Page 15 of Love Set Me Free

His eyes focused back on her. “You’re already helping. You’re the only good thing in my life right now.”

Paisley pointed toward her parents’ two story home behind Kydrick. “You know there are people in that house that love you, right? For most of them, that love has not wavered. You know that, right? I might have been fighting the loudest and the hardest, but those people were advocating for you too. I need you to understand that there are other people than me that love you.”

Kydrick shook his head. “I love them too, Pooh. You know that, but it’s only you… for me. You need to understand that.”

Paisley sat there and blinked, looking crazy, but she needed a second to process his words. Kydrick allowed her that because he got out of the car and rounded it slowly as she stared at the spot he had just occupied.

By the time her door opened, she had a million questions she wanted to ask. She couldn’t tell if she was reading into what he said too much or if Kydrick had actually hinted at wanting to be with her. He helped her out of the car, and when the door shut, they stayed in place for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.

“What did you mean by that?” Paisley finally murmured, grasping for clarity.

Kydrick smoothed her long hair away from her face and kept his palm on her cheek, allowing her to lean into it.

“I know we have a lot we need to talk about. I’m not oblivious to whatever this is between us, but I need you to be patient with me. I know that’s a shitty thing to ask of you since you’ve been patient, but I’m just not ready to go there yet, P.”

Paisley’s face scrunched up as she took his words in. For some reason, they felt like a hit right to the chest, though she knew she should have been happy that he recognized there was something between them. Since they had never spoken about it before, she assumed her feelings were one sided, as they’d always been. She knew things shifted between them, and therewas something there now, but she never allowed herself to feed too much into it.

His admission should have made her feel relief, but she somehow only felt disappointment. He had known for God knew how long that she had feelings for him, and he chose to ignore it. Not only that, he wanted to continue ignoring it. She understood why, but it didn’t hurt any less. All she had ever done was love Kydrick limitlessly. The thought of him being able to do the same had now entered the chat, and she wasn’t sure she could so easily ignore it.

As an empath, she understood that now was not the time to unpack her feelings, Kydrick’s feelings, or their situation. After clearing her throat, she straightened her shoulders and offered him a weak smile, deciding to change the subject. With shaking hands, she ran her palms over his chest, smoothing down his hoodie.

“Ready to see the family?”

A hint of a smile teased his features before he nodded and grabbed her hand. She noted that his grip seemed tighter than usual and quickly realized he was nervous. They were barely able to make it to the front door before it swung open, and Paisley’s mother barreled down the front steps.

“Oh, Kydrick!”

Alyssa’s cries must have alerted everyone else that they were there because Paisley suddenly found herself on the outside of a circle where Kydrick was in the middle and all the parents and her siblings surrounded him. Paisley wasn’t the only one on the outside looking in though. Her eyes happened to catch Janelle’s, who stood awkwardly at the top of the steps, wringing her hands. Paisley noticed Janelle had tears in her eyes, and she scoffed, stomping up the steps and brushing past her old friend.

“Paisley,” Janelle called out, grabbing Paisley’s wrist.

Paisley snatched out of her grasp and turned to glare at her. The anger she felt whenever she was in Janelle’s presence bothered her. She wanted to be unbothered, but the truth was, when Janelle abandoned Kydrick, Paisley felt like her best friend also abandoned her. Janelle left Paisley to fight for Kydrick alone. In a lot of ways, Paisley blamed Janelle for how consumed she had become with Kydrick. Being the only person he had to lean on was a lot of pressure, but she made sure she rose to the occasion. Had Janelle been there, though, a lot of weight would have been lifted off Paisley’s shoulders. It wasn’t even so much that she had broken his heart. Janelle had also basically said fuck the friendship and history she had with Kydrick and turned her back on him.

“What?” Paisley snapped.

Janelle recoiled as if Paisley had hit her. “I just… I wanted to know how he’s doing—how you’re both doing.”

“He’s right there, Janelle. Why don’t you ask him?”

Janelle looked at the floor, giving Paisley a moment to really look at her former friend. She was dripping in labels and looked good. Both women had done really well for themselves. A small pain twinged her heart as she thought about what could have been if none of this had happened. The three of them could have been unstoppable together.

“I don’t think I can face him,” she whispered, tears clinging to her long lashes.

Paisley blinked her thoughts away as her frown deepened. “You’re going to have to face what you did at some point, Janelle. Tonight might be the best time to do it, but I’m not about to play middle man. Don’t put me in that position again, and as for me? I’m fucking tired. I was on the outside fighting for Kyd alone. How the fuck do you think I’m doing aside from being relieved that it’s finally over?”

Tears slipped out of Janelle’s eyes, and for a second, Paisley felt bad for snapping at her. It was the most Paisley had spoken to Janelle in twelve years, and her words hadn’t been very kind.

Paisley opened her mouth to apologize and blame her harsh words on stress, but she felt a hand on her back at the same time she saw Janelle’s tear-filled eyes grow wide. When Paisley turned around, she saw Kydrick with red-rimmed eyes and the ghost of a smile on his face. Janelle was already forgotten as soon as she laid eyes on Kydrick.

“Are you okay?” Paisley uttered, though he didn’t look down at her anymore.

His gaze was fixated over her head, and she knew he saw Janelle. Like, he really saw her up close and personal for the first time since they were teenagers.

His jaw flexed as he looked at his ex-girlfriend and his childhood best friend before he nodded slightly at her and then looked back down at Paisley, who had somehow wound up in his arms. He placed his palm on her cheek. That action quickly became comfortable between them. She leaned into his strong hand while still gazing up at him, and he nodded.

“It’s so good to see everyone and to hug them. This just made it feel really real for me.”

His voice cracked slightly, and Paisley buried her head into his solid chest while squeezing his middle. She poured everything into her embrace, praying he could feel the love she had for him. When they finally pulled apart, Paisley’s cheeks instantly warmed, seeing that her entire family plus Janelle and her family stared at them. Most of them with huge smiles on their faces.

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