Chapter 137

" What the heck is this?" Austin asked as he snatched my phone away and abruptly sat up, his eyes focused on the screen as he quickly tried to read through the texts. And I let him, because I had gotten to a point where I was done with entertaining his little immature actions. He could act out if he wished to, but I was hoping that for once he would actually try to be considerate and react like an actual rational being. 

He exaggeratedly gasped as he scrolled. Then he looked at me as if waiting for some sort of explanation.

" You were planning on going out with him. "

" I was, he's my friend, can't I go out with my friends?" 

" Stevens we talked about this, you promised to never talk to him again!" 

" Whoa,I never promised any such thing. And plus he's leaving so I'm basically just going to say goodbye."

He went back to the phone, I was very strict when it came to privacy, but apparently that was an aspect of myself I had to give up on if I wanted to be with Austin. He had absolutely no sense of boundaries. He finally stopped scrolling and placed the phone down, then he reached for the remote and paused the movie we had been watching. I had closed up early for the same of that damn movie, no way was I gonna let his tantrums ruin the night for me. 

" I'm letting you get involved in your ex's shady business, I'm pretty sure you have no right to decide who I can or can't hang out with. "

Reign and I were going to a public place, with other people. And after that we'd probably not see each other again for a long while. Unlike Austin who met up with that psycho in a fucking motel room to discuss how he'd get away with murder!

Was I angry?... Possibly. But did I have reason to be?.... Definitely!

He kept quiet, and I could tell by that look on his face that all he wanted was attention and for me to feel bad and cancel my plans, so I reached for the bowl of Cheetos and took a handful of them before playing the movie once more. Austin was a master manipulator. He was going to make me feel like the bad guy when I hadn't even done anything wrong.

" Reign's okay, I don't get why you're so obsessed with hating him. "

" Coz he wants you? "

" And Chris wants you, but you don't see me scrolling through your chats and deleting stuff, do you?" 

" That's ridiculous! Chris doesn't--"

" Oh spare me. You're not that clueless so don't pretend to be. "

That got him to shut up. He sighed and remained in the same state of silence for a while, and when he finally decided to talk again, it was to ask whether he could accompany me to see Reign. And because I was mentally stable, I flat out refused. Even warned him against trying to follow me because I could see him working it all out in that sly mind of his. He had a race the following day so I suggested he get some rest. I had too much to think about to worry about his insecurities. For instance, I was trying to think of a way to get him to study. 

Otherwise he wasn't going to graduate. 

You needed to pass inorder to do that, and his scored were below whatever was below average. Before I was always scared of asking him to study or forcing it in him because I was certain he'd get angry. But that was only enabling him to continue being how he was. 

What angered me more was the fact that I knew he wasn't actually dumb or anything, if he put his mind to it he could study and improve. I wasn't expecting a miracle, but seeing him out some effort would be nice. 

Especially with the midterms just around the corner, he was gonna be mad for sure but I was doing it for him. He'd study whether he wanted to or not. 

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AUSTIN'S POV

I had decided to make a quick stop by Chris's room just to check up on him,but he had asked me if I could stay for a bit. Said there was something he wanted to talk to me about. I was curious, and I ended up staying just to find out whatever it was. But for the past ten or so minutes, all I had gotten were baseless questions that held no actual significance. The same things he kept on asking each time we met. Like whether Miles had any info. And as I always told him, he'd be the first one to know when we got any news. Miles was currently super busy helping his dad out with work. As odd as it might sound, he was spending most of his free time at the church where his father preached. 

He hadn't even been able to help me withy racing but I understood a thing or two about having strict parents. And his were no joke! I had met them twice and even though they had been nothing but nice and polite,I could just sense that there was more to them. That strictness that couldn't go away despite how much they smiled. Miles had told me they always did everything they had to to ensure he turned out okay. And by okay I meant different from how he actually was. 

He had confessed that if his parents ever actually found out the things he did under their noses they were going to turn red with rage. But he had been messing around with them so much he was an expert at it. All his parents need to know was that their son was a well-behaved and hard-working student who only lived to do good and serve The Almighty. 

The same Miles who had once told me he might as well fuck up and have fun on earth because no one knew what would become of us after death. THAT Miles! 

It was quite humourous really. And that was proof that most parents just pretended to be aware of who their children were. There was no way to know what went on inside your child's head. Or to know what he or she did when you weren't around. The choices they made...

" I have to get going, " I told Chris, then I turned around with the intention to leave. 

" Oh, how's Kyle? Last time he didn't seem too happy about us being friends. "

" Kyle's completely fine, don't worry about him. " I made that point very clear. And I was starting to get the feeling that Chris was interested in way more than my help. Kyle has probably been right, and I was going to just make things clear once and for all. Before Chris got any more ideas in his head. I turned to face him, then I pegged him with a stern look. 

" Look, Kyle and I... we're good. I love him and whatever we have going on is serious. So please don't do or say anything rash because I'll forget all about my vow to help you out. Got that?" 

He was the one in need of my help after all. And I was just helping him out of respect for our friendship. He looked away and nodded. There was so much more he wanted to say but he stopped himself. I didn't hang around after that, I had a race to get to. I was also going to try and give Kyle some space. 

It had nothing to do with the comment that friend of his had made the previous day, but I knew that he needed to have his own time to do his own things. So I was going to stay away until that evening. Khloe had called to ask me why I wasn't going back home, whether there was something wrong. I had been staying with Kyle since his mum left so I understood her concern. And I had said I'd pass by later on. I was so used to sleeping with Kyle but maybe, for just one night, I could stay at my house. 

The only thing that bothered me was Kyle's meeting with that guy the following day. I didn't get it at all. Despite how much Kyle tried to justify it I was never going to change my opinion on him. Even in their chats he was just as cocky and flirty. And I was glad he was leaving. I hoped he'd go to another continent and decide to stay there permanently! And since I had decided to give him time, I decided I ought to meddle just one last time. 

I had gotten his mum's phone number from his phone and it was only right for me to call her. He could keep calling me a hypocrite all he wanted but I was still going to do what my gut suggested I do. Besides, I was doing it for him.