Page 24 of Considering Us

“I’m guessing Ashlyn doesn’t pay attention much in class,” I said to Kyle as we continued down the path.

“Very little. And I haven’t talked about any of those things in class yet,” he said with a smirk. “They all have to do with Rockefeller and the Guilty Age, though.”

“I have vague recollections of high school history, so I thought so. But I will always think of it as the Guilty Age now,” I said. “Where to?”

“One more spot,” he said. “Let’s go this way.”

We veered off the main path and followed a narrower one that curved into the woods. “Where are we?” I asked, grabbing onto Kyle’s arm in the dark. “I can barely see.”

“There are lights up ahead,” he said, moving his hand down to mine and tentatively holding onto it. “Just so you don’t trip or anything. I promise that’s all.”

I felt my heart jump as I got used to my skin against Kyle’s again. We had barely touched each other since I moved to Rockwood. It felt both good and strange.

We were soon at the edge of a small pond. The moon was reflected in it, and as Kyle promised, there were several light posts in the vicinity. We stood, staring at the moon in the pond, still holding onto each other’s hands. “Wow,” I finally said. “This is a beautiful spot. Are we still at Rockwood?”

“We are,” he said. “Students hang out over here at night on the weekends all the time, so some of us take turns walking through the area to make sure no one’s doing anything they’re not supposed to. But it’s late now, and they’re all supposed to be back in their rooms.”

“What about us?” I squeaked out, still staring at the pond, not sure what I was saying. There was something about being back in this kind of setting with Kyle again that was messing with me. I wasn’t twenty years old anymore, but for whatever reason, I felt like I was in that moment.

“Are you, well, considering it?” he asked, almost incredulous.

“I don’t know,” I blurted out. “I know I have this date tomorrow, and I know I want to give that a chance, and I know there are so many reasons why I shouldn’t consider anything right now with you, but as for right here, right now…” I took a breath and turned toward him. “Do you ever just want to kiss me and see what happens?” I couldn’t believe myself listening to my own question. What was I doing?

He looked at me with intensity and surprise. “Like, all the time. But I want to always respect you, too, Devon. I would never in a million years want to hurt you again. So, that’s why I don’t do it.”

It was both understandable and so Kyle. And so confusing. “But you want to. Right now. Youwouldkiss me.”

“Of course,” he said. “You’re Devon. You’re luminous.”

I was luminous.No one had ever described me as luminous. Still holding his hand with my right hand, I grabbed his shirt with my left hand and pulled him into me. My lips crashed against his and then softened, and I felt myself melting into a kiss from fifteen years earlier. It was exactly like I remembered. And then I saw a flash and pulled back.

“What the hell?” I yelled. I saw two shadows running away.

“You’re late for curfew!” Kyle yelled. “If you’re in my class, you’re getting a zero on your homework! And the one after that!”

“They’re gone,” I whispered. “Possibly with photographic evidence.”

“It’s gotta be Ashlyn and her minions, right? The ones behindThe Underground Stallion? We just saw them,” he groaned, pulling at his hair in frustration.

“Probably,” I said. “But who’s really going to stop a few kids from printing a secret newspaper? No one has any proof it’s them. They must have been following us. Are there security cameras out here?”

“Nope,” he said. “I know this for a fact. I used to live out here.”

“What?” I looked around. “Where?”

“There was a little cabin right over there,” he pointed. “I lived there with Cora and Annie. And when I started suspecting something was going on with Ryland, I looked everywhere for cameras. I couldn’t find anything. I even went to Chuck inFacilities. He said the wiring would be a nightmare, so they never did it. And I believe him. I hardly had working internet.”

“What happened to the house?” Unless my night vision had gone to hell, there didn’t appear to be anything in terms of a structure that I could see.

Kyle sighed. “When they moved out, I—by mistake—set it on fire.”

I gasped.

“I know the way it sounds. I promise you it was not intentional. I wasn’t sleeping, and the doctor in the health center put me on something, and I passed out really quickly one night. I had also started smoking again. I know, I know, gross. Anyway, classic story: I must have dropped a cigarette, and I woke up to the smoke alarm and a few flames. Nothing terrible, luckily, and I was able to run into the kitchen, grab the fire extinguisher, and put it out before the fire department got there. The place was salvageable, but the administration gave me a choice. I could have it fixed, or they would tear it down, and I could move into a dorm. Given the fact that I knew—with the help of my therapist—that it would be healthier for me, in the long run, to move into something else and not have a reminder of my old life, I said they could wreck it. So, I moved into Dalton. They gave me a two-bedroom apartment so Annie would still have a place to stay when she’s here. I was very lucky, and most places would have likely fired my ass. No pun intended.”

It was a wild story to digest. I also couldn’t believe I was hearing another complicated story exposing even more of Kyle’s baggage. There was so much damage, both physical and emotional. “I’m glad they didn’t,” was all I could manage to say.

“I’m a really good teacher,” he said. “I think that’s why they want me to stay. I suck at a lot of things, but I know I’m good at this. And where would I go, anyway?” he asked. “Are you stillgoing out with him tomorrow, Devon?” He grabbed ahold of my hand again, stroking my fingers a bit.

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