Push to the Limit (the sixth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 29: Starter Pokemon

When Kayli received a text from Leila letting her know about the charity group and rooftop concert performance idea, it was bittersweet. On one hand, she was glad that her band mates and friends were still thinking about her and the fact that she was miserable unable to go in the club. Plus, she was still feeling guilty about her actions leading up to the shutting down of the bar, so it would be nice to contribute to it being picked back up.

On the other hand, however, she knew a performance on a rooftop could easily go wrong. The weather, the low capacity for people, or perhaps the authorities thinking it wasn't appropriate for her to even be there. How would she even get up there?

But the worst part was that when Leila sent her the text, she had been expecting a reply from someone else. She had called Charlie and left him a voicemail too awkward to retell, trying to find a way to talk to him after weeks of zero contact.

She was starting to give up on the idea of him contacting her back when a knock on her door forced her up from the same spot on the couch she had been on for the last few hours. She opened up lazily, surprised that it was Charlie.

Immediately, Kayli straightened up her hair and pulled up her sweat pants, feeling self conscious for being in an unappealing outfit, having her hair undone, and no makeup on. "Um, hi," she said. "Sorry I'm a mess... It's my leisure day, you see."

"You look fine," he assured her, looking around at what little he could see of the house behind her.

She noticed this and said, "Oh, come on in."

She pulled hair out of her face once again and stepped aside, allowing him to step into the hallway. Then she quietly led him into the living room and added, "You can sit down if you'd like."

He did so out of pure politeness but as soon as his bottom had touched the couch, he got up and said, "I'm sorry but I'm just confused. Why am I here?"

"You showed up," she told him, confused.

"Because you called," he responded. "I was hanging out with some friends and I didn't get your call so when I heard the voicemail and you didn't sound at all like your usual self, asking to talk and being way too polite about it, I figured I'd better come and see if you weren't being held against your will."

She laughed, nervously playing with her fingers and looking down at the ground as she said, "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to alarm you. I guess I was a bit anxious, that's all."

"Anxious about what?" he asked.

Kayli shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just hadn't talked to you in a while."

"So you do acknowledge that then," he said, a smile on his face, but she knew it wasn't a real, happy smile. "Unbelievable, Kayli."

"I just wanted to check in on you," she told him. "That's all."

"Check in on me why?" he asked incredulously. "Because you didn't talk to me after kissing me at the New Year's party and you aren't sure what to tell your friends about me or because you disappeared when we were all dealing with the aftermath? Or could it be because you feel guilty that I lost my job over this and you didn't shoot me text or a message even once to ask me how I was doing?"

"Um..." Kayli said, feeling completely backed into a corner but knowing he had every right to be that upset. "A little bit of everything," she admitted. "Charlie, I'm sorry. For everything. For kissing you, first of all. I don't know what came over me. I mean, you and I aren't even... I guess it was the drinking. And I'm sorry for that, too. If it wasn't for my new song coming out, nobody would've noticed me back there and they wouldn't have noticed you and they wouldn't have fired you at the label. And I'm sorry for not telling you anything when I heard about it but the truth is that I heard about it yesterday. I went down to the label and you weren't there and later Jeremy told me why. I honestly had no idea."