Colliding with Fate (Published under Pop Fiction)

Low Blow

Eight hours ago

"Uh, Seth, you can let go of me now."

Grinning sheepishly, he pulls away. "Sorry, got carried away." He steps back and sees KY beside me. "Hey," he says, surprised coloring the tone of his voice.

KY only nods at him, and then turns to his mother. "Where are Granny and Lala?" he asks.

"They went to Hawaii to celebrate their 50th anniversary," Mrs. Swift answers. "That reminds me. Give them a call, they're worried about you."

"Sure," he says, already dialling on his phone. "What about Aunt Veronica?"

"She'll celebrate the holiday with Aunt Xyrielle," Seth says. "Rain has a new baby!" He sounds excited with the news, but KY only stares at him coolly.

I sigh. Why does he have to be so cold?

 "Come on," Seth says, grabbing my arm. "Let's not waste Aunt Sophia's time in cooking."

Mrs. Swift smiles. "Go ahead," she says. "I'll call you when it's ready."

Before I can say goodbye, Seth already pushes me out of the door. He leads me out of the house, and onto the backyard.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I ask, "What was that?"

"What?" Seth asks nonchalantly.

"What's going on with you and KY?" I press.

"Nothing," he says evasively. "Let's not talk about my cousin, alright?"

The unreadable expression on his face makes me stop from asking him questions.

I've never been in an awkward silence with Seth before, and I don't want to experience it, ever.

After a while, he nudges me with his elbow. "I'm glad you're here," he says, going back to his normal self, "but why did Kyle bring you?"

I thought he didn't want to talk about his cousin?

Oh, well.

"He didn't want me to stay alone in the—"

"I missed you."

I glance up from my shoes and grin at him. "You too!"

He pinches my cheeks. "No, you don't."

Pushing his hands away, I say, "I do!"

"Prove it!"

I frown. "What do you want me to do?"

Before he can respond, a hand falls down on my shoulder, making me jump in surprise.

Turning around, I see Andre grinning at me. "Hey, Brielle."

"Hi," I say. He's really good at surprising me.

"I don't want to ruin the moment," he says, scratching the back of his neck, "but can I borrow Seth for a sec?"

"Sure," I say.

Seth frowns at his dad.

"It will only take a while," Andre says.

"It's alright," I tell Seth. "We can talk later. I'm gonna head back inside. Mrs. Swift might need an extra hand."

I give a quick wave at them and walk back to the kitchen.

Mrs. Swift is alone.

I wonder where KY is.

Stop it, your world doesn't revolve around him.