We've Met Before

12 - Staring Contest

DAHLIA

"I'll be at your house by five... Yes, I'm bringing Kaitlyn... No, I'm not bringing Jake...Alright bye." Jake shifts beside me, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
I smirk at him, feeling his hand on my thigh as I drive. "You're such an attention whore," I laugh, keeping my eyes on the road.
I become increasingly weary of his thumb stroking my thigh, and I'm struggling to drive. I give him a glare and removes his hands, much to my dismay.
I start driving towards Kaitlyn's house, humming to myself as Jake plays basketball clips on his phone.
——
I give Jake a kiss before he rides off into the suburban streets of Kaia's neighborhood. Kaitlyn knocks on Kaia's door and a smiling Kaia appears on the other side.
I immediately pounce on her and Kaitlyn reluctantly joins in.
It feels good for all three of us to finally be together. We barely have time to meet because of how busy everyone's schedule is, but I don't think that will ever stop us from being friends.
I know how lonely Kaia's house can get, and how empty it feels sometimes. She can have family functions of up to fifty people and I'll always catch her sitting in the corner of some futon. Occasionally she'll have Cade smiling beside her, but I threw that possibility out of the window after this summer.
Kaia invites us inside and we all amble into the study.
It's covered in books, and the fresh smell of oak. Compared to the house, it's so much more rustic. It's the only room in the house Ms. Turner didn't renovate after Mr. Turner and her divorced. The entire home used to smell like candles and chestnuts, but I think she just wanted to detach herself from all of it.
"Where's your mom?" I ask, laying down onto the beanbag in the corner of the room.
"It's Friday," she says curtly, a visible swallow following the sentence.
I glance at Kaitlyn and she gives me a sympathetic look before speaking. "How do you feel? Like, feelings update you know?"
Kaia sits in her father's office chair. Chair that hasn't been used in years.
"I think I've been washing over everything that's happened." Kaia's voice is small, and shy. "I tend to do that often."
She washes over like a tide.
"Do you have any idea who it might've been?" I ask.
Kaia sighs, propping her head on her elbows. "No idea, and frankly I don't think I care at this point. There were dozens of people at that party, Lia. Locating a single person out of all of them is near impossible. I don't even remember what happened leading up to all of it." She purses her lips. "I'm just thankful nothing happened."
Anger boils inside me. I know I'm not supposed to be angry at her, and I know none of this is her fault, but it infuriates me to think she doesn't deserve to know. That the night ended on a good note because the worst didn't happen. I understand she's still in shock, but my personal leniency period has expired.
I'll commit myself to treading the entire state of Texas if I have to.
Kaitlyn notices my furrowed eyebrows and glares at me before I can say anything insensitive.
"Take your time, Kaia." She says, using her new found tenderness.
Being the group therapist is my thing.
I finally smile, deciding to bring a lighter topic on discussion. "Kaitlyn," I say, turning towards her.
"What?"
"Do you want to know who spend the entire night waiting for our dear friend to wake up?"
Kaia's eyes widen, and I sense her about to say something. But she doesn't.
"Who?" Kaitlyn inches towards me, intrigued at my notion.
"Cade Steele."
"Shut up!" She squeals, making a shrill sound inside the room.
I nod, staring at a now blushing Kaia. Her face is red, and it's becoming redder within seconds.
"You have any status updates?" I face Kaia.
Kaia says nothing, digging her head into her hands. She's practically turned into a cherry by now. Her cheeks are inflamed, and her lips are close knit in a smile.
"You have to tell us now," Kaitlyn shrieks, literally on the edge of her seat.
I hear Kaia groan.
"I second Kaitlyn!" I respond.
    Kaia explains her short story. Cade rushing to her closet rescue, and getting  frisky with her. She tells the story with the same glimmer her eyes held when she came back from her Florida trip. Fifty shades of red scattered across her cheeks, and seven shades of disappointment that lingered after everything went down.
    My interested gaze lowers, as I realize what's happening.
   Kaia is falling again.
    Whether she wants to admit it or not.
    The issue is that Cade is as mercurial as Christian is. I want to hope for the best, and hope that her smile is permanent.
    But I can't promise anything anymore. I tend to have all the answers, and all the right phrases and clichés... but I have none for the sort of love written in her eyes when she mentions his name. It's as if time stops for her.
    Part of me understands. It's the way I look at Jake.
    But part of me wants to rip it all to shreds to avoid seeing her hurt again.
    Kaia and I have always bonded over the fact we didn't grow up with siblings, or family around in general. I'd throw myself in front of a moving train if it meant she'd be okay, because that's what actual family does.
    Memory runs thicker than blood.
——
    The three of us are laying down in different corners of the study. Kaia is spread across the brown leather couch, while Kaitlyn has now taken a seat in the office chair. I'm sitting down on a quilted bean bag.
    The door bell rings and all three of us stand up. I give Kaia a 'who is that' look she she gives me a 'how the fuck should I know' shrug.
    She tiptoes over to the door and I hold my breath.
    Kaitlyn inches closer to me. "Do you think it's her mom?"
    "It's Friday," is my simple response.
    She nods, assured. We both stand together until we hear the door creek open.
    We hear girly laughter and small conversation from the other side of the hall. I stare at Kaitlyn and she stares back.
    Who the fuck is that?
    Kaia walks back in, this time with a set of blonde twins, and a slightly taller brunette. Her face is pretty, except when you realize it's not. It's squished into itself, and she makes herself seem almost pudgy.
    The twins wave at us, and pudgy stands next to them. Her arms are crossed, and she's staring me down. I catch her eyes and lock myself into her challenge.
    The longer I stare, the more her face distorts.
    "This is Jane, Jennifer, and Gabby."
    I snap out of Pudgy's and I staring competition, turning my attention to lovely Kai.
    The newcomers take seats around the room, finding places to make themselves comfortable. The atmosphere is uncomfortable, a little tense if I must say.
    Kaitlyn and I share small looks, whispering to each other through our eyelashes. I giggle at a face she makes and everybody turns to stare at me.
    Oops.
Pudgy let's put a long exasperated sigh.
"I'm going to get food," I say, hauling myself upwards.
I walk into the hall, and to the kitchen. I open Kaia's cabinets, scouring for any snacks or food she might have.
Kaia's mom doesn't do groceries so her dad sends a shopper every week to deliver food.
"Bingo," I whisper to myself as I find her stash of gushers.
"You used to go to Fairland right?"
    I jump as I'm startled by the voice behind me. My head hits the cabinet door and I groan in pain. I turn around and find Pudgy leaning against the white granite countertop of Kaia's kitchen.
    She doesn't ask if I'm okay, or apologize.
    "Yes." I respond curtly. I turn back and take out a bag of gushers.
    "I imagined." She examines my face for a bit as I turn back around. "You looked familiar. Same with the other girl."
    I give her a smile. "She has a name. It's Kaitlyn."
    "Dahlia and Kaitlyn right? You left after our sophomore year, been two years since you've been gone right?"
Where is she going with this?
"Yes."
"Kaia was so lonely after you left..." she pauses, in a mixture of nostalgia and anger, "Good thing my friends took her in right?"
"Are you excluding yourself from that statement? Did you not take her in as well?" I ask, placing the palms of my hands on the counter. My body leans forward as she smirks to herself.
I'll rip her smile off her fucking face.
"I'm just along for the ride right? Just like you were." She says, turning on her heel and heading back towards the hall to the study.
What is she talking about?
I call out to her before she can pass by the corner. "Watch your back."
I see a speck of fear halt in her eyes for a speck of a second, before she reverts back to a smile. She disappears and I'm left alone in the kitchen.
I let out a silent scream and throw a rag on the ground in frustration.
I take my phone out of my pocket and dial the number of the man I swore to hate after this summer. I press the phone to my ear and wait for it to ring.
"Hello?" I hear Cade's voice and rustling in the back.
"What do you know about this Gabby bitch?"
He silences on the other side of the phone. "Wait what?" His voice is panicked, and I hear the rustling stop.
Why the fuck is everyone acting so fucking weird!
"You know what," I pause, "Forget I called."
I hang up and place my head into my hands. I dig my fingers into my scalp and feel a burning pain. I bring my hands back out and see the blood stains on my nails.
I wish Jake was here.
He'd tell me everything is okay, and that I finally have strings to pull from.
He'd tell me that I won, and I got what I wanted.
But something tells me that all of this is far from over.