Breaking His Rules

🏈19🏈

Kayla's POV:

Hey. I know that we're supposed to break up soon and I need to talk to you. Meet me tomorrow during lunch.

This was the message I received from Aaron last night and it fills me with apprehension. The thought that our arrangement might come to an end makes me have an empty hole in my heart. I've realized that I like him – maybe I even love him.

I almost laugh at myself. If someone had told me at the beginning of this arrangement that I would end up falling in love with my fake boyfriend, I would have laughed at them. It's something that only happens in Wattpad books, where someone falls for their fake boyfriend. It's not what I expected to happen to me.

Yet here I am, pacing my room on a Friday morning worrying my heart out. I nearly trip over a book that has been discarded on the floor, and I glare at it. My room is extremely messy, especially when compared with Aaron's, and I know that I should clean it up soon, but the disarray helps my artistic juices flow. And recently, they've been flowing pretty well. I've been drawing and painting every day and I have done some pretty good masterpieces. There's an art contest coming up that I plan to enter where the winning art piece will get featured in the museum and I hope that my work is good enough to win. I haven't told Aaron yet, but that is why I've been spending every spare moment in the art class. I usually stay up late and wake up early just to paint and work on my project, and I barely have time to clean why paint-strewn room.

I've been up since 5am today, but it isn't because of the art. I have been unable to get Aaron out of my head. I'm already dressed and ready for school, and it's just 6:30am.

I groan in frustration. Pacing around my room is not going to help me feel better, neither is it going to make me know what Aaron is going to tell me.

But maybe some breakfast will.

I traipse down the stairs, school bag in one hand while I try to distract my mind.

As soon as I reach the bottom rung, I am greeted by the smell of frying bacon.

"Dad?", I call out, and after a moment, I see his head pop out of the kitchen.

"Kayla, good morning", he says in Italian.

I smile and bounce into the kitchen where he's making pancakes and fried bacon, though he is now away from the frying pan, his arms outstretched and waiting for a hug. I run into his arms and I am enveloped by his warm smell and for a moment, I am a young girl again. Then he pulls away.

"What's wrong Kay?", he asks, his eyes burrowing into mine.

I want to shrug it off, to pretend like nothing is wrong, but the tone of concern in his voice breaks my heart a little, and I start pouring it all out. I tell him about how Jason cheated on me, the fake relationship and Aaron's parents. Then I tell him about the text.

"I am scared that he wants to end things dad", I finish. By now I am seated on a chair, a plate of hot sizzling bacon and pancakes right in front of me. As soon as I finish my statement, I take a piece of hot bacon and a pancake. I didn't cry throughout the story, but my dad still looks very serious.

"Is this the guy who came that day to tutor you? When I prepared my legendary lasagna?"

It seems like almost a lifetime ago when Aaron came to my house to tutor me and had to leave early because he was worried about Quinn's asthma attack.

I nod.

"Well then, he seems like a very nice young man. A bit too serious, but they say opposites attract right? And it was obvious that he liked you so much even then."