Chapter 7 - A Million Rainbows

I was the first to enter Mr. Lord’s class on Friday. Kyle was second.

“Hey,” he said, plopping down into the seat right next to mine. It was a cold, rainy day, and he had on joggers and a pretty dope bomber jacket with another pair—a different pair—of Nikes that matched everything. His hair was curlier than usual, probably because of the rain.

“Hey, Kyle,” I said, stiffening up and feeling very un-okay with this situation. He was sitting too close.

He moved to the edge of his desk, leaning into the aisle. “That stuff with Charlie was crazy, huh? I was up all night thinking about it. It was pretty incredible seeing my brother like that.”

I felt bad because I knew Kyle just wanted to talk about his brother, but this didn’t seem like the time. Other kids were coming in, and one of them would be Lyndsay.

“Hey,” I whispered. “I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but can we talk about this later?”

Kyle paused on me, his mouth open, his tongue on his bottom lip, giving me a once over. “You don’t want to talk to me?”

“Kyle, it’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. But now’s not a good time. Can you just go sit somewhere else?”

“I can’t sit here?” He sounded a little shocked. Not offended, but shocked.

“I’d rather you not.”

I thought I was being extremely rude, and I thought Kyle was going to get pissed and forget me like I wished he would—it’d be so much easier—but he just smiled.

“Gotcha, Dover.” He bit his bottom lip, looking over his shoulder for another place to sit. He leaned in, whispering before getting up. “Well, I really did break up with Lyndsay this time, so I can’t sit back there with her.”

He got up and moved one row back and two rows over, and I could still see him from the side, but he was far enough away, I guess.

And it was perfect timing because Lyndsay walked in just as he sat down.

“So what’s going on with you and Kyle?”

I was sitting at lunch with Emily. My head had been down the whole time, and I had been ignoring Kyle the whole time, so I didn’t know why she was bringing him up.

I put my fork down, being very tentative with my question. “What do you mean?”

Emily took a sip of her bottled water. I knew her well enough to know she was stalling.

“What? Just spill it.”

She shrugged. “I’ve heard some stuff. But I wanted to hear it from you.”

A sick weight dropped in my stomach. “Stuff? What kind of stuff?” It was day three at the start of the school year. How could there be any stuff?

“Oh, I don’t know. Never mind.” Emily fell quiet. She was nice. She wasn’t one to repeat rumors. She had brought this up because she thought it was true.

“Hey, tell me. What are they saying?”

She leaned in, talking low. “You know. That you and Kyle …” She pulled on his name for far too long.

My stomach lurched to my throat. The food I’d just eaten, threatening to spew.

They were saying we hooked up.

I knew it was stupid and that letting it bother me was stupid, but the room was closing in, anyway.

It didn’t even seem possible. I hardly knew him. I mean, I would have had to … what? Introduce myself. Convince him that having sex with me was something he even wanted. All within just a few hours of ever talking to him. These kids would believe anything if they believed that.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. I took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly and rubbing my thumb over my tattoo.

Emily put a gentle hand over mine. “It’s just a rumor, Bree.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The school years were kind of nice because after school on Fridays they had a backpack program where the less fortunate—me—could score a bag of free donated groceries. It was always a good day, always better when they added candy or sweets to them, greatly improving Charlie’s and my movie night.

Usually, they were set up outside near the buses, but since it was raining, they had moved the tables into the gym. It wasn’t too awkward. I wasn’t the only one in this town who wanted to eat, and the gym was actually pretty crowded.

The volunteer lady, whom I saw every week, handed me a bag with a sweet smile on her face. I was thankful for that smile. It had been a crappy day, and I really needed it.

I learned that the rumor about me and Kyle had been spread through text, which meant everyone in school heard it. And Kyle was popular, so everyone cared. I had managed to lie low for three years, staying under everyone’s radar. And then, bam, just like that, I’m the talk of the school—just what I wanted.

With my bag of groceries in hand, I snuck out through the side door in the gym and exited in the rain. I was usually prepared for the rain, but Charlie was being difficult this morning, trying to pick out a show-and-tell item right before I needed to leave for school, causing me to rush, which caused me to forget the damn umbrella.

I think the weather gods knew and were taunting me because a heavy downpour ensued just as school let out.

I waited under the awning near the door for as long as I could, hoping the rain would ease. But Charlie’s school would be letting out soon; I had to go.

I was walking along the back road to her school, holding my bag of soggy groceries when a very nice, silver Cadillac rolled up beside me. It slowed to a crawl, and the passenger window opened.

“Bree!”

It was Kyle, but he was the one driving, and his mom was the one who had opened the window. Or maybe he had opened it using the controls on his side. But she was the one I was face to face with.

“Hi,” I said, squinting at them, a slick of rain in my eyes. His mom was a gorgeous, bottle blonde with a face of pretty makeup—just what I expected.

“Get in!” said Kyle, unlocking the door.

I shook my head.

“Honey, you are soakin’ wet. Get in here, right now, before you catch a cold!” Kyle’s mom had a southern accent that was really thick; I hadn’t expected that. And I had no idea what to say because she had just yelled at me.

“Come on, Bree,” said Kyle, tilting his head inside the car.

They weren’t going to take no for an answer. I got in. “Oh my god, your seats.” I was soaking wet, and the seats were leather.

“Oh, don’t worry. They’ll dry,” said his mom. She passed me a roll of paper towels.

Kyle turned in his spot in the driver’s seat to face me. “Bree, this is my mom, Sue.”

“Hi,” I said, wiping my face and trying to relax.

“Kyle, is this the same Bree who liked my bread?”

“Yeah,” he said, sharing a funny smile with me (he had talked about me with his mom).

“Bree, honey.” She was looking at me through her visor mirror. “I’m gonna make you your own loaf. It’s all-natural, sourdough. Really, really good for you. And it’s the best bread you’ll ever have.”

A small laugh fluttered in my chest. I think I liked his mom. Her voice was sweet. “Thanks,” I said, being polite, but I actually wanted to try the bread.

“So how far do you guys live from school?” asked Kyle.

“Oh, it’s not even a mile. We’ll be fine.”

“We’ll just wait for Charlie,” he said. “We can give you guys a ride home.”

“Kyle, no.” I shook my head, pleading silently with my eyes. I didn’t want him to see where I lived.

He pressed his lips together, popping them back open with a quiet smack. “Well, how far do you live from Dairy Queen?”

“Just behind it.”

“Okay, then we’ll take you there. Is that okay?”

“Yeah.”

Kyle nodded, facing forward. He rolled the car over to the elementary and parked.

The heat was blasting, and the rain was pelting down, the windshield wipers swishing away. It was incredibly warm and cozy, and the interior of their car smelled amazing.

Kyle turned back around. He stared at me for a long second. “Bree, I’m sorry about today.”

He was talking about the rumors. I didn’t think he knew about them.

His mom twisted, hitting him across his shoulder with the back of her hand. “Sorry about what, Kyle? What did he do?”

I held back a smile—I did like her.

Kyle brought his hand up, rubbing her hit away, but his eyes were focused on me. He pinched up one cute, dimpled cheek. “Sorry,” he mouthed.

I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said, answering his mom. “He didn’t do anything.”