Hey, hi, howdy everyone! Summer break has officially started! That means more frequent updates! I'm on a bit of a crunch as I only have the rest of this month and half of July to solely focus on this but I'll do as much as I can. This is my senior year of high school which means shit is real and marching band is gonna be rough, however, I still plan to update!! As of now, I hope to have a new chapter out by Thursday each week until band camp. I apologize for not posting earlier but raising C's to A's was a labor at the end of a semester. See you all at the end of the update.
To Edward's dismay, he didn't hear Kylie's voice for very long. She was halfway through reassuring him that her arm was fine for the second time when the line went dead. The sudden static blaring through the speaker startled him into veering towards a lane filled with traffic heading the opposite direction. The horns that blared did nothing to ease his flustered state as he re-corrected, mind racing a mile a minute. He had worried, God, had he worried that she wouldn't wake up. She had lost so much blood before making it to his apartment that he had feared the worst when he had dragged her, unconscious, through the doorway. It had been weeks since the gala had been held hostage, days since she disappeared. He had wondered where she had been, wondered how she escaped, wondered about Jerome Valeska and why she had let him touch her. How much had he touched her? It had hurt the first night they were televised together at that birthday party, seeing her hang all over him, seeing her plant kisses on his cheek. He was angry then and even more so when the gala appeared on live television. They were even closer. They had pet names.
"Puddin'"
The mere thought of her smiling at that ginger maniac and letting that word fall from her lips was enough to make him grit his teeth and grip the steering wheel a little harder. He had searched for footage of the failed charity party after speaking with Dr. Thompkins and was overcome with glee when the scene where Galavan drove a knife into Jerome's throat was the first result. He had watched with a feeling of satisfaction as he slid to the floor, blood spurting from the wound and played it over and over on a loop. The feeling only wavered when another clip was angled with the camera showing Kylie, his Kylie, shoving Galavan away to try and help the dying boy. She had been crying, panicked and when he died, angry. He had seen her like that only one other time when she had threatened Dougherty but it had seemed colder, more deliberate. Watching her put a knife to that vile pig had sent a rush of excitement through him back then, though it quickly faded to anger when she had been hurt. The emotion she displayed onstage was much different than that. It wasn't controlled. It was wild and uninhibited. The death of that little freak had caused it. Why did she care so much? Why did she suddenly have positive feelings about someone who lied to her, someone who murdered their coworkers and kidnapped her? WHywhywhywhywhywHYWHY?
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
While loosening his grip on the steering wheel and relaxing his shoulders, he let his mind clear. He needed to calm down. He needed to think through how he was going to learn all this information. He would stay away from the topic of her kidnapping as long as he deemed necessary as while they had been close before it happened, he had no idea of her emotions regarding the situation. He didn't want any problems like he had initially had with Oswald but with a bit of time, focus on her current state, and small displays of affection she would open up about her time away from him.
He parked his car in front of his building and rushed inside. He needed to sound as breathless in person as he did on the phone but the endless flights of stairs took care of any worries he had. Edward had wondered many times how Kylie, weak and exhausted from the days in hiding and blood loss, had managed to make it to his door. She should've collapsed long before she made it across town. He fumbled with his keys for a moment before shoving the correct one in the lock and throwing the door open. A look to his immediate right yielded the sight of a wide-eyed young woman with rumpled blonde hair.
There was a brief silence while something like relief was over Kylie's face but it was gone as soon as it appeared, smoothed away by a smile.
"Eddie, I-"
Words she might have spoken got caught in her throat as he threw his arms around her. It was one thing to hear her voice over the phone and imagine her opening her eyes again but to hear her speak to him in person, to see her blue eyes light up like the rest of her face when she smiled, that was something a whole other world away. He felt her hug him back and pull closer, her fingers knotting into the fabric of his sweater. For a split second, he smelled a faint touch vanilla hidden under the smoke and gasoline whose odors had seeped into her hair.
"How long are you two going to stay like that?" A sudden voice inquired haughtily," It's kind of disgusting to watch."
Edward, startled at the sudden interruption, pulled away from Kylie, partly in embarrassment and partly out of annoyance. He opened his mouth to fire a comment back at the man who couldn't figure out how to use a garbage disposal but was stopped in his tracks.
"Then don't watch, Ossie," the girl beside him retorted, voice still hoarse from disuse.
The reaction was immediate and Edward almost snorted as an indignant expression passed over the dark haired man's face.
"I told you not call me that."
"I told you to change the channel to Cartoon Network."
"Those shows are garbage."
"And the dramas you watch aren't?"
Before any more dialogue was exchanged between the two, Edward cleared his throat loudly and flashed a look of warning to Oswald, who turned back to the television with a huff and increased the volume in retaliation.
"God, I hate that show," the blonde muttered under her breath while giving the TV screen a sour look.
The corner of Edward's mouth quirked into a small smile. She still had her moxy, that was good. He was a little worried that she would be a broken mess of a person like Oswald had been. He would've had to figure out how to put the pieces back together, something that was more of a nuisance than an obstacle. However, it didn't seem as if he had to do that this time. He really needed to stop underestimating her.
He was about to ask how she was doing when she suddenly turned towards him.
"I really missed you, Eddie," she said softly.
He took her left hand gently as he sat beside her on the edge of his bed," I missed you, too," he admitted.
"They threatened you, you know," she whispered, almost as if she didn't want him to hear.
Threatened?
He blinked in confusion from behind his glasses," What do you mean?"
Sorry that it's a little short. My goal was 2000 words but i felt like Kylie and Ed needed their own chapter to sort through all their crap. On another note, what do you guys think of Oswald? Does he seem like the soap opera type?
