Writing

JACK AND KAYLA

The music blared and there were bodies everywhere. The entire senior class was invited to Kyle Schaffert’s house for the graduation party of the century. Jack and Kayla sat on the couch with drinks in their hand, trying not to get knocked over by everyone. Jack was talking to Rachel, his ex, while Kayla battled with her feelings. She sat there on the other side of him wondering if it was worth it. Should she tell her best friend that she was in love with him? Would he feel the same way? What if he didn’t? But what if he did? She felt sick. It also didn’t help that Rachel was there, trying to make her way back into his life. She got out of her head and glanced at Jack. Kayla saw that he wasn’t really engaging with her, so she took her shot. She put her hand on his and leaned over and slightly yelled.

“Can I talk to you?”

 He turned and smiled.

“Absolutely. Anything to get away from her.” She smiled and they made their way to the front yard.

“So what’s up?” Jack was kicking a small rock around like a hacky sack. Kayla chugged her drink, closed her eyes and turned around.

“I think that I’m in love with you.” The rock dropped. She opened her eyes. 

“What?” Kayla felt her heart drop. Abort mission, run. But the words kept coming out.

“Uh, maybe not love, but I really like you Jack. Probably since 7th grade. It’s been like this for a while.” 

Stop talking, Kayla.

“Oh wow, Kay. I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, say something. I’m trying not to shit bricks here.”

“I mean, I love you too but just not…like that.” She felt the tears coming and she was genuinely surprised that they came that fast. He came over and hugged her. She put her face in his chest and she wept. This sucks, a lot. They pulled away and he rubbed her shoulders and wiped her tears. He looked her in the eyes and finally spoke.

“I think that we should sleep this off and talk tomorrow. We’ve been drinking and I think that we’re saying things that we’ll regret.” Kayla stood back.

“What? I’m not drunk, Jack.”

“Kayla, why else would you be telling me this?” She felt her whole body burn up.

“Are you serious?”

“Wait, are you?” he looked at her, his eyes slightly widened. She screamed.

“You’re an idiot! Of course I am, you asshole!” Kayla shoved him away, turning as  tears streamed down her face and rushed towards her car, completely and totally embarrassed. That was the last time that she spoke or saw Jack Colby.

Six Years Later…

Jack was sitting in the cafe, his leg shaking. He kept checking his phone, waiting for the Facebook message to come up. He put the phone down and looked out the window. Nope, not yet. He blew air out of his mouth to calm down. 

Ding!

He grabbed his phone and smiled.

I’m here! 

He looked towards the door and as it opened, time stood still. It was her. But she looked different. It wasn’t her face or her hair, something about her had Jack fixated. Maybe it was because it’s been 6 years since they saw each other but he couldn’t stop staring at her, she was beautiful. Kayla walked in, phone to her ear, her black hair cascading down her shoulders as she looked around. When she spotted him, she smiled. She hung up the phone and he stood up as she walked over to him. They stared at each other for a moment.

“Well, are you gonna stare at me all day or are you gonna hug me, Jack?” she said with a soft laugh. They hugged and she squeezed. He still smelled the same. They pulled away and they both said,“You look great!” 

They laughed and sat down. Not missing a single beat, they started right back up again. Jack stared at her and shook his head.

“I can’t believe it’s been-” 

“Six years,” Kayla said as she sipped her tea.

“Really?” She nodded.

“The last time that we spoke was at Kyle Schaffert’s party, the summer before college.”

“Wow that long ago?” Kayla chuckled.

“Yup, that was the night that I told you I was in love with you, remember?” Jack felt his heart race. He nodded slowly.

“Yep, I remember,” he chuckled. “Did you ever go to our 5 year reunion?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t have anyone to see there. Why would I go?” Kayla looked at him. “What are we doing here Jack? And don’t lie to me. Are you dying or something?” Her eyes widened. “Oh my god. Is it your mom?”

“Oh no! I’m fine. She’s fine.” She sighed out of relief. He ran his hand through his hair. “I just- I miss you.” She looked at him, confused.

“You waited six years to tell me that you missed me? You couldn’t send a text or call?”

“I wanted to but-”

“Jack, after that night, you haven’t spoken a word to me.”

“To be fair, you were pissed at me.” 

“I had the right to be! You said that I was drunk instead of acknowledging that I had feelings for you,” Kayla tried not to raise her voice.

“Yeah I messed up, big time. I’m sorry. I don’t know why it took me this long.” Kayla shook her head at that.

“Why didn’t you call or text me? Did you know that I cried every day that summer? My parents thought that I was clinically depressed and wanted me to see someone. I had had a crush on you since the 8th grade!”

“I remember you saying 7th grade,” he sighed. “Kay, can I explain?” 

Kayla shook her head.

“No. You’re too late, Jack. You didn’t care. You blew me off until now. You saw that we shared a mutual friend on Facebook and sent me a request for this… this apology?”

“Look, I’m just trying to start over. I’m hoping that you can forgive me Kayla. I was a jerk but I was also a kid then. I didn’t know how to feel or what to do. I had just broken up with Rachel and-“

“Don’t you mean we? I helped you break up with Rachel remember? I sent those texts, not you.”

“Okay, that’s fair. But please Kay? Can you forgive me?” Her phone buzzed. She looked down and sighed. She put her finger up.

“Hold on,” she answered. “Yeah, you can come in. I’m just finishing up.” She looked at Jack but turned away quickly. She felt her eyes start to well up so she wiped her eyes and hung up.

“Look, Jack, I really appreciate this time with you but we can’t be friends again. We should have just kept living our lives like before. This was a mistake.” Jack reached out to grab her hand when a man approached their table and they both looked up. Kayla smiled and got up to hug him.

“Hi,” he gave her a kiss. “Babe, you left this on the dresser this morning”. He handed her a ring and Jack’s heart sunk. She slipped it on her finger.

“Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I forgot this,” she looked over at Jack awkwardly.

“Oh, Jack, this is my fiancé, Ricardo.”