Chapter 115

" Cheer up already, I won't bring it up again, I was just trying to point something out but it was clearly a mistake. "

His idea of not bringing it up again was quite interesting, considering that he kept bringing it up every chance he got. His dad finally arrived and the food was served. Some fancy meal that must have taken a lot of time to make, and there was also so much of it. Even if three more people joined us, I was sure there would still be leftovers. 

" I'm so glad you accepted to join us Kyle, " Austin's dad commented and I smiled at him. I couldn't really tell whether he was completely okay with the fact that Austin and I were dating. Even though he acted as if he didn't care, I knew he must have been caught off guard by the news. He wasn't like my mum, I suspected she wouldn't care even if I was caught in a crazy sex scandal with a teacher at school. That's the kind of parent that she was, such things were of utterly no significance to her. Even if they involved her son. But Austin's dad definitely cared, and for him to have just been blasted with that sort of news....

" Austin told me he was helping you out at your job yesterday, " 

I felt Austin's hand on my thigh, he was signaling for me to play along, but he knew he didn't have to ask me to do so. I nodded and told his father that he had. 

" So you work?" 

" It's just a part-time job at a record store. Nothing big, "

" Nonsense! That's definitely significant, you two are the same age, right?" 

I turned to Austin and slowly nodded. He had quit eating and was currently leaning against his seat, his arms crossed as he stared at his father with a look that implied he was already fed up of being there. 

" That's very impressive. Don't lose that spirit, I wish some kids realized how tough the real world actually was. "

Austin mumbled something underneath his breath, and I was certain it hadn't been anything nice. His father however appeared unfazed. I was being put in a very uncomfortable situation and I didn't appreciate it one bit, but luckily Khloe came to the rescue and diverted the subject entirely. She started telling us about the baby names she had picked out. Earlier on, while we had been in the living room, I had noticed that Kyle and her seemed to be on neutral terms. There was something about their relationship that had changed and I had been proud of him for finally acting how he ought to, but this time, when she asked him something, he replied with zero enthusiasm. Using words such as 'sure' and 'whatever'. He even went as far as telling her to " ask her husband" when she asked for his opinion. 

And all because his father had made a remark that he didn't like. And he was the sort of person that liked proving a point, the only issue was he did it in all the wrong ways. And when he acted like that, it dawned on me that most of the times, he was just being plain rude. I didn't want to use this term but it was very immature of him and he had to know better. No amount of pain or anger permitted him to speak to anyone like that. 

" Austin!" His father angrily called him out. His hand was still on my thigh, but then his phone rang and he retracted it to answer the call. 

" Yeah, sure. I'll be there, " he said after a while, then he hung up, glanced from Khloe to his dad and stood up. 

" We have to go, " he said, his hand on my shoulder to urge me up. 

" But you've barely eaten anything, " Khloe complained in a soft tone. He said he wasn't hungry. A total lie since he had confessed that he was starving while we had been in his room. 

" Then go wherever it is you're going, let Kyle stay and finish his food. " his dad said. I looked up at Austin and he raised his brows, and when I asked him where he wanted us to go, he simply said I'd know when we got there, but that it was urgent. 

I knew whatever it was wasn't actually that urgent, he just wanted to be out of there, and he didn't wanna leave without me. And even though I loved him, in that moment I was a little pissed and disappointed in him. For reasons that were quite clear. Leaving like that would have been nothing if not impolite, especially if I was doing it just to help him boost his pride. I knew if I chose to stay he'd be enraged, but I just wasn't going to blindly follow him and paint a bad picture to his dad and Khloe. That wasn't the type of person I was and he knew that. 

" Let's just go after we're done, I'm sure whatever it is can wait, "

I slightly pulled his seat back and waited for him to settle back down, but he never did. 

" No it can't. "

" What is it then? An emergency? " I was trying my best to keep my tone as low as possible. 

" He clearly wants to stay, why are you forcing him to go with you?" His father asked and I had the feeling that things would escalate. But just when I was about to stand and apologize for having to leave, Austin scoffed and walked away. I trailed after him until he disappeared from view, his father told me not to mind him but that was impossible. Everything that concerned Austin would without a doubt affect me in one way or the other. I wasn't even sure how but he was turning things around, he was going to get mad at me despite having been the one at fault. I knew him too well, and the guilt I was feeling was proof of that. I didn't think I had done anything wrong, but I felt like I had because I never liked to upset him. 

The next fourty or so minutes were some of the most tensed and uneasy ones I had been been a part of. His dad and stepmom tried to make me feel comfortable and at ease, but that unhinged and complex boy was the only thing in my mind. I recalled how he was whenever he was mad and I immediately thanked them for the meal and excused myself, saying my goodbyes and telling them I had to go. 

" Take care of yourself Kyle, " Khloe told me and I told her I would. And as I was turning around to leave, his father spoke up as well. 

" You'll need a whole lot of patience and a spine of steel to deal with him. Otherwise he'll make you lose your mind entirely!Trust me, I speak from experience. "

I didn't know what to say or do, so I simply nodded and walked away. And once I was outside, I tried calling him, but he wouldn't pick up. It was all intentional. He knew better than to pull off those sort of stunts with me, he was making me angry and worried and a whole lot of other things that I couldn't even name. His father didn't have to tell me anything, I was well aware of what I had to expect and deal with as far as Austin was concerned. But we'd been okay for so long I had almost forgotten how he could be. I mean, the guy had literally smashed a mirror just because he had been mad. And that was anger directed towards his dad, this time he wasn't too happy with me either. 

I called him a total of four times and he never picked up. Neither did Miles who I suspected had been the one that had called him. And I would have gone over to his house but I wasn't even sure which one it was. My social issues wouldn't allow me to just knock on any door with no solid assurance that it was Miles' home. 

In the end, I gave up and went back home. He was giving me a headache and the more I thought about him the worse it got. And just as I had began to calm down a bit, Miles called me. It had been pretty late, about ten minutes to seven. And whatever he had to say did not serve to calm my nerves. 

" I'm sorry dude, but Austin's like completely wasted, and my dad just called to say he's coming home. I can't take him to his place while he's still like this--" 

I told him I'd be there, asked him what house he lived in and hung up after he told me. I recalled Austin having mentioned something about a party Miles was throwing and I wasn't even surprised that that's where he had chosen to go. Hell! I wasn't even shocked that he had gotten drunk, but that just added yet another thing to the list of reasons why I was mad at him. I still had the cash my mum had given me, I had ironically planned on saving it to buy Austin a gift but I ended up using it on an Uber instead. 

When I got to Miles' place, him and Will had been busy trying to clean up the evidence of the failed party he had attempted to throw. 

" He's passed out over there, " Will said, pointing towards the living space. I wasn't even sure whether that's what it was, that house was too massive. And I would have been in awe of it had the circumstances been different. I hurriedly went over to Austin, his father was like five minutes away! I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get him to the Uber all by myself so I asked the guys to help. 

" Why do you have to act like this?" I asked him before they got to where we were. 

" How much did he drink?" I asked Miles as we were getting him to the car. 

" A lot? But we always drink and he's never passed out from it, " 

The 'always' threw me off a bit. That list was just getting longer by the second. 

" Must be the cocaine, that shit was legit!" Will casually commented and I felt like stopping right there and forcing Austin to wake up so I could hit some sense into him until he passed out again. 

" I asked him to take it slow...wouldn't listen," Miles added. I did not like those two at all in that moment!