The house was quiet after Amy left—too quiet, like the calm after a storm that hadn't fully passed.
Eventually, after being yelled at for twenty minutes and Kyle now knowing practically everything about my emotional life, I was finally set free. The three of us went downstairs. The place was completely trashed.
I stood next to Kyle, staring at the mess, then at Amy—who looked like an angry mom surveying a crime scene.
"I, uh… I'm gonna stay back and help pick up," I said. I felt bad for being emotional last night like a baby and wanted to make it up somehow.
Amy rolled her eyes.
"Emma, don't you dare do anything dumb," she warned, slamming the door behind her as she left.
Kyle snickered as he grabbed a trash bag.
"So… is she, like, your mom or something?" he asked, half side-eyeing me with that stupid smirk on his face.
Smith used to smirk like that when he teased me.
"Shut up," I muttered.
He laughed under his breath. I ignored him, grabbed another garbage bag, and threw it at his chest before walking into a different room. My heart was pounding.
What was my deal? First I wanted to kill him, and now I was cleaning his house. I seriously needed to get my head checked.
Four hours later, we were almost done. I was in the kitchen washing dishes when Kyle walked up behind me and poked my side.
I yelped and twisted around, grabbing the faucet and spraying him.
"Emma!" he gasped, laughing as water soaked his shirt.
I kept spraying until he grabbed my wrist, trying to shut the water off. When he finally did, we froze.
Our faces were inches apart.
My smile faltered. My heart slammed against my ribs. I looked into his eyes—then immediately away. His smirk softened too, his gaze searching my face like he was trying to read something I didn't want him to find.
"I, um—" I cleared my throat.
"I should get going."
He looked away, embarrassed too.
"Yeah. It's getting late," he said, glancing at the clock.
I grabbed my hoodie from the chair and pulled it on, heading for the door.
"Drive safe… or whatever," he said, not turning around.
My face burned.
"Y-yeah. I will. Thanks."
I slipped outside, closing the door quietly behind me. I stood there for a second, pressing a hand to my chest.
What the hell just happened?