Chapter 176

The following morning at school, Miles walked over to us immediately after we arrived. He looked extremely apologetic and we both knew why. 

" Hey guys. I'm really really sorry about my mum yesterday. That wasn't cool at all. "

Kyle had told him not to worry, that it was okay. But I didn't say a thing because I was still a bit hung up on the incident. And I was sure that even if Kyle stated that he was fine, in truth he wasn't. He'd never bring it up but it was something that bothered him deep down. They both turned to me when I said nothing, and I just nodded at Miles and left it at that. He kept trying to explain that his mum just had a really traditional view of matters and she wasn't as open-minded about such things as he'd like her to be. It wasn't his fault of course, and we couldn't just focus on something that had already happened. I was however, never going to set a foot into their house again. 

" Weren't you the one who advised me to just let these sort of things go? Then why do you still look so bothered by it?" Kyle asked me when I was walking him to class. He even stopped and looked at me. I could judge from his expression that the issue was something he was openly curious about. He had class, and he was really eager to just be able to finally sit down and read, so I decided not to make a huge deal out of it and just put his mind at ease. 

" I'm not bothered, I was just concerned about your feelings and I guess it made me a little hesitant to let go of what his mum said. "

" My feelings are completely fine, so don't worry too much. "

Miles'mum wasn't even a major priority at the moment. We had a lot more serious issues to deal with and so if I chose to focus on something a close-minded person had said, I'd just be wasting both my time and energy. As I had already mentioned, the world was full of such individuals and the chances were it would always be full of them. If we chose to concentrate on what they said then we would never know peace and I'd constantly always be angry. 

" You have a free period before lunch today, try and study. Here...I wrote down some short notes for you, try and go through them, "

He handed me a notebook, and I casually flipped through the pages, wondering when he'd gotten the time to do all that. He was putting so much effort into helping me study that I was afraid he was neglecting his own work. But I did find closure in knowing that he was gifted when it came to academics and I didn't have to worry about him much. 

" I love you, and I'll treat you to some Froyo after school, " I told him, gesturing at the notebook in silent gratitude. He smiled and nodded, assuring me it was no big deal. The bell rang and he gave me a quick kiss in the cheek before disappearing into class. I stood out there for a while after he had already left. The school break was upcoming, and I knew I had to try and give Kyle the peace he required to study. He'd never tell me so himself, but what he really wanted was as much time to himself as he could get. And had we not been faced with the Chris situation I would have willingly taken a step back and let him work, but I couldn't risk him being alone. There's no way I'd concentrate knowing that there were chances of him being in danger. So I'd just stay with him and try my best to be as unnoticed as possible. 

Over the course of the next few days, there was nothing really special that happened. We were called back to the station to talk to the cops who had arrived from Phoenix. And I had waited for Kyle to bring up his most recent encounter with Chris but he hadn't done so. Which had left me wondering why he chose not to speak of it, and being the unhinged person that I was, I went ahead and told the cops about it. It seemed like something urgent and there was no need to keep it hidden. Kyle had turned to me afterwards but his expression had been blank. 

I was sure that Chris hadn't tried to approach him again lately. I was always with him,and we were still staying over at my place. And while he had been in the shower I had been unable to control my curiosity so I had quickly gone through his phone to make sure there wasn't anything he was trying to keep from me. I was really tempted to read through his chat with that Reign, but I restrained myself. It was pretty clear that Kyle was going to talk with him even if I asked him not to. And as long as he was with me then I was fine I guess. The guy had already left so there was no need for me to worry about them that much anymore. 

There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary on his phone. It had been a while since I spoke with his mum and clearly the case was the same for Kyle. Which was a reminder for me to call and check up on her. Kyle didn't seem like he was that interested in knowing her wellbeing so it was up to me. 

I finally got my bike back. It was good as new. And when the exams finally began, I realized that I had a commitment that I was supposed to accomplish. The Devil's Maze was like a week or so away.  

I was expecting to be much less enthusiastic about the event, but it had been so long since I even took part in a race that I felt like I needed any excuse I could get to freely ride my bike around. There were a number of cons when it came to the event or whatever it was, but each time I began to worry about them, I just read through the texts in the group chat that Dave had set up and my dread would disappear. Everyone was speaking like it was just a normal thing, and I knew that if I dared to bring up any questions that sounded more like concerns, they'd all wonder what was up with me. I could have told Kyle about it, but I already knew what his reaction and response to the issue was going to be. So instead of the truth, I had told him I had an important race in a few days. He'd wanted to join me and watch, but I had told him that the race wasn't really as big as the others. It was just going to be us, racing around for a while. And there weren't going to be any observers so he wouldn't be able to be there. 

" Where is it gonna be? I can still go with you an wait till you're done. "

" We don't know yet, they're still working in finding a spot. "

" Then just tell me when they have one. I don't have that many plans during the break anyway. "

" Sure, " I smiled and assured him I would. We had been at the store and he had been busy studying. A bunch of books laid out on the counter as he poured out all his concentration on them. But every so often he'd stop and talk to me. He had briefly explained a maths concept to me and had asked me to work out some questions. He was sure that it would appear in our exam and was passionate about making me understand. Books had always drained me of my mental energy, but because it was him and I wanted him to be satisfied and happy, I decided o out in a much effort as I could manage. 

And when the same type of questions has shown up in the test, I had just thought about him and smiled. It was the first time I had even cared about getting something right, because I was completely sure he was going to want to know whether I had at least tried it out. And he was going to be disappointed if I didn't. I put in as much effort as I could. It's not that I found the exams easy or anything. I mean, there were still a lot of questions that I couldn't understand at all and words I had never come across in my life before. But unlike other times, I put in my effort. And I even tried to recall concepts which was something I had never done before. Usually, I just stared at the paper, then I waited till the last twenty or so minutes before I guessed the answers and turned it in. 

When we finished the exams, I felt much lighter and less burdened. Kyle's effect in me would always surprise me. He had no idea the amount of control he had on me. And the things I was willing to do just to make him happy. My dad had been trying to get me to study all my life, but all it had taken was a couple of attempts from Kyle and suddenly I started to become concerned about something I never even thought about before. On that last day before our break began, there was literally nothing going on at school, so I had looked for Kyle so we could just hung out together at our spot under the bleachers. It's not like there was any point in going to class when the teachers weren't going to teach. They must have all been busy marking and grading the tests with the aim of beating the deadline. 

" We can come back to class whenever you want, " I assured him. Although I didn't see the point, most of the other students hadn't even bothered to hang around. They'd left. And I waited for Kyle to find an excuse for us to stay in class when he shocked me by doing the exact opposite. 

" Actually...what if we leave? I mean, it's not skipping school if there aren't any classes, right?" 

I could only smile and and inwardly celebrate.