1: Educating Kaylee Ch. 04

"Then why is she with that douchebag, Brad, over there? I'm sorry, I mean 'Bradley', the more feminine version of the name Brad," Aaron said, swinging his camera to the large senior on the other side of the courtyard with his arm draped around Kaylee. The camera swept back to Luke, capturing a great look of disappointment on his face, almost wincing as if in pain. He couldn't take his eyes off of Bradley and Kaylee; they looked so happy together. Aaron's question didn't seem to sink in.

She seemed so happy; she was talking and laughing with Bradley, Audrey, Cindy, and Mick. She was so bubbly that it was obvious she was the happiest of the five, although Bradley was a close second. Mick and Audrey were smiling, talking to each other, but Cindy was in a bad mood and didn't try to hide it.

"Well, I guess now that midterms are over, things are back to normal. No more tutoring, no more Kaylee. At least until finals come around, huh, Luke?"

Luke shrugged, "It seems that way. At least my body will be less sore from now on without her Nazi-style boot camp. Well, it's great to see her so cheerful; she obviously didn't fail any of the classes she was worried about. I'm happy for her." A slight upward curve arose on his lips, breaking the crestfallen look on his face, despite his head hanging low.

Aaron got quiet for a second and lowered his camera. "Dude, I hate being the one to tell you, but you know she's using you. Right?"

Luke didn't respond.

"I mean," Aaron continued, "she's not in our league, man. And there's nothing wrong with that. You're a good guy, man. Just don't get your hopes up about her. It'll never happen, and I'm telling you as a friend. A girl like that... she's not from our world."

Luke gave him a delayed nod, "Maybe. You're probably right. I know at first she started out using me, and that's fine, but I just can't quite tell if she was or not at the end. She probably was, but only subconsciously at least. I mean, she definitely reciprocated, buying me clothes and taking me to the gym. The human mind can be a tricky thing. Did I tell you she apologized to me once?"

Aaron was shocked, "Really? For what?"

Luke smiled, "Long story."

"Wow, passing her classes must have been more important to her than I thought. Her parents are supposedly loaded which explains buying you stuff, but who can explain her apology."

He stood up off the bench and told Aaron, "I think I'll go home early today. My last class of the day only requires us to turn in our take-home test, and I already turned it in last week."

"Alright, see ya bro," Aaron said, giving Luke an up-nod as his friend left the courtyard.

Aaron unzipped his camera bag and carefully slid his camera in. He'd spent a lot of money on it so the last thing he wanted to do was damage it. It was one thing if his parents bought it, but he had to save up for months before he could afford to buy it. As he turned to leave, he almost bumped into Kaylee.

"Hi Aaron. Where's Luke? I just saw him over here," Kaylee asked.

Aaron was caught off guard. This was a first; never had Kaylee approached him before. About anything. He stuttered, "L-Luke? H-he just left, you just missed him."

Kaylee looked heartbroken.

"He said he was going home since he was done with his midterms. He already turned in his paper for his last class," Aaron shrugged his shoulders. A smile popped up on his face as a thought surfaced, "You know, that's funny. I think this might be the first class he's ever skipped. That's so unlike him."

"That jerk," she whispered, crossing her arms, looking around the courtyard. When she made eye contact with Bradley, he took his sunglasses off, held his arms out and mouthed, "What the fuck." Kaylee held up a finger and mouthed back, "Just a second, be patient!"

Aaron quickly interjected, "He'll be back after the Christmas break."

She was on the verge of pouting but his obvious statement seemed to shorten her fuse. "Yea, I kind of figured that one out," she snapped.

"Sorry," she apologized, "But I'm not waiting that long after he busted his ass to help me. Not by a long shot. Which way did he go?"

Aaron seemed perplexed about her apology as well as the admission of Luke's sacrifice. He barely held his pointer finger up before Kaylee took off. "Thanks," she said over her shoulder as her pace quickened.

---

"Luke," she exclaimed, trying to get his attention as she ran across the parking lot. "Luke, turn around!"

The figure in the distance at the end of the parking lot stopped and turned around.

He shouted, "Kaylee? What are you doing?"

She snapped, "Well, running after you. In flip-flops. Are you really going to make a girl in flip-flops chase after you, or are you going to come to me?"

With a nervous, phony smile, Luke walked back towards Kaylee. She had already stopped running and held her hands on her hips defiantly.

"Uh oh, what did I do," he whispered under his breath. He couldn't hold his fake smiling anymore, and she didn't look too happy. He quickened his pace towards her despite his reluctance. For a brief moment he had considered turning around and running.

She asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot, "What were you thinking? Hmmm?"

His eyes widened, "Geeze, the one time I skip class, ever, and you're going to give me grief?" He sighed, scratching the back of his head, "I'm not very good at this skipping thing."

Kaylee couldn't hold back a giggle as it escaped from her unhappy face, fighting to keep her lips from curving upwards into a smile, "No, you big jerk. For leaving before I could thank you!"

Catching Luke off guard, Kaylee lurched forward and embraced him tightly, placing her head against his shoulders, "You were really going to leave before I could thank you?"

Her words barely registered. Luke's grew weak in the knees as he felt her warm body pressing against his, catching the sweet natural scent of her body and feeling the fabric of her tight clothing against his skin. He had dared to put his arms around her, returning her embrace, although he moved slowly as it was completely against his instinct.

"I can't believe the midterms are over, and Christmas vacation is here. These several weeks went by fast, Luke. I'm not going to say I enjoy studying, but you made it so much easier to understand."

Kaylee kept her arms around him but leaned back so she could look at him, "You won't believe this, but I asked my teachers to take a look at my papers before I left and I told them I wouldn't take no for an answer. Can you believe I got a C+ in chemistry?"

Luke smiled, "Yes, of course I can believe it." Without thinking, he held her in his arms again and said, "I'm so happy for you! You earned it, Kaylee. You're the one who put in the hard work." His body went stiff as a board, realizing what he just did. He didn't know it was possible to feel so comfortable and extremely uncomfortable all at the same time. Kaylee didn't seem to mind the second hug for some reason.

Pulling away again, Kaylee smiled at Luke and said, "One last surprise for you. Well, kind of a surprise. I..., well, just close your eyes."

Luke closed his eyes.

Leaning in and whispering quietly, she said, "I got a B in algebra," and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

She squealed, "a B! Can you believe it?"

His legs almost buckled and his heart raced; he thought he was going to hyperventilate. His heart pounded so fast he was worried she would feel the vibrations and say something

"See you after Christmas break," she said, waving her fingers at him. "Maybe when we get back and start the next semester, you can help me get ready for finals and I'll keep coaching you at the gym. Bye, Luke."

---

His legs were immobile; he couldn't have moved if he wanted to. All he could do was stare at Kaylee's ass as she sauntered away and try to adjust the swelling in his pants.

Shaking his head, he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Nothing about what had just occurred made any sense. The only logical explanation was that he was dreaming.

He swore to himself he'd never wash his face again. Or at least the cheek she kissed. He couldn't help but smile, thinking of all the hours he dedicated towards Kaylee's education and all of the late nights helping her study. It wasn't that he minded, but it wasn't as easy as he let her think it was. It cost him his own personal study time and left him with a minor case of sleep deprivation.

But that kiss... it was the kiss of an angel. It made everything worth it.

The sound of a rapidly approaching figure brought Luke back to reality. A solid shove sent him sprawling; Luke tumbled backwards and landed hard on the parking lot pavement, skinning up his arms and hands while protecting himself.

"I'd like to say we're even, but that's just the beginning," Bradley said through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched, ready for action; he hovered over Luke like a prize fighter.

"What's your problem," Luke wheezed out, slowly getting back up on his feet, trying to brush the gravel out of his arms and hands without causing additional pain.

"Stay away from Kaylee, got it?"

Bradley kicked his chest before Luke could stand, knocking him down again. "If I see you try to kiss her again, or touch her, or look at her cross-eyed, I'll kick your ass. Midterms are over, so stay away from her."

Luke grunted; his chest really hurt, and he was worried his elbow might be injured after it slammed into the ground.

"You think just because you gave her a few study lessons, she actually wants you?"

"It's irrelevant what I want. I have no chance with her, I understand that. But I've seen the way you treat her. Don't act like you care about her," he groaned in pain, but with sheer defiance.

"You take her for granted. If Kaylee were mine, I'd treat her like a princess. She'll never be, I know, but she deserves someone much better than you, Brad. All you're doing is stepping on a beautiful, precious flower that you refuse to nurture and allow to bloom. She's like a radiant, beautiful angel that for some reason came down from heaven to be here, but you don't see that."

As Bradley started to snicker at Luke's speech, Luke leaped forward and dove low, going for Bradley's legs. It caught him off guard just enough for Luke to knock him over and on the ground. Bradley swung wildly as he went down, catching nothing but air.

Luke tried to get out of the way, moving back as quickly as he could, but Bradley tripped him and pounced on top of him, punching him in the face twice. Luke shot his leg up as hard as he could, catching Bradley in the groin; Bradley fell over like a dead weight, holding his crotch and rolling on the ground uncontrollably.

"Holy shit," Aaron exclaimed, running to Luke's side. Luke winced in severe pain but was already trying to crawl away. He blinked several times, unable to see from the sweat and blood in his eyes. Aaron helped him stumble to his feet; Luke held on tight, keeping his weight on his friend, trying to overcome the ringing in his ears.

"Come on, man, let's get out of here," Aaron said, propping up Luke with one arm while holding his camera in his free hand, still unknowingly recording.

---

"I'm not sure who's more insane; you for wanting to go to the mall three days before Christmas, or me for agreeing to go with you. I can't believe you talked me into this, Kaylee," Audrey said.

"Well, it's not like I haven't been here recently, looking for things to get my friends. On the contrary, this is probably my sixth or seventh trip since Thanksgiving. The problem is I never know what to get anyone, so I'm always coming down to the deadline," Kaylee explained.

Audrey rolled her eyes, "All that means is you should have prepared a little better and bought your gifts when you were here before, yet you walked away empty handed."

Kaylee gave her a condescending smile, "My dear Audrey, do you really think I came away from the mall empty handed? When's the last time I did that? Second grade, maybe?"

"You're impossible, Kaylee."

"Hey, I think that's Luke's little sister. She adores me," Kaylee whispered, nodding her head towards Faith and a couple of her friends a few clothing racks down. "At least that's what Luke told me. She's a real sweetheart. Let's go say hi."

Kaylee walked over towards a shelf of silver necklaces, rings, and other jewelry near Faith. Two of her friends had already wandered off to look at the designer jeans while Faith remained behind, apparently deciding between two silver necklaces, one with a crescent moon and the other with a heart.

"Hey Faith! Getting some last minute shopping done like us, I see," Kaylee asked.

Faith looked up from the jewelry. "Kaylee," she exclaimed with a smile on her face.

Her smile vanished as quickly as it surfaced. "It's good to see you," she said in a much less bubbly voice, changing her emotions like an on/off switch.

Kaylee thought it was strange, but she shrugged it off; maybe Faith was just having an off day. "This is my friend Audrey. Audrey, this is Luke's little sister I was telling you about. She's a freshman."

"Nice to meet you, Faith," Audrey said politely.

"You, too," Faith said, shaking Audrey's hand.

"Shopping for your mom," Kaylee asked inquisitively.

"Yea, sure," Faith quietly responded.

Nervously, Faith waived her arm and said, "Well, it was good seeing you," and turned back to the jewelry, awkwardly but deliberately away from Kaylee.

Audrey gave Kaylee a perplexed look; Kaylee shrugged back, just as confused.

Kaylee knew Audrey was expecting a lively, bubbly Faith Joy Patton, but that certainly wasn't the picture Faith presented. If anything, it was a polar opposite of what they were both expecting.

Kaylee was genuinely concerned; she communicated nonverbally with Audrey, suggesting she fade into the background. As strange as things had just become, Audrey was glad to do so.

"Faith, sweetie, is everything ok?" Kaylee was genuinely concerned.

A frown surfaced on Faith's face; it looked like, up until now, she had tried her hardest to hide her dissatisfaction about something. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and immediately clamped back up.

"Faith, what's going on? You're scaring me. Is this about Luke? Please tell me he's ok," she asked instinctively.

Faith bit down on her lip, still looking at the jewelry. By this time, Kaylee could tell she was deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"I don't know," Faith spit out bitterly, "Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"

Faith was visibly upset. Her harsh words reflected a combination of sadness and anger; her eyes were damp, but she was severely agitated and trying hard not to lash out any more than she already had.

Kaylee flinched, "Bradley? I-I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

A look of confusion came over Faith as she realized Kaylee truly didn't seem to understand what she meant by that. Looking up at Kaylee, she sniffed and asked her, "You mean he didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Kaylee, he beat up Luke! He has a black eye, bruised ribs, and his arms are all scraped up. He even hurt his elbow."

Kaylee gasped, putting her hand to her mouth, "Is...is he ok?"

Faith sighed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been rude. I should have known Bradley didn't tell you. I guess I'm just a little protective of my big brother."

"Wait, I know Bradley doesn't think too much of Luke and they had a pretty heated argument a few weeks ago, but he wouldn't just beat up Luke. He talks a big game, but he's never even been in a fight."

Faith shook her head, "Everyone knows he has it in for Luke, all the way down to our entire freshman class. Luke didn't tell me who did it, but after grilling him about what happened it was pretty easy to figure out."

Kaylee was a little relieved when Faith admitted she didn't know for sure who hurt Luke. Bradley was gruff, but there was no way he would've done that. Threatening Luke was one thing, but actually assaulting him?

Still, that didn't change the fact that someone went out of their way to hurt Luke, and pretty severely from the sounds of it. She tried not to be condescending to Faith, especially since it was her brother. Who wouldn't be emotional over a sibling in pain? "Faith, I have a hard time believing that. Bradley... he's talks a lot, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. I know him. I've been dating him for almost two years."

She didn't want to have to defend Bradley when she was still so worried about Luke. "Faith, I'm so terribly sorry, how is Luke? Is...I mean, is he ok? Please tell me he's not in the hospital at least."

"He's ok; he's at home now. He's mostly been trying to rest up. Mom has been spoiling him like a big baby, of course," Faith said with an annoyed grin, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

Kaylee pulled her phone out of her purse. "I need to call him..."

Faith interrupted her, "Kaylee, he... he doesn't want to talk to you."

She froze.

"Yea, um," Faith said bashfully, "That's another reason why I'm pretty sure it was Bradley."