wall around her which blocks everything out. I watched her carefully as she sipped her coffee, her eyes twinkling with delight.

"What about you? What are you doing here?" Kayla's low voice grabbed my attention.

"I'm just helping Liam's brother. He runs this place." I answered smiling. "Anyways, you said you were looking for something right? Did you find it?"

"Nop, I didn't." She replied disappointed.

"How do you like it here so far?" I asked changing the topic after seeing her disappointed face.

"It's really different than back in New York. This place is really quiet. I really like it here." She answered with a small smile.

"Well, you have not seen the whole town yet. I can show you around if you want." I offered.

"No, that's okay. I'm sure there would be other things more important to you than showing me around the town. But thanks for the offer." Kayla said looking down.

"Oh, I don't have that much important stuff to do, except babysitting Lucy if that counts." I said thinking about my adorable baby sister.

"Is she your sister?" She guessed.

"Yup, she's my princess." I replied. "Do you have any siblings?"

My question froze Kayla a bit as she hesitated before giving an answer.

"Yes, five siblings." She mumbled shortly before sipping her drink.

"Wow, that's a lot." I said amused.

"Zach, can I ask you a favor?" She asked ignoring my remark.

I nodded slowly wondering what favor she wanted from me. Kayla bit her lip before glancing at me with a hopeful look.

"Does this place offer a part time job?" She inquired.

Without answering her question I grabbed her hand and led her to the room where Jack usually stays. I knocked on the door before entering the room leading Kayla inside.

"Zach, is there a problem in the café? And who is this, your girlfriend?" Jack asked grinning.

"No!" Kayla and I cried out at the same time.

"Jack, this is Kayla. She is a friend of mine." I explained to him. "Kayla was asking me if this place offers a part time job. So I brought her to you."

"Well, I need so help around the cafe', guess you are lucky Kayla." Jack said with a gentle smile.

"Does that mean I got the job?" Kayla asked in a small voice.

"Of course, you work on Mondays through Fridays after school hours till six as a waitress. Is that okay with you?" Jack said. "Oh and please call me Jack, not sir."

"Yes, thank you so much sir. Sorry, I mean Jack. You won't be disappointed." Kayla said giving a large smile. I couldn't help but notice how her face brightens up with that smile. The dimple on her left cheek was visible as she directed that smile at me. For a minute, I was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked when she laughed. My heart started beating fast and everything around me faded as I only saw Kayla in front of me. It was like there was only the two of us in the world. I came back to reality when Jack called my name.

"Zach, have you seen Liam? He said he'd be here like thirty minutes ago but still hasn't showed up." Jack asked me glancing at his watch.

"Nope, the last time I saw him, he was leaving school with Melissa." I answered with a shrug.

"Oh, I'll just give him a call again. So see you tomorrow, Kayla."He beamed at her.

We both walked out of Jack's small office and Kayla walked over to the cashier to pay for her coffee. After paying, we exited the cafe'. It was just past six and the sky was already turning dark. The wind was cold and Kayla rubbed her hands before pulling her jacket closer.

"So, um thanks for helping me back there. If it wasn't for you, I probably wouldn't have gotten this job." Kayla murmured, looking at me.

"We are friends, and friends help each other." I grinned.

"It's just that, it has been a long time since anyone's helped me." She said softly looking down.

"What do you mean?" I blurted surprised looking at her face. She looked taken back by my question, but only for a moment. She covered it up with a blank expression.

"I gotta go. My dad would be worried if I'm late coming home." She said in a hurry before leaving, making me more curious about her.

'She has many secrets that she is hiding from everyone.' I thought to myself before thinking back to lunch time.

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I watched as Lydia made her way to the table where Kayla was sitting alone, eating her lunch. I was hoping that she wouldn't do anything to Kayla. They had a small conversation which ended with Lydia dumping Kayla's lunch tray on to her head. I stood up from my seat as I didn't want to watch Kayla being humiliated in front of everyone. She was biting her lips with her hand gripping on to her bag so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.

"What the hell Lydia? What did she even do to you?" I demanded, grabbing her hand.

Kayla turned around and walked out of the cafeteria without paying any attention to her.

"She is a bitch who murdered her own mom. She deserved that." Lydia replied with a roll of her eyes.

"That's got nothing to do with you. And for the record, I don't even think that's true." I said angrily.

"Well her sister said so, so I think it is very true." Lydia said in a bored tone.

"Even so, it does not give you a right to bully her. This is just low Lydia. I never expected this from you." I snapped at her and left the cafeteria to find Kayla.

After searching around the school for her, I finally spotted her walking towards the biology class with her face hidden as she was looking at the ground. It pained me to see her like that. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. And instincs told me that whatever Lydia said back there was all bullshit. Kayla seemed too nice to even hurt a fly. I might have not known her well but I was sure that she was being misjudged by everyone.

Kayla was walking at a slow pace but looked up at me when I blocked her path. Her eyes were red, proving that she had cried a lot a few minutes ago.

"Hey, you okay? I'm really sorry about that. Lydia is not herself. I mean she drank a lot last night, so she is still you know." I trailed off, scratching the back of my head, hoping that my lame excuse would be enough. Even though I knew Lydia was wrong, I couldn't help but defend her. Maybe it was because she had been my friend since we were kids, and I was hoping that one day I would see that friend again.

"It's okay. You don't have to apologize." She said in a small voice before turning to leave.

"Wait, you didn't answer my first question." I called out.

She turned around to face me and gave a small smile before heading to the class. I knew that the smile was fake and I knew that she was hurt even if she was trying to hide with a smile. But I would eventually find out everything there is to know about her.

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I opened the front door of my house and made my way to the kitchen. My mom was busy cooking dinner while Lucy sat at the counter, munching on a cookie.

"Hey mom, what are you making for dinner tonight?" I asked, giving her a quick hug.

"Spaghetti with meatballs, you're dad's favorite. He should be home soon." She answered, glancing at the clock.

"Princess, give me a bite from that delicious cookie you're eating." I crouched down and gave Lucy my best puppy look.

"No! This cookie is mine." She said her mouth full.

"But you have to share, it's good manners right?" I asked, pinching her cheeks. Lucy sat still for a minute, no doubt contemplating on what to do. She looked from me to the cookie and then back again. Finally deciding, she offered me a small piece of the cookie and quickly gobbled up the other half.

"Thank you princess, you should always share okay?" I said, stifling a chuckle from her action and kissed her forehead.

"Zach, can you please call your uncle and ask him to mail me all the important documents I asked for tonight?" My mom said wiping her hands on a towel.

" I don't have his number." I said, scrolling through my contact list.

"Take my phone and call him then." She turned her attention back to the stove.

I went to the front yard of my house and called my Uncle Max to relay the message. I was about to head back inside when my dad's car pulled into the driveway. He was on the phone with someone as he came out and locked the car.

"I'm home now. Yeah, me too." I heard him say before hanging up.

"Dad, who was that on the phone just now?" I asked, walking over to him.

"That was your mom. She was just asking me where I was." He said after a moment of silence and gave a nervous chuckle.

As I followed him inside, I wondered why he lied to me. I had mom's phone with me so it clearly couldn't have been her. And the way he reacted when I asked him about the caller made me suspicious.

'Is he having an affair with someone? But that's impossible,he loves mom too much to do anything to hurt her. It might have been a client of him, but why would he lie about that? I'm thinking too much, it probably was a client.' I convinced myself as I joined my family for dinner, ignoring the weird feeling at the back of my mind.

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A/N

I'm really sorry about the late update. I was busy with my exams and stuff. I hope you guys like the chapter.