Right Back to You

27. Throwback

Kyle's promise to tell her some troubling news kept Kay on edge for the rest of the day, especially because mostly everyone headed out to the venue for rehearsals. Fortunately, she now had Kelly back, and her best friend was great at improving mood.

In her quest to keep Kay happy, Kelly insisted that they went shopping. Seeing as Kay hadn't packed many things before fleeing her home, it was a valid idea, so the two of them spent a few hours wondering the very familiar shopping mall. On some level, it felt like she'd never left, and she expected to see familiar faces at every turn.

What was even weirder was the thought that her previous home was still there. So even if Kelly was reticent about it, Kay convinced her to drive to her place. As expected, it was still there, abandoned, her truck still in the front yard.

A boulder settled itself into Kay's stomach, weighing her down even more. But she couldn't ignore this, pretend that she was not the person who'd left that house six months ago. Like in a dream, she asked Kelly to wait for her in the car, then got down and walked to the front door. The spare key was still hidden in a crevice between the wall and the window blinds. She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The house was just like they'd left it. Except for the dust covering every surface, they could have never left. Though as Kay moved through the house like ghost, she realized that the lack of the knickknacks which usually decorated the surfaces, it looked strangely deserted. Like a relic of  past her parents had done her best to forget.

The house they lived in when they lost William. The house they lived in when she told them that Donnie had hit her, that their fairytale romance was in fact a nightmare. The house they lived in when she rebelled and turned from their Kathy into Kay.

The house that had become bitter because her family had fallen apart.

Kay stood in the threshold of her former room, glancing at the furniture with empty eyes. She'd been both happy and miserable in that room. The idea that she could technically sleep there instead of the hotel for the rest of their stay was strangely making her anxious. So she decided to get out of there.

But she could take her truck and drive around. It was a welcomed change from her mother's car which she had always hated. Kelly didn't say anything about her decision to take a trip down memory lane and continued to keep her busy until they could finally get to Club A where the band was set to perform that night.

"Isn't this exciting?" she said as the two of them settled in front of the stage.

"Yeah, it is." After all, it was in this very spot that she'd actually laid eyes upon Kyle for the first time, unaware that they'd spoken before, that he wasn't an ex-con or a jerk.  Of course, at the time she'd fought Donnie and was pretty miserable, but the memory was fond.

"I can't wait to see them perform again. I missed the band."

Kay nodded in agreement, wondering if Kelly would be yelling as loudly as last time. It was a time when she and Joey weren't yet together. It was so weird thinking that there had actually be such a time.

Jimmy came up on stage to do a finally equipment check. He gave Kay a small wave and a smile and she couldn't help but smile back. His appearance stirred a flurry of reactions from the nearby girls who were already wondering who he was an where he'd come from. She couldn't blame them. Kyle's family had unfair genes.

"It's so weird to think Kyle has some brothers he never knew about," Kelly said, her voice low.

"Yeah. What's even weirder is that they look exactly like the brothers he did know about."

Kelly didn't get to answer because the band came on stage, Joey doing the introductions as usual. It stirred a flurry in the crowd and Kelly did end up yelling just as loudly as last time. Kay couldn't keep in a grin especially as the energy of the crowd got her riled up as well.