Life Isn't Ever Simple

By Rory Orion

When seventeen-year-old Kyle Vaughn moves back to his hometown of North Dunn, Connecticut, he realizes that things have stayed relatively the same the four years he was absent. He still has friends that will no longer speak to him and has to deal with his elder brother's ridiculous standards he has set from their parents. It isn't until he is walking home one night that everything drastically changes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9781684984381

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Copyright © 2022 Rory Orion

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-68498-435-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68498-438-1 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

1

No matter what happens, we are all the victims of our own choices. Some choose the right one and don’t think anything of it because they aren’t affected any from the choices that they have made and rightly so. Others go down the line, and they make bad choices and find themselves on a thin line between what got them where they are and where they have been before. Then there is the third choice—the one mistake that leads to a spiraling of choices down the road that can either change your life for the better or make you so damned miserable you wish you could turn back time and erase the one mistake that you ever made.

That one mistake ended the path for some, but for many, it had only just began.

Kyle just knew that he was going to hate it.

He had no say in the matter once his parents had made up their minds, and he absolutely knew that their minds had been made up. The strawberry blond was now going to stay with his elder brother, who was ten years his senior, in a place he had thought he would never have to go to again.

I had just gotten used to New York too.

The plans were made when he was in the room like he wasn’t even there. That was what had made it even worse to Kyle since he didn’t appreciate being ignored, but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it now that the plans were in motion.

Besides that, he only had to deal with one more year of school, and then he would be in college doing what he loved most.

Kyle knew that his father wanted him to go into business school and to join the family business just like his brother, Seth, had, but Kyle wasn’t going to do any of that. He was going to go to school for medicine, which would lead to a school far away from his father’s influence, although he would miss his mother terribly at times. Kyle also knew that there was only one chance he had to get away from him before his father could set his claws into him, and Oliver Vaughn was not a nice, docile man. He got his way by being deceitful and cruel. It was made worse knowing he went beyond any means necessary in order to gain wealth for his business even if it was at anyone else’s expense. He would even sell his own children if it would help his business.

They were in front of the airport now that they had reached Connecticut. It was starting to get light out now since it was nearing 7:00 a.m. and the sun was starting to rise. There were cars around them, waiting to pick up their loved ones, relatives, or even friends. Some were taxis waiting to pick up customers who didn’t have either. North Dunn didn’t have an airport nearby; and the closest one was nearly an hour away but, in reality, was only fifty minutes past where Seth had worked.

You be good for your brother, his mother warned him.

Kyle just nodded. What was I supposed to say to her?

Phoebe Vaughn had made it obvious in the past that she was going to follow anything that her husband wanted, even if it was going to hurt her children. His mother did care, but she was such a pushover. Kyle wished that sometimes it would be different and that she would stop trying to please the man she called her husband all the time.

It would be a lot easier if she would have.

I’ll be good, he finally vocalized.

He went to pick up his big red suitcase that he brought with him all the way from upstate New York when his mother grabbed it from him only to pull him into a bone-crushing hug. Kyle didn’t do anything for the barest of moments, then he responded and hugged her back, knowing that she needed this.

I know that she isn’t a heartless woman that will abandon her own children in their time of need that she is doing this, he reminded himself.

Oliver was complaining about Kyle all the time, so his mother had finally got her son away from there in what she believed was a show of protection.

But Kyle knew he never wanted this.

He only needed the remaining one year left of school there, and he could have handled the man. He was sure that Oliver wouldn’t have been that bad. He definitely hadn’t been before unless he had had something to drink, and then it had only been if they had been in his direct aim when he had been throwing shit. Still it wasn’t a predicament because Oliver couldn’t throw for shit, but it was kind of depending on how it was seen. Kyle knew he didn’t mind because, with the shitty aim, it wasn’t hard to miss.

Still it wasn’t hard to tell why his mother was sending him away.

She was dedicated enough to take the plane along with him even though he was seventeen years old and could have very well done so on his own. Few parents would have done the round trip to be there for their kids, and Kyle really appreciated her doing so. If Phoebe Vaughn wanted to squeeze the life out of him slowly with a hug, he would let her for however long she wanted. He just hoped that she didn’t crush him to death before she let go.

I’m so gonna miss you, she admitted.

She flicked a stray tear from her eye with her finger and managed a watery smile as Kyle saw a cherry-red sedan pull up to the curb. He hoped that wasn’t what he thought it was, but he ignored it to pay attention to his mom. He wasn’t going to see her for a while, and he knew he was going to miss her dearly too.

It will be quiet without you, but you need a life, and you need friends that are actually good influences. I swear the people you hung out with up there had me worried for you.

Kyle definitely didn’t want her knowing anything about the friends he had in New York because she already disapproved of the ones she had known of. Instead he glanced at his watch and noticed that it was now 7:00 a.m. on the dot. The sky was definitely lighter now, with swirls of orange and pink starting to fade from the sky as the sun made itself known.

He also knew he was going to have to face the inevitable soon, namely seeing his brother, Seth, again after not having seen him for four years. It hadn’t really seemed all that long ago that he had thought of it, but Kyle would have been happier not seeing his bigger brother for a bit longer. However, he knew his mother seemed to have a different idea since she spotted the cherry-red sedan and her brown eyes lit up.

Kyle didn’t want to take the personal car like that to get to his brother’s and would have been happier to take a taxi or any other form of transport that didn’t involve having his brother arrange it, but knowing his mother, she probably knew he felt that way and wanted him to get in to make this as painless as possible.

I know I won’t be here in a while, but make sure you do well in school, pumpkin, and make sure you don’t embarrass yourself too much, she reminded him once they had reached the car. I know you hate being in this situation, but once you graduate, you can go to college and live a little.

She set down his suitcase, but all Kyle could think of was that his mother must have known something about his plans. He didn’t think she would have figured it out, and he never told a soul.

Not that I really told a guidance counselor either, Kyle thought, scrunching his nose in confusion.

His mother, seeing this, smiled and opened the car door for him.

The inside of the car was just as nice. It had clean and sleek leather seats that looked like it was well maintained. There wasn’t a speck of dirt anywhere, nor was there any sign of clutter that Kyle could see. He didn’t get in yet, and his mother took that opportunity to put the suitcase into the car for him first, placing it down on the floor in the middle of the seat.

Kyle knew a hint when he saw one and got in the car afterward, trying to smooth down his strawberry-blond curls, and then he remembered to snap in his seat belt. The car took off shortly after, the man in front not having said a word of greeting, but Kyle didn’t need him to as he didn’t normally get along with any of his brother’s workers anyhow. He gazed out of the window instead and watched in the rear as now that his mother was left alone standing there with her head in her hands.

He didn’t know what would cause her to be so down in the dumps and why she chose to hide it from him. He wasn’t a child anymore, and he knew that she often had things she would rather suffer on her own rather than telling others. She often acted like she had the world on her shoulders, but he didn’t realize until now how much she actually carried with her.

Kyle still didn’t, but he could only assume it must’ve been a lot. Next time he saw her, he would talk to her about it.

He knew talking helped and that knowing there was someone there for her would help her too. Kyle knew she would appreciate that.

With that being said, he turned around in his seat, only this time he was looking out the window toward the front instead of what was going on behind him. Kyle knew that they had a while to get to North Dunn, and he would need to ready himself to be prepared after being away for four years. Once they hit familiar roads, however, he remembered a lot of the same places and knew that it had changed little from when he had left at thirteen.

Nostalgia began to overtake him, and Kyle remembered some of the memories associated with those places, like the town’s ice cream shop at the center of town and right across from the town’s high school called Bon Bon Berry’s. He had, once upon a time, often spent time after school hanging out with his friends and getting a different assortment of sweets from milkshakes to ice cream as they would do school projects. Sometimes they would even get hot fudge sundaes.

A lot of the places held sentimental values like that, like the old playground behind the middle school that was never fixed right or the cinema they would go to watch horrible movies because North Dunn could never show good ones.

It was torture now that his friends couldn’t stand him, though. At the same time, he had moved to New York, where his parents still lived to this day; he had lost the friends he had gained. He also knew that, no matter what he did, he would never gain them back no matter how hard he tried because no amount of emails, text messages, and voice mails would generate a response. Kyle didn’t think showing up would make a difference either, or else he would gladly try that now.

He knew when he ruined his friendship with his childhood friends.

We are just about here. Are you hungry? the driver finally spoke, glancing back through the mirror to the teen.

Kyle wasn’t sure what his aim was, but he knew it wasn’t out of concern.

He shook his head anyway.

I’m fine, he quipped.

Kyle had his brother he was going to be dealing with soon; and it would cause any normal person having to deal with family issues to be anxious, jittery, or both. While Kyle was sure he wasn’t any of those things, he still didn’t believe he could stomach anything at the moment. The man he called his brother had been working at the Vaughn family company called Vaughn Corporation since he had graduated from college at the age of twenty-three. He surmised that Seth would be the one that Oliver Vaughn would be most proud of. Seth was definitely a son he could proudly show off in the business world, and while any other profession could be as good, Oliver had no use for anything that didn’t involve anything that he didn’t put the work in for.

He also made that clear several times.

I’m sure it will be fine, the driver tried to reassure, bringing Kyle out of his thoughts. You are brothers, and what brother doesn’t end up making up with their siblings? I know you must have your issues, but you will get better, and you will put all this time behind you. You’ll see.

The driver stopped talking, and Kyle was glad for it. He couldn’t possibly see what it was he was talking about, and he was sure he never would. Not every brother ended up making nice with their siblings in the end, and he supposed he was just one of the cases where that was going to happen. He would probably be long dead before Seth realized how much he really meant to him.

They finally pulled up into the circular driveway of the Vaughn manor, and Kyle could only find himself releasing a slow breath, knowing he was going to have to face Seth sooner than he really wanted to. He would probably also be confronting his older sister and Seth’s twin, Sienna, who may be there.

Kyle finally got up the gumption and started pounding on the door, already regretting coming here although it couldn’t really be helped.

The lights inside the manor were on, so he knew they were home—or at least he knew Seth’s wife, Madison, was. Madison despised Kyle a lot too. He knew it may have had to do something more with his friend Kooper than anything Kyle himself had truly done, but it didn’t seem to matter to the woman at all. He still wouldn’t let the woman get to him, and if she had tried, he was still not going to let her.

When the door finally opened, he found it was his brother that had opened it, much to his surprise. He was dressed neatly in a charcoal designer suit and purple tie. He thought that Seth would have gone to the office by now since Kyle knew that he was normally supposed to start at 5:00 a.m. Maybe Oliver Vaughn relaxed the rules so that Seth could go a little later on in the day now, but it didn’t matter to him. Kyle had since lost all respect for Seth for a while now, and he didn’t think he would ever gain it back. The man always caved into peer pressure and did whatever Oliver ever asked him to do. The one thing Seth may have been allowed to do on his own was when he chose whom to marry, but Kyle didn’t think that counted for much.

I didn’t expect you to come back this early.

The surprise was evident in his blue eyes and from the way he had said it. Kyle hid his own behind a mound of irritation and rolled his eyes.

I just got in, and I thought you would be gone by now. It must’ve shown real leniency for Dad to let you go into the office later than normal, though. I applaud you for the approval. Kyle could see that he was starting to annoy him now. It just took you, what, two or four years?

Seth seemed done now.

There was only so many times he could count back from ten, Kyle surmised. He wasn’t going to hear anymore; he was done with the conversation. He pushed past his brother and got into the house, pulling his suitcase with him. He couldn’t stand his brother, and here he was having to converse with him. Kyle stood in the foyer, and he could clearly see Madison in the dining area up ahead sitting in one of the chairs at the table. There was a little girl beside her. Kyle suddenly remembered that Seth did, in fact, have a child. But he never truly cared to revisit any of those memories about his brother before, so why would he remember?

That must be Dawn, he mumbled, now remembering that, before he had left, Seth had had a one-year-old who had just been learning how to walk.

Now she was five. Her hair was longer, but it was still a dark-brown color like her father’s. Her dark-brown eyes were all her mother’s. From what he had seen, she was wearing a purple satin shirt, and it was going to be designer, he bet. Only the best and expensive clothes would do it for the Vaughns. He looked down at his simple green long-sleeved shirt and pair of jeans, happy that he wasn’t lumped in with the rest of them. Kyle didn’t really care for the expensive things or the extravagant lifestyle. He wasn’t going to be groomed from an early age like his brother, so he didn’t see the point.

Wow, you have gotten so big, Madison remarked sarcastically, glaring at him from the coffee cup she was holding.

Kyle knew she was referring to the fact that he barely grew since she last saw him. The fact was that he, in fact, grew three inches; but he wasn’t going to let her be smug about it since she thought she was so clever.

I’d say you have gotten younger, but we both know that’s not true, he told her instead, hiding a grin as he saw the rage building up behind the fury in her eyes.

The manor hadn’t changed either, and he had to wonder if everything around him was going to stay the same as he remembered it. The foyer, of course, was always going to be there; and the whole place was decorated in golden wallpaper although he knew the kitchen was now painted a bright yellow. Up ahead was the dining room, and behind that was the family room with the L-shaped red velvet couch with a coffee table and a huge television set. Although there wasn’t any tile since they had oakwood flooring, there was a long rug in the dining room and an intricate design. The border of the rug was red.

Since I know I don’t want to hang out with any of you, I might as well know which room you are sending me to. He shot Seth a look, but he was looking at Madison, who seemed to be still silently seething in anger at what Kyle said. I take it there is some bad news?

Maybe it was because they had been dating for a while and married, but he knew they couldn’t always do that. Kyle would have seen it last time. They were having a little silent conversation, and even then, it seemed like Seth was confused at some things she was trying to get across to him, to which she finally beckoned him forward and whispered what she wanted to say in his ear.

Your room is going to be downstairs since Madison thinks you aren’t a very good influence on Dawn. It isn’t really that she hates you—

She hates me, Kyle automatically interrupted him.

He should’ve known there was no point in hiding what Kyle already knew.

The point is that we’ll let you have the biggest bedroom downstairs, but you also have to promise that you will adhere to a curfew because we don’t want you sneaking in at 1:00 a.m. That would be unwise at this point at time.

Kyle could understand where this was leading to. You think there is a chance that I could fuck up my senior year?

Seth was starting to try to deny it.

Kyle let out a laugh of disbelief. No, it’s cool because I don’t see how this year could get any worse. I promise I’ll just keep my head down, and I’ll make sure I won’t do anything to screw up your peaceful little lives. Hopefully sometime I’ll be out of your hair.

Seth sighed this time. You know that’s not what we meant, Kyle. Seth paused and licked his lips. I just want you to be happy. You were hanging around bad people in New York, and it just didn’t look like you were happy at all there. You would have eventually been in prison.

Kyle arched an eyebrow.

He couldn’t wait to see where this would lead to.

I honestly didn’t think you cared about my undying soul. He searched his face to see if he could get a read on him but knew that Seth wouldn’t give anything away. Maybe hanging out with what you term the wrong people helps. While I’m at it, though, I’m gonna have to call bullshit.

Seth gave him a startled look, and Madison looked more pissed than ever. She looked like she had something to say, but he didn’t give her the chance to speak.

You don’t care about anything that doesn’t involve the Vaughn business or the family you created for yourself. I don’t come into either of those categories because I’m neither of them.

Kyle had to smile to himself. He knew that Seth was at the end of his ropes with him. Usually he would complain to their father, or he would have done something drastic like kick him out. Kyle couldn’t help doing something like this, though; it was in his nature.

So I am thinking that Mom did something that got through to your cold, dead heart, and you are actually trying a little at least.

Seth spluttered. Kyle, you know I care, but if you can’t see that—

Kyle shook his head. If you really did care, then you would have tried to contact me within the past four years, ya know? he pointed out.

Seth stayed silent, and Kyle picked up his red suitcase so that he could go to the room that they had designated for him. He was tired of this shit, and he knew that he was going to be putting up with quite a disastrous school day tomorrow already. He was just finished with this bullshit excuse of a conversation and ready for it to end.

His brother wasn’t finished, however.

Communication works both ways, you know?

Kyle just nodded because he didn’t care what he was being told at this point.

Madison decided to butt in, deciding that they had dealt with enough too. Kyle didn’t honestly know why she would bother because she always made everything worse like she normally did. In reality, she wasn’t as great as she thought she was and was more of a raging bitch.

You really shouldn’t even waste your time with him. He’s a menace, and the sooner he graduates, the better it will be.

Seth shook his head. Don’t think like that, Seth admonished her.

Madison had the fortitude to hold her hands up in surrender although she didn’t look very sorry for her statement.

Turning to Kyle, he said, We do want to have you here, and if you need to take time after high school to get your life together, then we will be there for you. You can count on me.

Kyle just shook his head. The thing is I don’t count on people, he informed him. I get burned when I do so, or it turns out to be the wrong choice. Maybe you should ask yourself if you shouldn’t count on people either. It is really lame.

He didn’t stop for them after that no matter how much they tried to call out to him to stop. Kyle tried to get the conversation to stop, and now that he was away from it, he felt a lot better. Once he was at the door of the room he would be calling his own for the next year, he decided it would have to do and made his way inside.

There was a nice big bed in the center of the room, and Kyle could already tell that it was going to be comfortable. The windows were opposite where the bed was. In front of the windows was a dresser which was nothing extravagant, but he knew it wouldn’t hinder him if he tried to sneak out of the house. Opposite where the door was positioned was the closet. The blinds of the window were closed, so the first thing Kyle did when he entered was that he went over and opened them, seeing the sun was starting to shine brightly now.

It was 9:00 a.m., and it was a Sunday morning.

Tomorrow he was going to have to get used to being at school here again. He seriously thought it would take a whole lot more to get him back to this small town. Dropping his red suitcase by the edge of the bed, he dropped into it, appreciating the softness of it and resting his eyes.

Kooper, Sam, Anthony, and he had all been friends for as long as he remembered; and Oliver Vaughn had started up one of his businesses out here. Kyle had wanted to stay here even when they had left for New York, and because his mother had wanted him to be happy, she had made it happen for a while. He had been happy too. It had lasted until before he had moved to New York, and everything went to hell since then.

If he could change back time and make sure the events that led up to the dissolvent of their friendship didn’t take place, then Kyle would have done it in a heartbeat. Kyle had hated what had happened and regretted his actions so much. He sighed as he opened his eyes and turned over onto his side. The memories were always the worst when he had to remember what used to be, especially when he didn’t have them anymore.

But he would be okay because he told himself he had to be.

He would get by this one day at a time, and then eventually it wouldn’t matter anymore.

But try as he might, Kyle knew he didn’t believe the lie any more than he had four years ago.

2

East Cherrywood Oak High School was a place that Kyle had always aimed to go to when he had been in middle school, but now that he was a senior now starting his last year at the school in question, he realized how much he was really not looking forward to going there.

Kyle didn’t expect to have any fun at school that day at all or that he would be seeing a positive change in his friends after so long apart or the fight he had had with one of them before he had left. It was not something that he would think they would forgive even if they were now stuck with seeing him.

He put his head through a white cotton shirt which had two orange lines around the midsection and slipped into some dark-charcoal jeans. Once Kyle laced his black tennis shoes with double knots, he also thought of throwing on an orange sweater that zipped up in the front although he kept it unzipped. Once Kyle was finished dressing for school, he tried to tame his unruly strawberry-blond curls but knew it was out of the question. The curls were soft, and while they were long enough to do something about them, Kyle knew his curls were too stubborn to tame.

Next he had to take his shot of insulin because he also happened to be diabetic, and when he wasn’t testing his glucose, he was taking his insulin three times a day. He hated living with this disease, but it was something he was born with and something that had to be managed. Otherwise, Kyle knew it would land him in a serious health emergency, which meant hospitalization, although, in the past, it was never bad enough and he had always gotten better.

Not that his father would say anything good or bad about it but he didn’t have to.

Kyle knew it was another strike against him since the first for Kyle was that he wasn’t going into the family business and he didn’t wear all those top-notch clothes all the time. He didn’t have his head so far up his ass was another. He didn’t mind that one because Kyle didn’t want to be seen as stuck-up, but having a chronic illness that might one day kill him was something Kyle couldn’t control. If it was one thing that Oliver Vaughn hated more than anything, it was how his children turned out. He turned out one perfect son he could mold and proudly call his own. He had a daughter that he could call his princess that never made one mistake in his eyes. Then there was Kyle who was nothing but one big mistake.

Grabbing an apple from the table, Kyle tried to leave without catching anyone’s eyes; but it didn’t stop his sister, Sienna, from seeing him. She was such a beautiful woman who, like Seth, had brown hair and blue eyes. Those blue eyes were glittering with happiness at the prospect of seeing Kyle at the moment. Her brown hair was straight and down to her shoulders. She was wearing a periwinkle bathrobe over her blue-and-white striped pajamas as well as a pair of matching periwinkle slippers. Seth was missing, but Kyle preferred him this way.

I didn’t know you were coming until Seth told me. Welcome back, slugger, she greeted, giving him a light punch to the shoulder.

Kyle doubted she would have really noticed the difference since she never really would have been around much in the past. Sienna had always been boy crazy, and he doubted that had changed much. She always liked meeting with them way too much, and if Oliver Vaughn didn’t hook her up with a match soon, Sienna would either get pregnant or an STD, whichever one she happened to get first.

You don’t have to pretend to be so happy, ya know, he merely told her as he rummaged through his backpack for the things he would have to put in there for school. I know that you hated it when I was here last time.

Sienna may have frowned, but it didn’t make it any less true.

That’s because you were a despicable brat, she defended herself. But I see you have finally did some growing up. You still have the unmanageable curls, and you still only shot up a little bit, but maybe you’ll see we could be friends at least now.

Kyle didn’t know what it was with people making fun of his height here. He wanted to remind his sister that he was five feet and seven inches now and could tell that she could barely hide her laughter. He was taller than her by two inches although Seth was definitely taller right now, but Kyle knew he could catch up to him in no time. Teenagers had growth spurts, and Kyle was only seventeen.

I don’t remember you ever being so nice to me, he admitted, zipping up his backpack and paused. You aren’t on any drugs, are you?

Sienna seemed to think it wasn’t very funny, but he surely did. She crossed her arms and tried to look ever the adult, but she failed at it since there was no way she would ever pass as the authoritative figure no matter how hard she tried. Sienna just wasn’t that type of person who tried to use her authority to get people do things.

She wasn’t Seth.

No, I assure you I’m not on any drugs, she finally said. But after everything that went down here, I’ve decided that I could stand to be nicer to you, and I do keep my promises.

Kyle was weirded out by that response because he never thought he would hear the day his sister would think of someone other than herself. He dismissed it, though, and took a bite of his apple, knowing that, if he didn’t eat anything, he would have a negative reaction to the insulin he had just taken. He had to get to school, so he slung the backpack on his shoulders and left the house, not bothering to say anything to Madison as he passed her by.

He gave her no mind as she huffed and stormed off like a perpetual child. Kyle was still angry with Madison, who thought she could tell his brother that Kyle couldn’t be trusted with his own niece, so if he didn’t talk to Madison, that should be the least of her concerns. She treated him like he was a monster for no reason at all, and it wasn’t like Kyle even cared to know Dawn anyway.

Kyle wasn’t going to go to school by the driver like Seth wanted. He knew that much for sure. His older brother was out of his mind if he thought that Kyle would allow someone that Seth assigned to take him to school each day. Kyle also didn’t want to take the bus because that was how the gossip mill got started, and before he even reached the front doors of the school, everyone would know that he was back. Kyle also wanted to view the scenery some more, and it was better when it was not viewed in a vehicle going at a speed of twenty miles per hour down the road.

He knew he lived on Prescott Street, so leaving the circular driveway and turning left, he went over a small road bridge that had a little creek underneath it called Willow’s Creek. He would have stopped to take a smoke break then. But he knew he never would hear the end of Seth’s bitching if he turned up late on his first day, so he kept going. The road ended into West Wilby’s Avenue two blocks later, and on the street, there was a small police station and a Hobkins. Hobkins was a pancake house that specialized in serving pancakes of all kinds and flavors. They also served waffles, but their pancakes were the best.

Even though his school was on East Libby Street, the reason for the school being named East Cherrywood Oak was because the school faced that street instead. It wasn’t too big of a high school. There were only a graduating class of 180 or fewer students each year, but it was still nice. They didn’t have many sports, mainly baseball and football. Their school colors were red and white, and their school mascot was a dire wolf.

Kyle had many fond memories of being in North Dunn, ranging from elementary all the way up to middle school, although he hated being here now. It pained him to remember all the good times when he remembered that all the people he once called his friends hated his guts. He knew he could have rectified the situation if he would have apologized and said he was wrong in the first place, but he didn’t. It had been four years now.

He never had many regrets, but he regretted this a lot. If he could take it all back and start over, he would because he wanted his friends back. Going through something wasn’t an excuse for what he had done. He knew whatever he had said could never be unsaid, but he wished he hadn’t said it now. Kyle just wanted his friends not to think he was a massive piece of shit anymore, but since all forms of contact remained unanswered, he finally took the hint and moved on.

It had to be a coincidence that, at the same time that Kyle happened to arrive at the school and stood on the sidewalk leading to the red front doors, his eyes connected with a familiar brown set of orbs, making him freeze. He had not seen Kooper in so long, and he knew that he had been so mad at Kyle at the time that he had never wanted to see him again. Mad probably wasn’t quite the right word for it, though. He was enraged, and the only thing that had stopped Kooper from beating Kyle’s ass back then was adult intervention. Now was the first time they had seen each other in four years, and Kyle wasn’t sure what to think of this. He didn’t know what Kooper would do—except Kooper just turned and walked into the school’s entrance like he hadn’t even seen him at all.

Kyle had to blink back his shock.

He realized that he had bitten his lip and he had his hands into fist hard enough to make his knuckles go white. The tension had been so thick that Kyle had doubted that it could have been cut with anything than a high-grade power tool.

He shook his head and lowered it and entered the front doors, hoping he could avoid any more confrontations as much as possible. Kyle knew that, since Kooper had seen him, however, by lunch, the word would be out there that Kyle was back in North Dunn. Kooper didn’t look any different, Kyle mused as he removed the things he needed from his backpack for his first class and then shoved the rest into his locker. He would keep his glucometer there until lunch, where he would pull it out and use it before he ate. He didn’t really need to cart that thing around with him and advertise his chronic illness to everybody.

He closed the locker and looked around.

The lockers were all long since there weren’t a large number of students in the school, and they were blue. The floors were checkered marble of red and white although it was scuffed up from a variety of different reasons, be it teachers or students. From his map, Kyle knew there was a second floor where some of the classes were; and there were even some classes in the basement level, a pool, and a boiler room. It was so confusing being the new kid although he just started toward the beginning of the senior year, so it shouldn’t have counted. In small towns like this, however, they did.

The first class he had was English literature. His teacher was Martin Reedus, but the kids commonly called him Mr. Reedus. He didn’t even appear until five minutes after the bell rang. Kyle chose a seat in the front and closest to the window so that he wouldn’t be near any of the students who could recognize him. He looked outside, where a humongous tree sat near the window, and dazed off. Kyle only really paid attention when his name was called for attendance, and then he was back into his own world.

Mr. Reedus passed out the syllabus and explained it slowly with a precision that would leave a normal student in a coma by the end. Kyle idly wondered for a moment if he was trying to teach high school seniors or if he was addressing college students with the way he talked. His thinning white hair and square-framed glasses gave him the attention he deserved even though a student may choke up at the maroon polo sweater vest or the long blue shirt underneath that was tucked underneath neat black slacks. No student dared disrespect him, and if they did, their punishments were indeed harsh.

And lastly we have this project coming up, Mr. Reedus was saying, holding out a small booklet in front of him. In two weeks, we will present the presentations, so we have plenty of time to work on them.

Kyle didn’t really see the importance of the project, so he zoned out again. He knew he would be spending a lot of time in the library and probably his room. He wasn’t going to be lagging behind, but he also didn’t want to be the diligent student that studied all the time either. He was remarkably smart already, and he could get by with enough studying, which wouldn’t consume his time completely. He just didn’t know what he was going to do until he graduated since he had no one to hang out with.

It wasn’t like he could pretend anymore, and after seeing Kooper again, he was sure he still hated his guts even after all these years. Kyle just had to tell himself he could get past this. He had told himself many times, but he didn’t know if that was even possible. Kyle had to try, though, and he knew it would be difficult. Maybe if he had minimal interactions with any of them so that he could at least attempt it.

And then Morrison, Hagan, Kooper, and Vaughn.

Kyle looked up over at Mr. Reedus in shock. What was that about?

He didn’t have a single clue, and yet he was sure he was the only one.

What? he asked, speaking up in shock.

Mr. Reedus looked irritated. There were quite a few students that were laughing now too, which was never good, but Kyle had heard his name called with the others. He knew he should have been listening. He hadn’t, though, and he knew this was going to be bad.

The projects I was talking about, if you were listening, Mr. Vaughn, are group based. Kyle did not like where this was going as the teacher continued. Four to a group so you are obviously in a group of four.

Kyle didn’t know what to say to that, so he stayed silent.

He knew he could beg him to switch to another group if he wanted to, but Kyle wasn’t sure if Mr. Reedus would actually allow that. The teacher seemed determined to keep the assigned groups the way they originally were assigned. Even if he did allow it, Kyle knew that others would find out and know that he had asked for it, and Kyle hated conflict most of the time. He would just have to suck it up and deal with it in the end.

Now go to your assigned groups for the rest of the class, and what you don’t finish here, you will find out how to finish it amongst yourselves.

Kyle hesitantly picked up all his things and brought them to a desk closer to where the other four assembled in the corner near the door. As he got closer, Kyle observed the people he had once called friends and noticed that they had definitely changed over the years of separation even though they were still relatively the same.

Kooper had always been a chubby child throughout elementary and middle school, not obese, but now he seemed to have shaved off most of the chubbiness he had. He was still hefty and would always probably be a little on the big side, but he wasn’t that same chubby child. Kyle felt it was just baby fat anyway, and he also shot up to where he was much taller, about an inch taller than Kyle if he would stop and think about it. Sam was still thin, but he also shot up to where he was two inches taller than Kyle. Anthony, from where Kyle was walking up to them, still seemed like the cheerful messy-haired blond he knew from before; and he was the same height as Kooper. Kyle could only blame the world on how unfair it was that they would be taller than him even if it was by just an inch—an inch they could over him at any time.

Well, if they ever mended their friendship in the future or ever again.

He reached them and was about to open his mouth to speak when Kooper beat him to it.

Don’t speak to us, he snapped brusquely.

Kyle quickly snapped his mouth shut and gave up.

He decided to just listen in on what the rest of them were saying instead, resting his elbow on the desk. He knew he didn’t have high hopes from the beginning, so he wasn’t as disappointed as he should have been. He waited patiently for them to actually begin to start the topic for what the presentation was going to be on. He knew they had no guidance for this without him. They never really had the right push, but they got to it eventually without Kyle. It just took five minutes.

I think we should do Shakespeare, Sam suggested.

Kooper instantly shook his head, and Kyle silently agreed with him.

I think that we should pick someone else. It states here that we have to pick one author and do a report on him to present to the class. Kooper glared at Sam as he said, Everyone is going to think about doing Shakespeare.

My thought exactly, Kyle thought.

Anthony held a pencil eraser to his chin in thought, and Kyle knew it was his way of thinking. He did get things that no one would think he would get, and he was smarter than others gave him credit for.

Did he say it had to be an author of a book? he asked. He offered, We could do an author who wrote poems.

Kooper snorted.

Kyle wondered what it was he was thinking just now. Of course, those who wrote poems were also in a similar category as those who had written books; everyone knew that. They were authors all the same. If Kyle wanted to, he could have broken his silence to tell him that, but he didn’t want to set an argument just by doing so.

Well, poetry is just stupid, Kooper mumbled. It’s also only for chicks.

Anthony let out a bark of laughter. Maybe you would land a few if you knew how to write some then, Anthony retorted with a quirk of his eyebrows.

Kyle hoped that they would get back on focus, but Kooper beat him by getting them back on it.

We do George Orwell, he told them. "This would be a good author. He wrote 1984, and many are going to do recent works or Shakespeare. Just you wait."

Sam nodded thoughtfully.

Fine, I agree with you, but who is going to get the books for us to research this guy?

Sam looked like he was waiting for an answer, and he grabbed at some of the strands of his raven-black hair when Kooper smirked.

Who else? Kooper answered. Vaughn, you get them, and then we will meet up and do the work required for the presentation.

Kyle blinked in surprise. Huh? he asked dumbly.

Kooper rubbed his temples in annoyance. Okay, we’ll say this in words you could understand. You get the books that we need for at the library, and then we will work on this project together. The sooner this is finished, the better off this will be.

Kyle nodded in agreement.

He went back to being silent, and for a while, he was watching them talk amongst themselves as he counted himself lucky they spoke to him at all. They didn’t call him any mean names. They weren’t going to beat him up, so he had it lucky than most.

Oh, Vaughn?

Kyle looked up just as the bell rang, and many of the other students were gathering their things to get to their next class. Kooper had stayed behind, though. He hadn’t counted on that though he didn’t know what it was about yet. He didn’t want to say anything because there were a million reasons, and any of them could be it.

I’d think you would need our phone numbers to be able to work on the project, don’t cha?

Kyle was confused since he was pretty sure that he had all their numbers for quite a while since four years ago, but Kooper could have a reason for saying this. He wasn’t one known for lying. He never really lied much in the past, and he detested liars as well.

Kyle nodded.

I changed my phone number although the other guys have the same ones. Your phone number is the same, I take it?

He nodded his head again.

Perfect, I’ll text you then. Don’t forget those books, Vaughn.

Kyle didn’t react until he left and then let out a shaky breath once he realized he hadn’t been able to contact him all this time was because he had a different number. He wasn’t sure if that made it better or worse and decided to store it away for later since he had to get to his next class.

At lunch, he definitely knew he was worse than any unpopular kid that went to this school by now. After using his glucometer and injecting himself with an insulin pen, he was in a seat that even the worst kids didn’t want to sit in.

Even worse, he was the school outcast.

What else could go wrong in his life? His life was turning downhill from the moment he was told he was coming back to Connecticut and that he was coming to school here. He didn’t understand the reason his mom had for sending him back here besides bad influences back where he was, but there were bad influences everywhere. At least he wasn’t suffering that badly in New York.

Is there a reason you are here besides the obvious?

The voice sounded like Beau.

Kyle looked up from the food he was eating and saw that it was definitely Beau. Kyle hated this cafeteria because, while it had lots of rows of white plastic tables and benches, the food sucked. The lunch line comprised of turkey sandwiches; cheeseburgers, which weren’t that good; fries; and mixed vegetables. The walls were a light blue, and the windows were large and showed a view of the huge trees that were outside of the building.

With Beau, Kyle wasn’t really in his friend circle; but in the past, he had always considered him a friend when he was living here. Thankfully Beau was still shorter than him even if it was by an inch. The boy wore an ever-present frown on his face and wore navy-blue long-sleeved shirt and navy-blue jeans, showing off that the color was by far his favorite. It was apparent that Beau had taken a side after everything had happened, and it hadn’t been Kyle’s. He couldn’t really blame Beau because, even though some mean things had been said on both parts, Kyle’s was by far the cruelest.

Does there have to ever have to be a reason that someone does anything? Kyle retorted, sick of seeing him there.

Beau stared motionlessly at him for a moment; and Kyle furrowed his eyebrows as he glanced back, sapphire meeting green and not backing down until Beau drew in a deep breath, shaking his head.

You really are an asshole.

Kyle had to swallow back what he really wanted to say as Beau turned around and left the table. Instead he continued to eat his lunch with a new urgency so that he could hurry and finish so that nobody else could confront him in the same manner. Once he was, he discarded his tray by the exit and stepped out of the side of the building once Kyle was sure that nobody would notice.

He picked up smoking in New York, something that none of these kids knew about, and Kyle would like to keep that way. He didn’t want it announced to the world, and he was only seventeen. If Seth found out about it, he was sure that his older brother would just confiscate them and never allow Kyle the freedom to smoke another one until he turned twenty-one or until his father found out, and then something drastic would end up happening.

Smoking is a filthy habit that you shouldn’t start was what he would say.

Oliver Vaughn was a hypocrite though only because he smoked cigars, and he drank alcohol. Some would say he was a functioning alcoholic, but Kyle knew differently because of the things he did when he was drunk. Just because the man wasn’t addicted didn’t mean he wasn’t a problem. Kyle took a long drag from his cigarette and savored the high he got from feeling the nicotine going into his lungs. He knew it was bad and it may later cause his death, but it helped his anxiety. It was all that mattered to him.

Crushing the cigarette on the wall of the building, Kyle knew he had to go into the school as the bell was about to ring.

He had two more classes after lunch was over, and they were just as boring as the last. First was advanced trigonometry class, and Kyle was glad that there was no one he knew from there in this class. It didn’t stop one of the students from pelting him with crumbled-up paper balls as he tried to take notes. One particular one that was thrown at his head actually had writing on it.

Making sure that the teacher couldn’t see, he flattened it out and read it. Kyle felt his blood just about boil when he saw the words Get out of this school. Instead of letting it get to him, he continued to jot down the math problems because, whoever written the note on this jasmine-scented paper was just trying to get a rise out of him.

He really didn’t care for them either.

Kyle’s last class was also the last class of the day, which held several rambunctious students that was causing many issues. Mr. Simpkins, the teacher, was trying to teach mental health; and it didn’t seem to matter as many of the class were passing notes and whispering when they thought the teacher wasn’t listening, which was rather presumptuous just because he was old.

Mr. Simpkins finally seemed to have enough of it toward the end and turned his teaching into a pop quiz, where it was silent for the rest of class. Nobody dared to complain about any of it or that they were the reason that they had to have the pop quiz in the first place.

When the class let out, Kyle was back home in no time and had all his homework done since all of it was so easy. He was done with everything by the time 4:00 p.m. rolled around, and he stood up stretching, showing some skin from his abdomen before going to take his insulin for the last time for that day at least. He hated that process, but it was what he got for living with a debilitating disease for however long he had now. He was still alive. Kyle knew he could handle it for far longer.

*****

He was about to get an apple when his phone buzzed.

Kyle was sure it wasn’t for him since he didn’t get many texts these days and his friends in New York wouldn’t have texted him because they didn’t like doing long-distance calls. They couldn’t afford it. Kyle was very confused because normally it would be angry family members or pissed-off people that he normally angered in some way or something he supposedly did. Even if he did do anything, he wouldn’t respond to them.

Kyle was honestly thinking about ignoring it but decided against it at the last minute.

Did you go to the library?

It was from Kooper, and he knew what the answer was going to be.

Shit, I forgot, he thought.

Kyle honestly was going to come up with an excuse but knew anything he could come up with wouldn’t be good enough, and it wouldn’t get past Kooper anyway. He was going to suck it up and tell the truth.

I forgot, but I promise I’ll get those books fast, so you don’t have to worry, he quickly added.

You better. We need those.

There was a click as Kooper hung up, and Kyle put his phone away. He didn’t hesitate as he raced to put his black tennis shoes on and put on his orange sweater and zipped it up this time. He grabbed his wallet, and after thinking about it, he snatched up his backpack at