forty four

***Kayla's POV***

Today's the last day I'm going to try with Soda. Now that Ellie and Dally are gone too, it's getting even more lonely, but I'm so fed up with his behavior that I'm not sure I'll be able to keep cool if he doesn't say anything. He hasn't spoken to me or anyone else in over 7 months. At this point, it's a miracle he eats every few days.

"Soda?" I say as I walk into his room. He's staring off into oblivion.

"Soda?" I try one more time, but it's useless. He doesn't even move.

"Ugh, you know what? I'm sick of this! I'm sick of you acting like I don't exist! I'm sick of you just sitting here and causing everyone a ton of stress! I'm sick of being worried because we don't even know if you're gonna be okay! I'm done Soda."

I turn to leave the room.

"So you're saying this is my fault?" he screams at me. For once, I'm glad we're the only ones home.

"You've been so selfish for 7 months, Soda. 7 months is how long you've gone without saying a word to anyone! And here I am, putting on this brave face so everyone thinks I'm okay when in reality, my 'boyfriend' won't even talk to me, and it's breaking my heart!"

"You just don't get it! He was my best friend!"

"I know he was Soda! But you know what? I do get it! My dad left when I was twelve and I haven't seen him since! I haven't spoken with my mom since the day I met you! I've lost everyone but you, including you!" I scream at him. I can tell what I said really hit him hard because his face twists, but I don't care anymore.

"What are you saying, Kayla?" he says through gritted teeth.

"If you can't be considerate enough to even nod at the people who care about you the most, then maybe we shouldn't be together," I say, so fumed that I'm not even sure what I'm saying until it comes out of my mouth.

"Maybe we shouldn't," he replies. A single tear slips down my cheek and my heart begins to hurt, but Soda looks the exact same as he did before, almost as if he doesn't even care.

"So that's it then," I say. I don't even give him a chance to reply before I'm throwing his sweatshirt off my body and running out the door with the intention of reaching Alex.

When I reach her front porch, I fall to my knees and sob. She opens the door holding Aliyah on her right hip. She welcomes me inside and sits me on the couch. I'm pretty sure she can tell what happened.

"He's an idiot, Kayla," she tells me. I nod and cry into my hands.

"I waited for 7 months, Alex. I tricked myself into thinking he'd come around. I should've known from the start that this wasn't a good idea," I say. She places the babies onto a blanket on the floor and wraps her arms around me.

"I made the same mistake. Somehow I thought Dally would be different than how he used to be, and now I'm taking care of this little one without him," she says softly.

"I loved him, Alex. He showed me what it was like to trust someone and be happy. He was all I had left."

"Hey, it's all going to be okay," she says with a tear in her eyes.

"How can you say that?" I ask her.

"Because everything always ends up working itself out. Sometimes it takes a while, but it always does," she says as she wipes the tears from my eyes. I nod and look at the ground. She gets up and goes into the kitchen, telling me to watch the baby. I pick her up as I hear her grab the phone and dial someone's number.

"Lauren? Hi, it's Alex," she says. I lay back on the couch and hold the baby close to me. She smiles and clings to my fingers. I smile back down at her as Alex returns.

"I called Lauren, Two-Bit is going to drive her, Bailey, and Victoria over so we can all hang together, and Two-Bit is going to take Aliyah for a little while," she tells me. I nod and take in a deep breath.

"Do you want some different clothes?" she asks me. Before I can respond, she's dragging me up the stairs to her bedroom. She tosses me some sweats and a t shirt that I gratefully pull on. She then hands me the baby as she changes too. Aliyah smiles up at me and reaches for my face. My heart melts completely.

"Isn't she an angel?" Alex says happily.

I nod. "You can't help but smile."

Within a few minutes, the other girls walk through the door. I give them a half smile and they immediately surround me with love, knowing I'm not okay.

"He's stupid to let someone like you go," Bailey tells me.

"I know. He just told me he never would, no matter what.." I say as my eyes grow big from tears. I attempt to keep them in but it backfires horribly.

The rest of the night is spent crying on and off. I try my best to see the good in the situation, but I just can't. Him breaking all the promises he made to me a few months ago still stings.

I decide to crash on the couch as the rest of the girls finish the movie we were watching. I cuddle into a blanket Victoria gave to me and slowly drift off to sleep.

~~~

"Kayla get up, get up right now..."

I look up and see a terrified Alex. She backs up and I see the four girls standing in a line.

Then I see him.

My eyes widen and my breathing stops altogether.

"Get up."

I stand and quickly join the other girls. They grab onto my arms as he forces us out of the house and into the back of his van.

I hit the back of the van hard, then feel a few bodies land on top of me before the door slams shut. I sit up and group together with the girls.

"What the heck just happened?" I ask, scared out of my mind.

"Don't say anything, I really don't want him to get mad..." Victoria says quietly. We all agree.

We have no idea where we are going or who is in the front seat driving the van, but as I cling tightly to the rest of the girls and see a chainsaw out of the corner of my eye, I know that was going to be the least of our problems.