After an hour and a half of fast travel, Joey left the freeway and drove through a dusty old town until they reached a deserted road paved with gravel which wound its way through thick woods. About one mile of bumpy gravel road later, the forest opened up into a clearing and Kathy caught her first glimpse of the cabin.

It was a one story, medium sized house made entirely out of dark wood beams, and looked really inviting. Two huge windows flanked the door. Joey pulled the Camaro into an improvised parking lot filled with more gravel, and cut the engine.

"Welcome to uncle Tom's cabin," he announced.

"You're kidding," Kathy said while Kelly giggled.

"Nope. My uncle's name is actually Bartholomew, but everyone calls him Tom for some reason. Though with a name like Bartholomew, I'd probably go by any other name, however unrelated." He hopped out of the car.

The girls joined him outside as he fiddled with a large set of keys and finally managed to unlock the door.

"Ta da!" He waved his arms around the room once Kelly and Kathy stepped in.

The living room was a huge space with an open kitchen and just a narrow hallway leading to where Kathy supposed the bedrooms were. There was a fireplace in the back of the room, couches and armchairs fanned around a massive TV set and a full book case by the door.

The left side wall was made of glass, led to a patio and showed a view of a slope that led down to a lake surrounded by trees. Joey had been right. Everything was peaceful and beautiful.

As Kathy admired the paintings of forest scenery covering the walls, Joey went out to get the luggage and Kelly busied herself with checking the appliances in the kitchen.

"Everything looks freaking new," she mumbled, joining Kathy by the bookcase.

It did, and Kathy had to admit it was a nice surprise to have both outer beauty and inner comfort. They'd have a great time there.

"It's a lovely place. I'm glad I came with you," she said.

Kelly rubbed her arm, an apologetic smile on her face. As if she had something to feel sorry for. Kathy narrowed her eyes, but her question was interrupted by Joey who came in laden with luggage.

"Babe, you can take your stuff to the room on the right. Kay..." He swallowed heavily as though he knew that what came next would be dangerous. "How upset would you be if you had to sleep here? I promise the couch is very comfortable," he added quickly. "I spent countless nights on it when I came here with my folks."

Kathy's eyes widened. "Um, is there only one bedroom, or...?"

"There are two bedrooms, and normally you'd have the other one and Kyle would take the couch, except..." Joey's voice faded.

"Kyle might be coming with Cecily," Kelly whispered.

There were a few seconds of bliss left until their words registered. "What? And you decided to mention that now?" Kathy clenched her fists and turned away.

Of course they did. If Cecily's name would have been mentioned sooner, there was no way in hell she would've came along and they both knew it.

"I don't want to be a fifth wheel," she said and her voice cracked.

"We don't know if she's coming," Kelly said quickly. "I bet she's not."

"How could you not know?" Kathy turned to Joey for an answer.

"I asked Kyle if he was coming and he made that annoying blank face so I told him he could bring Cecily with him if he wanted to. And he said okay, but I don't know if he meant okay that he's coming or okay that he's bringing Cecily too. And I didn't really want to know because dragging you along then would've been just cruel."

That was both sweet and dumb and twisted at the same time, but it didn't excuse lying by omission. There was only two ways to deal with this. Curl over in a ball and accept it, or take a stand.

Kathy shrugged and picked up her backpack. "Okay then. First come, first serve. If Cecily's coming, she can take the couch."

And with that, she headed to the back of the building. She entered the room to the left and slammed the door behind her.

It was small but comfortable, with a queen size bed, bedside tables and a dresser. It also had a panoramic window and a view of the lake which was great. Kathy dropped her backpack on the bed and went to the window to admire the view. To the far left, she could see the front of Joey's car and the improvised parking lot. She almost jumped when she heard Joey and Kelly talking.

"Call Kyle," Kelly's muffled voice said. "And if Cecily's with him, tell him to push her out of the car."

"Shit, I should've thought this out more," Joey answered. "Damn Kyle and his love for screwing with me. Do you think Kay's really angry?"

"More likely disappointed, but Cecily will surely ruin her entire weekend and she doesn't need this now."

"You're right." Joey swore furiously. "Where the hell did I put my phone?"

Kathy continued to look out the window, her fingers digging into her shoulders, making a few mental notes. For one thing, this house had incredibly thin walls, Joey and Kelly were sweet, but kinda stupid, and Joey was too late since Kyle's Ferrari was already pulling up next to the Camaro.

Out of curiosity, she checked her watch. They'd been there for fifteen whole minutes. He'd made good on his promise even if it sounded impossible. She watched him get out of the car, wearing forest green cargos, a black t-shirt and sneakers, and head for the passenger side to open the door.

Shit. He'd brought Cecily after all. Kathy pulled away from the window, hugging herself tighter, fighting the tears that stung her eyes. Why was she crying? Kyle was entitled to bring his girlfriend to such a romantic place. She shouldn't be angry with him or anyone else. Life went on.

The door opened. "Hey everyone, I brought pizza!" Kyle called.

"How'd you get here so fast?" Joey asked shocked. "Scratch that. Are you alone?"

"Dude, I drive a Ferrari. And of course I'm alone. Who on earth would I bring along?" Kyle sounded surprised.

The tight knot in Kathy's chest loosened and she could breathe properly again. Her weekend didn't have to be a nightmare.

"Cecily?" Joey said in a small voice.

There was a pause. A very awkward pause.

"Are you freaking kidding me? I'm here for Kay, not to go on a romantic getaway." Kyle paused. "Which is actually why the two of you are here." He groaned. "How do I keep getting duped into these things? Does Kay know?"

"What?" Kelly asked, feigning innocence.

"That you two are actually here to get laid. Or does she think you're here for her?"

"Kyle!" Joey said between his teeth.

"Don't worry, your dirty secret's safe with me," Kyle said. "By the way, Joey, I got you the Marvin Gaye CD you wanted. It's in the car."

"You asshole!" Joey yelled.

Kathy choked with laughter and made her way out of the room to join the others. They all turned to her as her footsteps announced her presence. Kyle's eyes seemed to lighten up when he saw her. At least that's what she wanted to believe, that someone in this world was actually glad to see her. What warmed her up even more was the lack of awkwardness. He seemed as natural as she remembered and it drove all the tension away from her.

"Kyle's here," Kelly said unnecessarily. "And he has pizza."

"Want me to help you unpack it?" Kathy asked, heading for the kitchen.

"Sure." Kyle followed, leaving Joey and Kelly to a whispered conversation.

"We're just going to pick a movie," Joey announced.

"Yeah, whatever," Kyle said and grabbed a seat while Kathy pulled the pizza boxes out of a plastic bag.

"There are only three pizzas," Kathy noticed. Except there was another food container.

"That's yours," Kyle said nodding towards it. "Though if you will want pizza, I don't mind sharing."

Kathy opened the container to find a huge piece of hot lasagna. "Wow, thanks!" The smell had her mouth watering.

"No sweat." Kyle analyzed her for a second then bent over the table and took her chin between two fingers.

Kathy's heart jumped into her throat at the warmth of his touch. He gently turned her face and watched her with a critical eye, then let her go and pulled back.

"I thought you might be wearing makeup to cover it, but it's fortunately really that healed. You officially no longer look like a raccoon," he said with a smile, but she could see the slight worry on his face.

The Kathy before the punch in the face would've dismissed his worry and be glad that he wasn't prying. The Kathy that had cried in his lap for over an hour knew better.

"I'm not okay. I haven't spoken to anyone about it properly. I'm still processing and I'll talk when I'm ready."

A foreign emotion flashed across his face before he nodded and smiled again. She wished she could see it again, analyze it, because it looked like sadness and hope and resolve at the same time and she didn't understand what it meant.

"Should we join the happy couple?" Kyle asked.

"Do you really think they're here to get laid?" Kathy asked instead.

"You heard that, huh?"

"This house has very thin walls. You should tell Joey that in case you're right."

Kyle smirked. "Good to know. I'm pretty sure I'm right,  so I hope you have nothing against sleeping under a starry sky."

Kathy just watched him, a small smile on her face, stupidly wishing they'd be forced to spend the time outside together and that Kyle would find more reasons to touch her. The thought was wrong and guilty, but she still needed a hug, and she had a feeling his would be the only one that would do the trick.

🧩🧩🧩

Hi there and thanks for reading another chapter of this story.

So, do you think Joey and Kelly pulled another trick to get their way or were honestly trying to help Kathy and Kyle's being just mean?

Don't forget to vote and comment. I love hearing your thoughts;)