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“Fucking asshole!” I rise from my seat, pacing the room. I can’t even comprehend what kind of a monster he is. He doesn’t just deserve to lose his company. He needs to lose everything else. His name, family, friends, and serve jail time if possible. I want to ruin him completely. I want him to know who is responsible for his downfall.
I grab my phone from the couch, scrolling through the internet. The home address of an important man like him is usually public knowledge. It shouldn’t be hard to get to him. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I show up at his house to tell him I’m his son, and I’ll be the one to destroy him.
“Bingo!” I clutch tightly to my phone, eyes darting left to right as I read the address. “Eighteenth, Mundy Mill Road, Gainesville.”
I grab my shirt from the edge of the couch, putting it on. It’s past eight already. If I go now, I should get back way before Dylan comes home. I walk over to the porcelain bowl on one of the shelves on the wall and grab my car keys. Walking over to the door, I pull it open, stopping abruptly as the cold breeze blows a wave of sleek black hair my way. The feminine figure standing on the doorstep has her arms tucked at her sides. She’s shaking violently under the night’s air. I can’t see her face, but the familiar scent of her perfume fills my nose. Relief washes over me, and the plan to go to Andrew’s house disappears from my thoughts. I reach out to place my palm on her shoulder.
“Lee-Lee. It’s good to see—”
I stop abruptly as she turns to face me. Her eyes are red and puffy. There’s a trail of tears, running down her cheek, and she’s holding a handkerchief to her nose.
“Kaylee.”I step out of the living room. “What’s wrong?”
She hurries over, wrapping her arms around me.
“I’m sorry, Ian.” She sniffles. “I’m sorry, I– I didn’t know where else to go.”
“It’s fine.” I press her close to me. “Come inside. It’s cold out.”
“No–– Dylan, He can’t—”
“Don’t worry about that.” I cup her face in my hands. “He went to Jessie’s. He won’t be back for some time.”
She sniffles, nodding slowly. I wrap my arms over her shoulder, leading her inside. She looks around the living room before sinking on the couch as I close the door behind me. I take a seat beside her, wrapping my palm around hers.
“Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“The grant,” she whimpers, “they– they didn’t–” She buries her face in her palm, sobbing quietly.
“Hey, hey.” I inch closer to her. “What happened?”
She sniffles again, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears on her face. “They gave it to Rachael. The grant, the contract…everything.”
My lips part open as I stare at the wall.
“I don’t know,” Kaylee continues. “I don’t know why. I did everything right…I did everything–” She sniffles more. “I tried to be good. I did everything right. Even when Rachael stole everything from me, I tried to take the high road, but then this happens. God, when am I gonna get a break?”
I take her head, resting it on my shoulder. “Don’t worry Lee-Lee, everything is going to be fine.”
This is definitely the work of Alex Whittaker. He’s trying to show how much of a hold he has on me. But that’s the thing; he has played his hand. Giving Rachael the grant instead of Kaylee is the only card he has, and now he has nothing left. I turn to Kaylee, who is still sobbing. Stroking her hair, I place a kiss on her forehead.
“That grant was my only hope,” she continues. “I wanted to prove that I can do this myself, and I’m not just some failure who has to depend on everyone around her. But now–”
My stomach twists in knots as Kaylee sobs into her hands.
This is all my fault. If I didn’t get involved with her, and Alex didn’t see us together, she would have won the grant.
“Hey.” I cup her face in my palms, raising her gaze to meet mine. “You’re not a failure”
“Then why does it feel like that?”
“It’s not your fault that you weren’t picked. Those guys are a bunch of dicks, and they don’t know a good thing if it kicked them in the nut.”
She chuckles, sniffling all the while. “Thanks.”
“Don’t worry, Lee-Lee. you’re going to be fine, I promise.”
She nods, squeezing my hand gently. My gaze slides down as her thumb strokes my knuckles. Tingles spread across my skin, and I gulp.
