Page 18 of Rough Start

We’ll discover our own island! Name it after its founder.

Naturally, I assume you mean yourself.

Duh. Kye Island sounds fantastic. Eliana Island sounds ridiculous. She had to cover her mouth she was laughing so loudly, and the last thing she wanted was her father ruining this happy moment. It amazed her how just a brief conversation with Kye could give her an escape from her life. Even sitting in front of a stack of unpaid bills one room over from her drunk father, she was already on that island with him.

It’s all the ‘L’s. Too much of a mouthful.

I’d take a mouthful… By God, even in text he was making her flustered.

Kye Driscoll!

Yeah, baby?

I’m in love with you. She’d sent the text without even thinking, and there was a moment of sheer panic when she tried to hit ‘delete’ before it had gone through. Her hands were in a cold sweat while she waited for his reply.

I was hoping to say it first… I’m in love with you, Eliana Granville. Her giggle of delight mixed with the tears rolling down her face, she had to wipe her eyes with her sleeve just to see the screen.

Well if we waited for you to make the first move, it might take another nine months.

Touché. I won’t make that mistake again.

Good. I’m trusting you.

I hope to never let you down.

Just don’t break my heart, okay?

Never.

* * *

Kye felt guilt sitting on his chest like a ton of bricks. He’d known he was never going to forgive himself for sleeping with Blondie, but did it have to be the same night he and Eliana exchanged ‘I love you’? Tossing his phone onto his bed, he moved into the bathroom to take a shower. A very cold shower. He was going to scrub every inch of skin that Blondie had touched until he was positive nothing of her lingered. He knew when he joined the club that there would be things he’d have to do that he didn’t like, but taking this method of payment hadn’t even crossed his mind.

The showerhead might as well have pelted him with ice cubes the water was so cold. Why did it have to be Blondie? What would it feel like to have Eliana’s lips on him that way? Lathering the soap, he scrubbed himself raw. His skin was red when he stepped out, and his teeth were rattling. He quickly dressed in sweatpants and was pulling his shirt on when he made it back to his bedroom where Stan and Carey were waiting.

“This can’t be good…” he said under his breath. Stan was holding Kye’s leather cut in one hand and Carey was sitting on the edge of the bed looking worried.

“Son?” Stan asked shortly as he extended the cut. Kye took it from him and hung it on the back of the chair. “That cut doesn’t belong on you or in this house.”

“Should I leave it outside?”

“Don’t be nasty, Kye,” Carey said sternly. “That gang is nothing but trouble. It’s not the direction you need to be going in.”

“We won’t allow it, Kye. It’s not an option,” Stan agreed.

“I’m not giving up the club,” Kye stated bluntly. “I’m sorry you don’t like it, but I’ve decided.”

“Not as long as you’re living with us, Kye,” Carey said with the first glint of tears in her eyes. “If any of your gang, or the drugs or violence make it back here, we could lose our license to foster.”

“Your paychecks, you mean?” Kye asked defensively.

“Don’t you talk to her like that,” Stan snapped as he stood between them. “We have the right to set rules in this house, and you will obey them. Are you even working at Hal’s garage, or was that a lie to cover where you’ve been? What about the college visit? Another lie?”

“Kye, you’re headed down a slippery slope,” Carey cautioned. “We’ve seen too many of our foster children get wrapped up in the wrong crowd. Your focus should be school and going to college. What about your friend, Eliana? She’s the kind of person you need to be around. Do you two still talk?”

“Yeah, we still talk,” Kye replied, and the guilt he felt over their last conversation sank in. No matter how cold he’d made the shower and how much soap he’d used, he couldn’t get rid of the smell of Blondie’s perfume.

“Well good,” Stan said with an element of relief. “You know, she’s got a bright future. She’s sure to get into Harvard. You should focus on that relationship and not this Demons nonsense.”