chapter eleven

May 24, 2012 (off camera)

The closer it was coming to Conviction, the more nervous Kasey Summers was becoming. It didn't really help that she'd gone through with moving into a place in Chicago with her boyfriend Kyle despite the fact that she truly felt like she didn't know him at all. The text message that she'd read on his phone had been preying on her mind for weeks to the point where she'd actually gone to New York, hoping to talk to Jackson at his club. That had been a dismal failure since he wasn't around, although she'd begged him to find that one answer to the burning question that was haunting her.

Was Kyle actually related to Anthony Gambini?

And if so, just what had that message meant?

As the morning began to dawn, at least as far as when the couple tended to wake up, Kyle had managed to awaken first. And as he walked out of his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, he smiled at his girlfriend, still comfortably nestled in his bed. Walking past her, he headed for his dresser.

"You look as good in bed as you do out of it. Good morning, I went down and got some stuff from Starbucks for us for breakfast. Coffee, some doughnuts, the breakfast of champions." He added as he pulled the drawer open and began looking for a pair of boxers he found suitable.

"Mmmmmph," she groaned, "is it morning already? I just got to sleep ten seconds ago, I swear!" The words held more than a kernel of truth as she'd been tossing and turning all night.

For most, morning was in the AM. But for them, a little after 11am also qualified, and could go as far as noon. Kyle nodded his head as he found a pair of boxers, with the words on the "If I'm Not Here, Leave A Message" and decided these would be fine for the day. Heading back towards the bed, he took a seat on her side and laid them on the mattress. "Yeah, I noticed that. I had an arm or a leg on me most of the night, sometimes both. But that's alright; I kinda like sleeping under you."

"Oh," she sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was that bad." His innuendo, which normally would have made her grin, or at least blush, seemed to sail right over her head.

"It's alright, I promise. I have never complained about you touching me in any way." He realized he forgot the socks, pushing up off the bed and heading back to the dresser with his towel waving under him a bit. "Not that you have really recently, so I guess you're good on that front."

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice, "just been so preoccupied with facing Kelly at Conviction..." trailing off, she looked miserable and exhausted. Staring down at the sheets on the bed, she let out a sigh that turned into a yawn.

"Right, it's not a big deal. I'm going to get ready for work." He had obviously noticed the lack of...well, everything as it related to their relationship since she moved in. And for the life of him, he had no idea why it had happened. But it was becoming obvious to him that she didn't apparently want to live with him. Or having done so had changed her mind about him in some way. "I'll probably see you when I come home." He leaned over, grabbing his boxers off the bed and sliding them on before jerking the towel off and tossing it into the hamper. Heading for the closet, he fished out a pair of jeans and one of his t-shirts.

"Kyle?" She said his name softly, looking up finally. Her eyes were bloodshot, but they were also bright with a sheen of tears. "I need..." she swallowed hard, realizing that the longer she kept her fears to herself, the more likely she was to push him completely away. "Do you think maybe... you could be a few minutes late today?"

He pulled the shirt on over his head, pulling it down around him a bit more before adjusting the collars which had turned up slightly. He didn't really look back at her, was obvious to him what was going on as he began to hop on one leg into his jeans and then follow with the other. "I'm already late now, what's up?" He then snatched his shoes up off the floor and took a seat at the desk nearby and began to put his socks on.

She bit her lip, fidgeting for a moment before she just blurted out the question. "Do you have a brother you never told me about?"

He froze in his seat for a moment, his sock hanging halfway on his foot briefly before he finished putting it on. "None by blood, no." That was the answer given, reaching down and grabbing the other sock and placing it on next before he began to look for his sneakers.

Nodding, she studied him, processing what he'd just said. "You didn't outright say no." It was almost as though she was remarking on what he'd said to herself in an attempt to read the subtext behind those words. "So you do have one that isn't blood related?"

He was silent for a moment, finding his keys next as he shoved them into his pocket along with his wallet. "Yeah, I'm adopted, okay? And if it was something I was proud of, I'd probably have told you by now. But I'm not. I don't like who my family is, and that's why I don't use their last name. My parents were Kilmeades, and that's who I'll always be." It was obvious this discussion had touched a nerve.

She remained silent for a few seconds, wishing she could take back the question she'd just asked. The look on his face was one she didn't like seeing. "Kyle, I love you no matter who your parents are. Even if their last name IS Gambini."

A look of anger shot over his face at the mention of the last name, shaking his head as he got to his feet and ran his hand through his hair in front of the mirror. "Sure you do. That's why you don't hardly talk to me anymore or barely touch me since you moved in. I didn't know what it was I had done, but now it makes sense. I had a girlfriend that turned into a roommate. Kinda weird how that happened. Whatever... I'll see you when I get home."

"Kyle, wait!" Her voice cracked as she leapt out of bed, moving towards him so quickly she almost tripped over her own feet. "That's not what's wrong. That night you told me you loved me... and you asked me to move in with you... I read a message on your phone. I thought it was from Aly and I just wanted to know what she was sending you. I... shouldn't have looked because it was none of my business but I did and now I need to ask you why your brother told you to drop me because I'm useless." The words came out all jumbled, but the meaning was clear enough as she folded her arms across her chest, biting her lip in an effort to hold back the tears. "Was he talking about me or someone else? Why would he say something like that about me?"

"Well let's add snooping to the list. You want to know about that? I'll tell you. The reason I got the job in SVW was because I was Gambini's little brother, that HIS mother made him promise to look out for me. And he didn't give a shit about me most of my life, and I was okay with that. He gave me that job to make her happy. Then he found out I met you, and he told me to win you over so I could get you to join the company. I told him to fuck off; I'm not someone's pawn. But I ended up meeting you anyway. He thought I was doing it for him, but I wasn't. So he sent me that message because he got thrown out of SVW, and he just assumed I was doing what he asked me to do. But he and the rest of his goddamned family can go to hell. I want nothing to do with them now or then or ever." It took a great deal to get Kyle upset or angry, and discussing this was certainly a good way to make that happen. He stared into Summer's face, still very upset as he shook his head. "You started treating me differently because you found out I was in Gambini's fucked up family. And this is why I don't tell people about it. Does it all make sense now? I hope so, now you know everything." It was obvious he was still seething at this rate.

As the words kept coming from him, she'd begun to flinch, tensing up more and more. Her eyes were wide as the pieces clicked together in her head. "Oh God... Mr. Houser wasn't lying at all." The first words that came out of her mouth were completely self-absorbed even though her mind was racing. "I started treating you different because I thought you were lying to me." As she said the words, she realized how much worse that sounded than simply being prejudiced because of who his brother was. "I thought you were... I read those messages and I... I thought you... oh God." She put her hand over her mouth, shaking her head as she forced herself to stop talking. The tears fell down her cheeks as she stood there, not knowing how to fix the damage she'd just done.

"Right, because I'm someone who uses people like fucking Kleenexes. Yeah, that's me. I don't see how you can even stand to look at me." He said this with obvious angered sarcasm in his voice as he shook his head. "But don't worry, Kasey. You don't have to be around me a minute longer. I'm out. If you're not here when I get back, ...I won't be surprised." He grabbed the door handle, and let himself out, a loud slam echoing through the apartment's hallway as he did so.

"Oh, shit," the words were halfway to a sob before she bolted for the door, thankful that she didn't sleep in the nude. Jerking it open, she stumbled into the hallway in her pajamas. She caught herself with ease and then called after him, "Kyle, please don't go! I love you!"

He was nearly down the hallway by the time she managed to say what she did. Stopping a moment, he glanced back at her. It was obvious that he was angry, but also that all this had wounded him more. He looked about to say something, but apparently thought better of it and disappeared around the corner without a word.

Not bothering to think about her actions, she bolted down the hallway, leaving the door to their apartment wide open. For sure the neighbors would be getting one hell of a show thanks to her. When she reached the corner, she skidded to a stop. She saw him step into his car, pulling the door closed before he backed out of the parking lot and the tires squealed before he was heading for the freeway.

Leaning against the wall, she let the tears fall, not even caring what sort of spectacle she was making of herself as she fell to her knees. "Way to go," she muttered under her breath.

Falling in love is hard on the knees.