Taming Him

Chapter 16 - Bare Minimum

FREYA

It had been three days since the meal. The meal where Kaleb had pretended to be my boyfriend in front of my old friend Ty. Kaleb claimed it was because he was 'saving me', but I couldn't help but wonder if it was more than that.

I was hurt by what he had said regarding our kiss, but at the end of the day, it was a drunken make out session, and I knew I had been reading into it too much. Kaleb couldn't see us being anything more than friends, and when I took a step back and looked at reality, neither could I. He wasn't going to be sticking around here forever, and our mothers were best friends.

Did that mean that I wasn't disappointed? No. I was drawn to Kaleb. I enjoyed being around him and there was something about him that made me feel warm inside. I wasn't sure what took over me whenever he was nearby, but whatever it was, I needed to get over it fast.

I had a feeling that my mom had also been avoiding me. I wanted to talk to her regarding dad's disappearance and the fact that I couldn't find his company online, but she had been leaving for work early and getting back late, claiming that she was in the middle of a project and had deadlines to meet.

I just couldn't wrap my head around the fact that the police didn't seem to care about my father's disappearance. It was as if it was some kind of inconvenience to them and his 'case' had been chucked into a pile with others to rot away in a dark room where no one ventured.

"Teachers are staring to ask me if I know where Zach is," muttered Hannah, turning to me with a cocked brow. I had told her briefly what had gone on between Zach and I, but I had utterly dulled down the intensity of the situation, leaving the part out where he had practically sexually assaulted me and Kaleb had beaten the shit out of him.

"I guess he just needs some time to himself after what happened between us," I responded, glancing over at Josh who flung his arm over Hannah, pecking at her cheek. The two of them looked pretty loved up, but I still didn't trust Josh. He was a player and I had a feeling that in a few weeks, he would move onto another girl, breaking my best friend's heart. I was preparing myself with the chocolate and wine.

"He took it that bad, huh?" Josh questioned as he leaned up against the college lockers, and I shrugged, biting on my fingernails. I really didn't want to speak about Zach. I was just glad he wasn't here.

"I really need to get going, but I'll see you both tomorrow," I responded, rushing out of the college building, glancing up at the sky, thankful that it wasn't raining. It had been all week, and since my car still wasn't running, I had been having to walk to and from college- resulting in me getting drenched.

I needed to invest in an umbrella.

Once I got home, I narrowed my eyes at the camera that pointed straight at me as I unlocked the front door, shaking my head at it. Was Kaleb sitting inside just watching them? It was unnerving, but I understood why we had them installed. I just liked the idea of privacy.

Pushing the door open, my eyes widened to see my mom, and I dropped my stuff in relief. It didn't look like anybody else was around, and this was the perfect opportunity to talk to her about dad. "Mom, can we please talk? You've been so busy recently."

My mom paled, nodding after a few seconds and settling down at the dining room table, lacing her fingers together. "I'm sorry. I've been swamped at work."

It was a lie- I knew it was. My mother had never been the confrontational type. She preferred to push things to the back of her mind and leave them for a later time, and then things would come crashing down on her all at once and she would spiral. I was used to her awful coping strategy.