Chapter 52: Chapter 52

◇ KEL ◇

Did he just say he should've asked to "take me to church"?

To my mother?

What on God's green Earth was he even saying? Was he high or what?

"Am I dreaming or having a nightmare?" my brain asked itself.

Difficult as it was, I stayed quiet in the hallway while every inch of my skin grew warm and gradually turned slippery from nervous sweat. I stood as still as a slab of concrete―an imploding slab of concrete, to be specific.

My noiseless reaction didn't quite match the panic-filled thoughts running through my head now.  Did he really need to lie to my mom?  Make up stories and deceive her into thinking I ran away from home to live with him?

What the actual fuck?

"Sounds too sentimental, but," Miles muttered, seeming oblivious that I stood in the hallway and could hear every bit of his conversation with my mother.  "Her just being there, changed me. Can't thank her enough."

"For what it's worth, dear, I'm glad. That you two got along, and you took care of her while she was there," was what my mom said in reply.

"Sorry, if it took a while for me to..." Miles cleared his throat.

"All good. Don't worry about it." My mother's calmer tone even sounded more encouraging now.

That did it for me. I shut the door to the guest room, stepped out of hiding, and barged into the dining area.  "Mom, we'll get the food and drinks ready."

"Oh, sweetie, make some juice and smoothie for Miles and your sister."

"Yeah. Okay." I focused on our grinning guest. "Miles, gimme a hand?"

He stared at me first, but when I kept up a steady gaze, he responded with a quick nod. "Yeah. Sure."

I grabbed him by the wrist and brought him into the kitchen behind the staircase. I shut the doors. The enclosed kitchen smelled of casserole and pasta sauce. In just seconds, we began arguing in forced whispers, finally alone.

Now, it was just the two of us. Masks off.

"What's up?" His dark brows furrowed while I paced around.

"The heck are you doing?"

"What?" Miles leaned against the sink and shrugged coolly.

As if he had no idea!  "What did you just say to her?" I kept my voice muted and took some wine glasses out of the cupboards.

"Relax." He raised both palms and even smiled.

Relax? He wanted me to "relax"?  Was he deliberately trying to piss me off?

"Finally met your mom."

"So?"

"Just wanted to come clean," he reasoned, mumbling the words.  "Tell her what she wanted to hear."

"Come clean? Are you drunk?" I snapped. I almost slapped my forehead when my voice got loud.  "Why're you really here?" I whispered while my insides ached somewhat.

"What?" Miles scowled. Now the crease in his brows looked permanent. A pinch of dismay lowered his tone, as though my words were grave insults.  Slowly, he stepped closer to me and stared into my eyes. "You think I was just lying to her?"

"Take me to church?" I scoffed and shook my head at his wretched choice of words.  "What's gotten into you?"

A moment of heated awkwardness passed.  Miles stood right next to me and inched closer until our arms touched.  Now he could hardly look me in the eye.  "Why did you send the money back?"

"Because it's your money."

Miles sighed out loud and kept his face close to mine, just so we could keep talking quietly, almost in whispers.  "I told you to pay him back."

"I will. But not with your money."

"So you used his money but you won't even trust me?"

I held back a frustrated sigh and weakly shook my head.  "Don't start."

As if having a hard time with where our conversation was going, he fell silent for a moment.  He stood right next to me by the sink while I pretended to be busy with the plates in the cupboards.  "I told you to stay away from him."

"Ugh."  I stepped away and grabbed another serving plate.  Now he wanted to argue about Enzo again.  Jeez...

He really thought he could just avoid the subject and we'd be done with it.  "Look. I'll come see you and talk to you when I have to," Miles murmured as he caressed the back of my head, as if it was enough to lull me.  "But you can't keep calling me, or sending me messages like that."

Oh! There it is.  Finally. He was fessing up to the real reason he was here. Finally he realized he couldn't pretend in front of my family and lie to my face again.  "Why not?" I humored as my chest coiled.

"They'll keep track of you;  you know that," he whispered. Miles crossed his arms over his chest.

Track me and my whereabouts, which would then leave me and my entire family vulnerable.  Right.  Here we go again.  All that Russian-mafia-guys-spying-on-us crap...he was using it to lie and hide the reason he just decided to come see me after weeks of total silence from his end.

"So you'll come see me whenever it suits you but I can't even text you?" I scoffed. It just sounded so unfair.

Was he setting boundaries now to keep his distance? Because he didn't want me in his life anymore?

Well. Okay.

Definitely, I should stay away from now on because I wasn't needed in his life.

Fine. Message loud and clear.

"It's just risky."

"Right. Sorry," I muttered. My throat already felt painfully tight. I turned away from him and shut the cupboards. My stinging, tearful eyes tried to focus on my hand wiping the plates as Miles stayed silent.  "I'll be sure to delete your number."

"I didn't say that." Miles sighed and helped me with the heavy dishes.

"No texts, no calls. I won't contact you again, or bother you with anything else. That good enough?"

"Okay―  Stop." He caught my arm when I was about to head for the door.  Miles stood in front of me and scowled, half of his keen eyes covered by thick lashes. "That's not what I meant."

"Look who's awake, guys!"  Jill's cheery voice thankfully cut through the tension in the room. Perfectly timed distraction.

I straightened, wiped off the stupid tears, and stepped out of the kitchen with the wine glasses. Miles followed.

We found my sister in the dining room with Mommy and a giggling Meesha in her arms. Naturally, we spent the next minute with Mom gladly introducing Miles to my sister and niece.

"Hi, Uncle Miles. Nice to finally meet you." Jill cooed. She handed the baby fully dressed in pink to our tall, handsome, and smiling guest.  "I'm Meesha."

"You cutie..." Miles cradled Meesha in his arms and kissed the baby's forehead. "How old is she again?"

"Almost a year. Look! Big smile." Jill chuckled with Mommy as they stood next to our guest. "Aww...  She likes you already.  She doesn't like being held by strangers, y'know."

"But Uncle Miles isn't a stranger anymore. Right, Meesha?"

"Looks like you don't need much practice, dear." Mom chuckled.

Great. Just perfect.

This was just what I needed today...my whole family welcoming him with open arms.

As my tears ran cold, I kept silent and prepped the dining table, acting like I couldn't see or hear anything.

"Would it hurt to smile?" Jill whispered to me and swiftly helped me fix the table.  "Leave that.  I'll take care of it." Jill helped me with the plates, sorting the spoons, forks, and glasses.

Lost in my thoughts, I pretended to be busy with serving the food just so I wouldn't have to join the chitchat. I just didn't feel like talking. A hollow heaviness in my chest weighed me down. I couldn't stop recalling every second of my conversation with him in the kitchen.

Every single detail. Every single excuse.

So, apparently, he came here to warn me. Simple as that. The guy had a job to do.

Of course. I was basically just an errand to him. Nothing more.

"I'll just prep the drinks." I excused myself from the chatty bunch and rushed back to the kitchen alone. My mind was almost screaming at me to grab some air.  I practically scrammed while holding back hot tears that already blurred my vision.

Perfect. Just perfect.

"Smooth, K," I scolded myself.  Falling headfirst for the wrong guy.

Great.  Just terrific.

"Sweet baby cheeses.  You're so screwed."

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