I went for a long run to clear my head, but everywhere I turned, something reminded me of Kiera. Making her jealous only eased the pain so much. When I got back home, Anna and Kiera were gone, and Denny was watching TV. He seemed happy as a clam sitting in my favorite chair, watching my TV, and most likely thinking about my ex-lover. For a moment, I hated him for his happiness. But then I remembered what I’d done to him, and all of my hatred faded. Denny wasn’t the bad guy. Quite the opposite. He was a really good guy.
Denny turned his head when he saw me. With a smirk, he jerked his thumb at the TV. “I know you’re not a big fan, but want to watch the game with me?”
I glanced up at what was playing, and a small smile snuck onto my lips. Hockey. Denny loved sports, and he had always been watching some game or another when he’d stayed with me in high school. He’d tried in vain to get me invested in the various games, but after Dad had shut me down when I’d tried to bond with him over some of his favorite sports, I’d developed an almost spiteful feeling toward them, and intentionally never paid attention.
Not feeling very sociable after that memory, I politely shook my head at Denny. “No thanks.” He laughed at my answer, like he wasn’t too surprised that I didn’t want to watch.
After taking a quick shower, I stayed in my room for most of the afternoon, writing lyrics that would never make it into an actual song. The writing process helped me cope though. There was something freeing about releasing all of my problems onto the page. I could write about how lonely I was, how empty I felt, how worthless I saw myself and how much Kiera meant to me, and no one would ever see it. It was a way for me to purge my problems while still hiding them away from the world, and hiding was something I was really good at. Unfortunately.
Anna and Kiera came back in the early evening. Even though I’d been practicing melodies on my guitar, I heard them when they walked through the door. It was like my ears went on instant alert the second Kiera was around me; they strained to hear every word, every laugh, every inhale and exhale of her breath. The constant deluge of her was wearing, but it was better than the alternative. Never hearing those sounds again would kill me, I was sure.
As I paused to listen, the sisters’ footsteps trudged up the stairs. I didn’t need to see them to know whose was whose. Kiera’s steps were heavy, plodding. Anna’s were light and bouncy. Kiera murmured something about getting ready, and Anna giggled as she told her how excited she was. I wasn’t sure if she was excited to go out dancing, or excited to hang out with me all night, since I suppose I was sort of her date for the evening. Kiera grumbled an answer I couldn’t hear, and Anna giggled again.
When I heard Anna leaving Kiera’s room, saying goodbye as she headed downstairs, I cracked open my door and looked out into the hallway. Denny passed by my field of vision. Striding to his room, he opened the door and walked inside. In the brief time that the door was open, I saw Kiera standing in the room, looking lost. Denny closed the door behind him, but didn’t latch it. Opening my own door, I quietly stepped over to theirs. I couldn’t see anything, but I could clearly hear them talking.
“What’s wrong?” Denny asked.
“I have nothing to wear tonight. Absolutely nothing.” She sighed, and I could easily picture the forlorn expression on her face.
“Why don’t you wear that pink dress you have? Or the skirt? Or shorts? It will probably get hot in there.”
Kiera didn’t answer him, and I could almost hear her annoyance in the silence. I pictured her in the skirt she’d worn when we’d caved in to lust inside the espresso stand. I pictured the shorts she sometimes wore to work. I visualized her in the jeans she wore to school. And I imagined her in the baggy lounge pants that she wore to bed. With a sad smile, I ran my fingers down her door. “It doesn’t matter what you wear…you’ll be stunning. As much as you want to, you can’t hide your beauty, Kiera.”
I’d whispered that so quietly that even I barely heard me, but I still startled when a voice to my left exclaimed, “Kellan! There you are.”
I spun around and held my breath. Had Anna heard me? Had she seen me practically caressing the door? Knowing distraction was the best defensive maneuver I had, I gave her a crooked smile while slowly letting my gaze sweep over her from head to toe. “You look…amazing.”
She had on a tight dress that looked like a long tank top. It hugged every curve and barely covered her ass. If Anna was wondering what I was doing spying on Denny and her sister, she didn’t ask. Instead, she gave me a once-over and said, “So do you.” I was wearing all black, same as her. In between my melancholy lyric writing, I’d gotten dressed for tonight. The dark color had seemed fitting at the time, but now that Anna and I looked like twins, I wasn’t so sure. Anna seemed to enjoy that we matched though. With a seductive smile of approval, she sauntered my way. “I need your help.”