Colossal Jump

Chapter Thirty

Though, maybe I am wrong, and maybe I'm just madly right. I've probably been worrying about Tori too much and not enough about Ben.

"Hi, Ben." I awkwardly smile, not sure what else to add. "How are you?"

"Hey, Ava," he responds, the joy and enthusiasm suddenly sucked from his appearance. Maybe he was expecting someone else at the door? Too bad, he's got me to deal with now.

"Um, is Kyle home?" I question.

"Yeah, sure." He nods his head.

"Is there a chance I can see him?" I feel like a total moron asking, but it's not like Ben is making it any easier to see Kyle. He's not exactly laying out a red carpet and offering me refreshments. I'm not complaining, but it would be nice.

"I can show you to his bedroom." He slowly nods his head.

Ben opens the door wider and invites me inside. We walk down the narrow cream passageway until we get about midway. Ben knocks on a wooden door and waits for a response. Just like before, I hear the sound of someone groaning, then a shuffle of sheets before a coherence sentence is strung into the air.

"What do you want, man?" yells Kyle.

"You've got a visitor," responds Ben.

The use of the word visitor instead of friend, or even Ava has me reeling with annoyance. Ben certainly doesn't want me here, that's obvious enough. He makes me feel like I'm about to visit an inmate rather than my friend.

"Who?" the high pitch of his voice shows me he's curious.

"Ava."

"Tell her to go away." Ben goes to place a hand on my back to guide me out of the house, but I don't have it. I didn't travel all this way for Kyle to brush me off. I won't give Ben the satisfaction of pushing me out the doorway either.

Sure, I get it, he wants to protect Kyle from me and getting hurt, but he's just avoiding the inevitable. Getting hurt is just a casualty of life, sometimes you can't avoid it no matter how much you try to escape.

Grabbing at the handles, I push the door open and barge into the room. Kyle hides under his blanket like a small cowering child, while Ben stands to the side and observes the situation. I'm surprised it takes him this long to intervene.

"Kyle?" questions Ben.

"You're acting like a big baby, Kyle." I place my hands on my hips and tap my foot on the ground.

"Go away, Ava."

"If your mother was here, she'd be dragging your sorry ass out of bed," I comment.

I grab the cover and tug as hard as I can. Kyle's grip is strong, but I'm persistent. When he lets go of the blanket, I pull it down enough so that he can't hide under it. I look over my shoulder and notice Ben is gone before I continue on.

As I glance back at Kyle, I see his arms folded over his chest. He's pouting, the kind of pout he does when you force him into something he doesn't wanna do. Typical Kyle. I can't be angry because I'm the exact same too.

I walk around the bed and sit beside him. I take the blanket and cuddle underneath it for warmth. Kyle grabs the corner and covers himself up as well.

"So, should I start with the kiss or the baby?" I ask, jumping right into the talk.

"What about the kiss?" he asks.

"Ben thinks that . . . you know?" I look at the blanket and frown. I don't know how to approach this topic at all. I had it all planned out in my head before, but now that I'm sitting here, I don't know where my head's at.