My son's new daddy is the Alpha Beast

5. Liar

CHAPTER FIVE

KYLE’S POV

My mind was begging me to get out of this f*****g chair and run after her because I knew that look too well. I’d always known. She would smile and God, that smile would almost bring me to my knees. Ava Butler had to be the one woman that could blow down my entire world with just one lingering gaze and I’d known from that first moment I’d seen her on the rooftop. So, I lied. Like a coward, I’d let her believe I was gay but it was more to protect her from me. That night at the rooftop when she turned around to look after I stupidly stumbled over an empty bottle of wine, I’d felt my heart skip a beat. Sounds unbelievable, right? That the reserved boy with a father who suffered from alcohol addiction would feel something for some else at first glance.

Right that second, when her captivating chocolate brown eyes connected with mine, I’d known I should stay away and yet I wanted her so close to me. Usually, I’d never let myself get close to people but for her, my walls were slowly breaking. She was my light to the darkness she didn’t even know. I wanted her-no, I f*****g craved her but she would never know. The worst part, I knew she had a crush on me. I thought it would fade over time but no, I’d catch her with that same look a few times and she would look away with rosy cheeks while I played it off like I didn’t notice a thing.

“So drinks tomorrow? They are on me. All you have to do is show up and look this hot,” the guy, whose name I couldn’t remember for the life of it, said. I’d almost forgotten about him.

“You know what? It was lovely meeting you but I’d have to decline,” I said, rising up.

“Its about her, isn’t it? Ava,” he added when I gave him a confused look. My body went rigid, the stomach walls tightening up for a second. For almost seven years now, I had articulated the act of being unreadable and it had worked, until now. Had I been obvious?

“What do you mean?” I questioned, snatching up some notes from my wallet and placing them on top of the table.

“You are not gay, Kyle and I don’t understand why you have to pretend to be one,” he sighed,” All I know is that whatever reason it is, it has something to do with her,”

“I really have no idea what you are talking about,” I proceeded to walk out.

“I saw how you looked at her,” I stopped at his words and he stood up, walking towards me,” Ava is a good woman, Kyle. You on the other hand, are very mysterious. I’m not sure if I should be scared for her or not. I mean, who in their right mind would go to the lengths of lying about their sexuality from the woman they are supposed to be closest friends with?”

He tapped my shoulder, shot me a small smile and then walked over to the other friend by the counter. Pushing my wallet back inside my jeans’ pocket, I walked outside to where my car was packed. It was nothing expensive or flashy but it was definitely a great car, all thanks to my job as a math teacher in the private Precious Hearts Academy. For a while, I drove around town aimlessly before I retired to my house which was three blocks off Ava’s.

Its very familiar emptiness greeted me. With Dad being away in rehab for his alcoholism which had rocked off the charts last month, I was leading a much quieter life now. I whipped out a cigarette from a new pack, lit it up and then relaxed on the couch. My eyes fell on a framed photograph, four smiling kids staring back at me. Involuntarily, my jaws clenched as I zeroed on a particular hazel-eyed boy.

Tristan Clayton. The boy who robbed me of my life. The boy who was the reason I was this scarred. I f*****g hated him and even the mere thought of him was enough to drive me to my insanity. Why did I still keep that photo? Was it because it was a reminder of what I’d lost? The same old rage sped through me, catapulting any sane senses out of my mind. I stood suddenly and with purposeful steps, headed to where the framed photo was before picking it up.

“You f*****g bastard!” I whispered through clenched teeth. He said I could trust him. I should have known the cost of that.

Nothing and no one, could make me go back to Diamond Falls. That life was far behind me now and maybe the memories do still taunt me almost every night but it was much better than enduring his face or the very fact that he was still breathing while the very people I cared about, perished in his hands. The ringing of the doorbell, cut through my rage train and carefully, I placed the photo back in its original spot but this time, face down. On opening the door, Ava rushed in and went straight to my recently stocked mini-bar. I rarely drunk but on the nights when the pain became too much, I would get wasted to oblivion.

“I need something strong,” she murmured, almost to herself as she surveyed the drinks before eventually settling on one. She opened the bottle, grabbed a glass from my open kitchen, filled it and took a long draught from it. Her eyes fell shut for a few seconds, her face screwed up from the obvious taste of the gin. How could she even drink it dry like that?

“Do I want to know what is going on?” I questioned, settling on the kitchen stool. For all I know she was probably here to rant about her annoying boss again. Or perhaps his friend said something to her. Wait, he couldn’t have, right?

“Well, for starters, my sister is setting me up for a blind date,” she said, shrugging. A blind date? She was going out with someone? The thought of another man near her romantically made jealous shoot through me, taking over my insides with no mercy.

“To be fair, your s*x life is pretty dry,” I shrugged, trying to hide the obvious sting from my voice. I was the one who wanted her, every part of her. I wanted to claim her body and soul. I wanted her to mine and only mine.

“And look who is speaking,” she pointed out,” All you do is teach math and then come back to this lonely place. Wait, how did it go with Valentin?”

Oh, that was his name?

“Not my type,” I replied simply. Was that a distant look of relief on her face?

No, we are not doing this again, Kyle. You can’t feel anything for her at all.

“Oh, too bad then. Anyway, that is not why I’m drinking,” she paused, paced for a few seconds then a smile broached her face,” Josh came back from Germany and wants me to join him in his hometown. He wants to give us a second chance,”

The same bastard who kept her and Knox hidden for seven f*****g years? Was she being serious right now?

“You are not stupid enough to do that, right?” I straight-out dead-panned. I watched the smile drain from her face. For the time I’d known her, I’d realized she was very gullible and yet somehow strong. She had to be the one person I knew who could still adorn a smile in the face of danger.

“He is the father of my son, Kyle,”

“And that’s where you draw the line. That guy may sound nice and all but it doesn’t erase the fact that you raised this baby on your own. Facetiming or whatever it is you do, doesn’t count as being there. He would not even let you meet his parents, Ava,” I pointed out the mere truth.

“Well, at least he is trying to be there now and by the way, he has talked to his parents about Knox and I. They actually want us there,” she stated defensively.

Like I said, so gullible.

“Ava,” I said in a rather exasperated tone. If this guy was able to stay away for six years without making the effort to physically see his son, then that was definitely a red flag. He was going to hurt her and I knew it.

“Okay, why are you being like this tonight?”

“You know what? It’s your decision to make. If you want to get hurt, then go ahead and ditch all your years of hard work, Ava. I know when it comes to Josh, you never listen to any reasoning,”

“You don’t understand, Kyle. I don’t want Knox growing up and feeling like an outsider like I did. If I have to throw away all my life and move to Diamond Falls or whatever its called, then for my son I’d do anything,” she threw her hands in the air.

“D-Diamond Falls?” I echoed her statement. I couldn’t have possible heard her right. She didn’t mean the same town I swore to leave behind for good, right?

“Yeah, Josh’s hometown. Apparently, it’s supposed to be some magical town with…” Her voice faded into the background and all I could hear was the blood rush in my ears. I was aware of my heart quickening, my fingers bunched into fists.

There was nothing magical about Diamond Falls.