To Have Loved [BxB] Book I ✓

Chapter 25

a/n: Hey guys, I'm back to bring you another chapter. I would also like to announce that we're officially halfway through the book! Yay! All that being said, I hope you like this chapter and have a great rest of your week.

Before Kayden knew it, winter break was almost over. It felt like it had flown by. He'd spent so much of it just hanging out with Connor, playing video games, and eating store-bought sugar cookies. He couldn't believe the year was almost over. It felt like everything had changed in twelve months. His life was completely different than what he thought it would look like a year ago. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but in a way, it unsettled him to think about the passage of time. Every year felt a little bit smaller than the last one and he didn't know how to come to peace with that.

Now he was standing in a crowded room, a red solo cup of red bull in his hand, and he didn't know who to talk to. It was his mother's party, she invited everyone, so Kayden didn't really have any friends. He'd called Connor two hours ago to ask him to come over, but he had his own plans with family so he told Kayden he'd come when he got the chance. The redhead had said it was fine even though, in reality, he was dreading the thought of standing around for hours with a new sense of hopelessness knowing it would still be a while until his friend got there.

He still wasn't exactly on speaking terms with his mother, but she seemed to have accepted that. They'd fallen into a routine of doing things without talking to each other. He'd carry out responsibilities before they were asked of him, she'd leave notes for him instead of trying to engage in a conversation, and they'd all sit down to silent dinners at night. It was kind of nice not having to hear his mother's voice so much throughout the day, and she'd stopped expecting him to answer when she called upstairs for him. Maybe he'd never start talking to her again, he liked the idea of that. She could control where he lived, who he lived with, and where he went to school, but he could make for damn sure that she'd never hear his voice again and he knew it got under her skin that she couldn't make him her puppet.

He was just starting to lose hope in his best friend making an appearance at all when he saw the front door open and in walk Connor with his multicolored hair, black painted nails, and chain earrings. Kayden had always admired how he wore whatever the fuck he wanted and didn't seem to care if someone had something to say about it. Namely, Kayden's mother, who was giving Connor a side-glare from across the room.

"Hey, man, how's it going?" Connor asked when he reached Kayden and the redhead groaned.

"Please tell me you brought booze," Kayden said and Connor chuckled.

"I've got enough to last us the night." He said with a grin. "Got somewhere to drink it?"

"Yeah, we can get on the roof from my room." The redhead said with a smile, nodding his head to the stairs before he made his way up to the second floor and into his room. He closed the door before he opened the window.

Once they were on the roof and both boys had gotten into a somewhat safe-feeling sitting position, Connor pulled out his flask and dumped a bit into Kayden's cup, taking a sip of it after. Kayden didn't know how he hid it, but he somehow managed to bring a bottle of vodka and three other flasks of whiskey.

"Nice weather we're having," Connor said in a dry tone after a long moment of silence and Kayden almost choked on his drink as he snorted.

"Yeah, can't get much better than hail and freezing rain 7 days a week. At least in Rosewater, it snows, or at least I've heard it does, just not 'til like, mid-January apparently. Lakeview's so fucking cold and we hardly even get snow here, what the fuck kind of tradeoff is that? Winter comes too soon and stays too long but never does its job either way." Kayden said, finishing his sip.