Monster: A Werewolf Romance

54. RUN AWAY

KAEA

The two days before the fair passed so quickly, I could swear they were a dream. And a nightmare. There was so much work, I came home and collapsed on my bed with my clothes and shoes still on me. But they were a nightmare mostly because Kyle was avoiding me.

He was polite, of course, when we absolutely had to talk and his absence made me realize how much I was missing him. How much I was dreading that we would go back to strangers again, because I didn't want that. I wanted him close to me. I wanted us to work this shit out. I wanted to fall in love with him without feeling like I was betraying myself a thousand times over.

I wanted him to climb over that one fucking wall and tell me it was going to be okay because this was the one thing I couldn't tell myself.

I wanted him to talk to me.

Every couple of hours, I would go to him and ask him to do something that was on my list and was important but I couldn't get to. And when Lee pointed out that it was weird that I, Kaea the Self-Reliant, trusted him to do my tasks, I told her it was because no matter what he was a good alpha, I meant it.

Maybe that was all.

I was wondering about this, when my cell rang. I picked it up. "Hey, Andrew!"

"Hi. Hey. How are you, Kaea?" He asked.

"Pretty good. Been working on a fair, actually. I was about to call you tomorrow to invite you."

Andrew let out a soft laugh. "I was about to ask you if I could set up a small stall there. I would like to contribute my paintings for the orphans."

I blinked. "Oh, that's brilliant Andrew! You can come by any time."

"I will be there on D-day. It's just a table and some paintings, not much hassle." He said.

"I didn't know you paint."

"Oh, it's not very good. I actually painted you once-" He stopped abruptly. "God, I must be sounding creepy. I just paint everyone I know. All my friends, girlfriends, ex-girlfriends-"

I laughed and turned to see Kyle looking at me. I waved at him, reluctantly, and even more hesitantly, he waved back. "No, I don't think that at all, Andrew. I am excited to see what you made. I will see you tomorrow. I am a little busy now."

"Oh yes, of course. Good luck, Kaea."

"Thanks." I watched Kyle go, not looking at me. "I need that."

Tired, I walked to Kyle. "Umm... we need to build the ticket booth."

He dropped the large wooden plank with the others, and his muscles were glistening and he looked so fucking hot, but so so had that it was breaking my heart. What was up with him?

I wanted to ask. It was on my tongue, but it went away as quickly as it came.

"I will... uhh... build it myself."

"I would like to help." I insisted. He clenched his jaw but ceded.

"Let's meet out front in fifteen minutes?" I asked, my heart aching.

He nodded.

***

Fifteen minutes later, we were standing out front, and without even saying much to each other, we started building this. Surprisingly, our lack of communication did not prove to be much of a hurdle when it came to our teamwork.

I wasn't about to landslide this into total fucking chaos.

"Kyle?" I asked, and he made an affirmative noise to tell me he was listening. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah? Why would you ask that?"

"Nothing. I just... thought you looked a little sad."

"No." That was it.

And then we didn't talk the rest of the evening. So even for all the excitement for the fair, I couldn't feel happy. Excited.

Goddess, why was this affecting me so much? I had promised myself it wouldn't. But I couldn't help it. I couldn't help what I was feeling.

So the fair started, and a huge crowd stood out as Mason and Sarah sold the tickets. Kyle stood with me, surveying to make sure everything was alright. I had given my mother and Luna Kovich a hand to set up their stall, and they were pretty excited. Although both of them repeatedly asked me why I was not more excited. Then they asked why Kyle was not happy. Then they exchanged a knowing look. I just said Good Luck and walked out quick.

Apparently, he was happy with what he saw. Then he said, "Good job." And started leaving.

That is when I noticed Andrew and another guy carrying a foldable table and a cart full of paintings. "Andrew!" I yelled and waved him over.

Kyle had frozen, and with a poker face, he surveyed the scene. And then it fucking hit me like a hurricane that I never told me Andrew and I had broken up. It was not a mystery, but I also had not exactly made it explicit.

Fuck.

Andrew grinned and came over, hugged me lightly, spotted Kyle and yelled 'Hey'. Kyle gave him that chin-up nod of acknowledgment.

He frowned and looked at me. "Did you not tell him we broke up?"

I stared at him with wide eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Lee came over, apparently having overheard the entire conversation. "Damn, you are so fucking dense sometimes." She held out a hand for Andrew. "Lee, and that-" She pointed to a guy carrying two huge blue gelato cups., "-is my mate, Jacob."

"Hey. Hey," He also said to Jacob. "I have heard a lot about you."

Kyle still hadn't moved or lifted his eyes away.

Lee laughed. "Likewise." She noticed the cart and the paintings. "Oh my god, those are so beautiful! Did you make them?" She pointed to one in the corner. "Is that Kaea?!" She picked it up and stared ta it.

The painting was gorgeous. It was a mishmash of thick paint, with me looking up and smiling. I knew that Andrew was an incredible artist because I definitely was not that beautiful in real life.

"Yeah." Andrew blushed. "I umm... make one for everyone I know."

"Could you make one for me?" Lee asked, and Jacob coughed. She pecked him on the lips. "You have other talents."

I suppressed a burst of laughter.

"Sure," Andrew said, laughing awkwardly, still shy.

Kyle strained his neck, just the slightest to look and then turned around and went away. And I had to resist every urge in my body to shout then and there to shout his name and go after him, to tell him everything.

The sun was setting, and I quickly helped Andrew set his table, and went to search for someone. We needed to talk.

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Hey people! Monster was #28 in the Romance category literally just yesterday! And I cannot thank you guys enough for that. This one is a thank you gift, from me to you.

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