Chapter Ten

Hayden

Kyle was being ridiculous.

Standing there, glaring at me like he had any weight to throw around. He'd never talked back to me before, never raised a finger, never even looked like he had the nerve. And now? Now he thought puffing up and grabbing my collar would make me back down? Cute.

I had always told him to get off my back, but he just didn’t listen.

So I leaned in and blew a hot punch right into his face. It was petty. But it worked.

He let out a pained “Ow!” and stumbled back, one hand cupping his mouth. I hadn’t even hit him that hard. I just gave him a taste of how fast I could shut him up. He looked stunned, standing there in disbelief like the world had betrayed him.

“Get off my back, dimwit,” I snapped, eyes cutting through him. I was already over it. The moment passed, and I turned toward the bed and sat upright. His shaky breath filled the silence behind me, but I didn’t spare him another glance.

Still, I could feel his eyes on me. Heavy. Angry. But weak.

I lifted my gaze without turning my head. “Take those nasty eyes off me before you go crying to Mommy.”

“I’m not a mommy’s boy,” he said, still panting.

That made me chuckle. “Is that what’s making you mad?” I let the laugh sit for a second, then threw in, “Mama’s boy?”

“Stop!” he barked, finally dropping his hand. His lip was split, bleeding faintly, but I didn’t even flinch. I noticed. I just didn’t care.

“Just get off my back, Kyle,” I warned again, this time calmer, quieter. The kind of quiet that says I’m done wasting breath, back off. I leaned forward to grab my phone off the table beside the bed, unlocking it with one hand while he stood frozen near the wardrobe.

He didn’t say another word.

He bent down, picked up his bag from the floor, and unzipped it like he wasn’t just shaking from rage a second ago. Slowly, he started pulling out clothes and folding them over the nearby chair. His fingers trembled, though he kept trying to hide it.

Then, without looking at me, he turned and disappeared into the bathroom, probably to shower, or maybe just to breathe in peace.

Good.

Because I needed a break from his weird energy. Something was off about him lately—like he was changing, and not in a good way. Too twitchy. Too angry. Too... unpredictable.

I didn’t like it.

I sank further back into the bed, my phone screen lighting up my face as I opened my messages. But even while scrolling through, I could still hear the faint rush of water behind the bathroom door. It seems like he's having his bath.

Good, because I really want to be alone. His presence irks me so much.

Still slouched against the headboard, I tapped through my phone with a lazy thumb. The buzz came in suddenly, and I saw that it was a message from Jade.

“Hey,” her message read. “I waited after the wedding but didn’t see you. You just left like that.”

I rubbed my jaw, then typed back quickly.

“Sorry about that. Mom was hastening us up. We were supposed to go home together, and I couldn’t wait.”

I locked my screen, then unlocked it again. Her next message dropped almost immediately.

“You could’ve at least called. Anyway… here, some of the pictures we took.”

The little loading bubble came up, then two photos popped in. Jade in her red dress, looking stunning, with her long hair hanging over one shoulder. In both pictures, she stood close to me, her hand wrapped lightly around my arm, smiling big like the world belonged to her. I was smiling too. It looked… good. Picture-perfect, really.

Then I noticed something odd in the background of the second photo.

It was Kyle.

Blurred slightly, out of focus, but definitely there. He was off to the side, staring in the opposite direction. Except he wasn’t just there. He looked flushed, eyes soft, parted lips, cheeks glowing. That dazed kind of expression someone has when they’re trying hard to hide something but completely failing at it.

That kind of stare.

The kind people have when they’re caught looking at someone they really like.

I frowned, tilting the phone and zooming in.

Who the hell was he staring at?

My eyes flicked from him, to Jade, then back to him again.

I blinked.

I noticed the way his lips were slightly parted, the tilt of his head, the damn flush on his cheeks. It messed with me.

I kept staring at the zoomed-in picture. My thumb hovering, motionless, over the screen. Then I found myself dragging the zoom closer. His expression got clearer. My breathing slowed. There was something innocent but also deeply charged in that gaze. It wasn’t confusion. It wasn’t I have no idea what I'm actually doing here. It was...

Want.

I gulped, my Adam’s apple bobbing hard. My fingers were suddenly cold against the phone.

I shook my head and tossed the device beside me. What the hell am I even thinking?

Kyle had no business looking at anyone like that. Especially not anyone at the small wedding.

My eyes went back to the screen without my consent, and that was how I got glued to the screen once again.

My gaze was locked on that zoomed-in image of Kyle when the bathroom door creaked open. I flinched. Literally jumped like I’d just been caught doing something illegal. Which, I hadn’t. Not really. Still, guilt slid like cold water down my spine.

The phone slipped out of my hand, and I scrambled to shut the screen off, locking it with one hard tap.

By the time Kyle stepped into the room, his damp hair falling over his face, towel draped lazily around his neck. I was already sitting upright, pretending to scroll through nothing. I mean, I wouldn't want him catching me red-handed staring and drooling over his lane unaware picture.

But I felt it. His stare.

And it lingered.

I looked up, instantly cold. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I snapped, my tone low and clipped.

His eyes narrowed. “How do you even know that if you weren’t staring at me too?”

I clenched my jaw. That little shit.

“Don’t push me to the wall, Kyle,” I warned, my voice edging close to a growl. “Fucking don’t. You keep getting on my nerves, and I’m trying to control it because Mom is downstairs. Respect yourself while you're here.”

But Kyle didn’t flinch. Instead, he tilted his head and let out a half-laugh. “Says the guy who was just watching p**n.”

I blinked. “What?”

“You heard me.” He moved across the room, wiping his neck with the towel, water still trailing down his collarbone. “You were watching p**n before I walked in. I saw how fast you hid your phone. You didn’t even try to be smooth.”

I scoffed and looked away. “I wasn’t—” I paused. Then shook my head. “Why the hell am I even explaining anything to you? Get the fuck from my face.”

His smirk didn’t fade. But I’d had enough of the look he gave me, like he knew something I didn’t. Like I was unraveling right in front of him. So I turned my phone back on with a little more force than necessary, reopened the chat with Jade, and found that damn photo again.

Without hesitating, I deleted it.

And also, deleted him.

But before I could even swipe out of the chat, another message dropped in.

Jade: Oops! Forgot to send this one too!

Another image. Another photo from the wedding.

And just like the first, Kyle was in the background again.

My thumb hovered as I zoomed in. His face was even clearer this time. That same soft, breathless expression. That same flustered aura radiating off him like heatwaves. But now I could finally tell who he was looking at.

They were on Maddox.

Our stepfather.