Chapter 15

The next morning Kayla woke up early and quickly cleaned the house and prepared breakfast and went to Cosmos's house. The door was open so she went inside and quickly prepared breakfast for the two of them. The smell of food woke Cosmos who silently crept behind Kayla. "What are you making?" "Eggs and bacon but can you chew?" "Yeah why?" "Just asking." Kayla turned to face him to see that his lips were bruised and his cheeks were blue. "Thank god there's not much swelling." Kayla said while examining his face while Cosmos awkwardly stood there. "What about your stomach? Are there any serious injury?" "I don't think so." "Should I check once?" "I don't think that's a good idea." "Let me check it once. Go and sit on the sofa." Cosmos did what she told him while Kayla followed him with an ice pack in her hand.

"Pull up your shirt." Kayla ordered him and Cosmos followed her. When he pulled up his shirt, Kayla was shocked to see that his milky white skin was covered in hideous purple and green marks. Kayla felt really sorry for him but didn't say anything and gently placed the ice pack on his stomach. "Hold it for five minutes." "But it's cold." "And so is your father." Kayla didn't mean to say it out loud but she just couldn't hold in her rage. "That was mean." "I know." After five minutes Cosmos was eating his breakfast while Kayla went to check on Parker. "Parks?" Kayla called out to him but he was sleeping peacefully so Kayla didn't disturb him and went back to giving Cosmos company. "Did you sleep well?" Kayla asked Cosmos while she passed him a glass of juice. "Yeah. Thanks K." "No problem." "And what about you? Did you sleep well." "Absolutely." "Did you do what I asked for?" "No." "I know it's an old habit of yours but it's still unhealthy." "Stop nagging." "It's not nagging. It's my genuine concern for you." Kayla just nodded as a response. "K can I ask you something?" "Yeah." "Why did you start smoking?" "Do I really have to answer that?" "Yes." "For weight loss." "But you were healthy just that way." "Not for my family. They always made fun of my weight." "So?" "You don't get it, do you? They just didn't made fun of me. They sexualized my body because I gained weight." "But now your really skinny." "At least they don't make fun of me anymore." "Your loosing weight in an unhealthy way and you still don't eat. Does that make you happy?" Kayla didn't reply him and just stared blankly at him which made him stop. After he was done eating Kayla took his plate and washed it while she send him to get some more sleep.

Kayla was planning to leave when Parker woke up so she quickly gave him his share of food and kept him company. "Did you sleep well?" Parker asked her. "Yeah." "When did you wake up?" "Around 4 I guess." "You left at 12:30 last night so I don't think getting few hours of sleep is getting a good night sleep." "Use your maths in class and not here." "Well I'm just stating the facts." Kayla gave him a side eye while he smiled at her. "So? What are you planning to do after?" Parker asked her. "I don't know. Watch some TV or surf through my phone." "I thought you would say that you'll go back to bed." "I'm not sleepy right now." "I see then you wanna go hangout at my place?" "But what about Cosmos?" "He'll be out for quite some time." "But what about your mom?" "What's the time right now?" "It's 7:30 a.m." "Then she's probably out right now." "Can I ask where?" "You can but honestly, even I don't know the answer." Kayla nodded and with that the two of them headed towards Parker's house which was a couple of minutes away.

"Welcome to my home." Parker said in a cheerful tone. Kayla was looking around the house which was really pretty but it was filled with beer cans and cigarette butts. "Hey! You can't judge my house." "I'm not judging it." "Well your eyes speak otherwise." "You didn't even look at my face so I highly doubt that you saw my eyes." "I don't have to look, I already know it." "Really? Then tell me what's the color of my eyes?" "It's a deep shade of brown that can be mistaken for the black color." "Hey you got that right." "Of course I'll get it right. What about you? Do you know my eye color?" "Easy. It's green. Green eyes that goes perfectly with that pale complexion of yours." "Thanks. I didn't know that you were that interested in me." "Yeah I know right. I'm so head over heels for you." "I like you." "Again? How many times are you going to say that?" "Till I run out of breath." "Cute but I'm not interested." "Was that a rejection?" "I don't know. You'll know it when that day comes." "What day?" "The day you'll be serious about those words." "But I am serious." "But your action says otherwise." "I see what you did there." Kayla just smiled as a response.

Parker and Kayla were cleaning the house when Parker's mom suddenly walked in with a drunk expression and a drunk man clinging to her. "Parker? What are you doing?" "Cleaning." "Well you better be quick if you don't want to hear weird noises." Miranda gave him a sly smile and left for her bedroom. The two of them quickly cleaned up the place and left the house. The two of them had reached halfway to Cosmos's house when they heard loud noises from an abandoned alley. At first they kept on walking but stopped when they heard Kayla's name. "Hey! I think Kayla is a slut." One of them loudly began. "I agree too." "That's why Ben has been approaching her alot nowadays. I think he wants some of her." "Well I'd approach that girl too with a body like hers I'd bang the life out of her." It was Ben and his friends. Kayla had heard all of it and was at the verge of tears when she noticed that Parker was clenching his fists really tightly.

Parker couldn't take it anymore and was about to leave when Kayla pulled him. "Don't." "Why?" "Just don't." "Can't you hear what they're saying about you?" "Please." "Why are you stopping me? They should be the one to shut that filthy mouth of theirs." "I beg you." Tears dropped from Kayla's eyes and Parker felt really guilty about it. It was the first time Kayla had cried without covering her face infront of someone. Parker deeply sighed and then gently hugged her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to hear those words. You're not like that. I know it. It's just that those bastards thinking are disgusting. You don't have to get hurt by their words." Parker constantly kept on patting her back and without realizing he kissed the top of her head.