No Other One, Chapter 71
Title: No Other One, Chapter 71
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6.
Summary: Almost two decades ago, Horatio made a decision that would change his family forever. Will they ever forgive him? Will he ever tell Yelina how he feels? This is an alternative to the beginning of season 6. A Horatio and Kyle story; H/Y romance in the future.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, Chapter 42, Chapter 43, Chapter 44, Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48, Chapter 49, Chapter 50, Chapter 51, Chapter 52, Chapter 53, Chapter 54, Chapter 55, Chapter 56, Chapter 57, Chapter 58, Chapter 59, Chapter 60, Chapter 61, Chapter 62, Chapter 63, Chapter 64, Chapter 65, Chapter 66, Chapter 67, Chapter 68, Chapter 69, Chapter 70
Disclaimer: I don't own the show.
"Losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul." - Mariska Hargitay
It was weird - going back to all of the places where she'd originally spied on Kyle. The locations she'd found him still programmed into her GPS and etched in her memory, it was a reminder that the life-altering events they'd all been through were still fairly recent ones. That it didn't feel that way was a testament to just how destructive and shocking Horatio's choices and the repercussions of those choices had been.
But Yelina didn't want to think about that now.
In fact, the less she thought about Horatio, the better off she would probably be. Because as much as she was trying to move past what had happened, thinking about him just made her feel more betrayed.
And more alone.
Maybe that was irrational, because she knew that Horatio was essentially the same person he'd been for a long while. The news of Kyle might have been new, but the events that had led to Kyle's existence weren't. This was a betrayal sixteen years in the making, not one that had happened overnight. Which meant that Horatio was basically unchanged from how he was a month ago.
But it didn't feel that way.
And that was precisely why she didn't want to go over the events in her head. It would just distract her from finding Kyle and from being able to calm him down when she did.
Yelina had no doubt that he was upset either. Some might have argued that, because she'd only caught a glimpse of him on that security tape, she couldn't really tell what emotional state he was in. But she'd seen that disturbed look in his eyes; the black and white footage might have been grainy, but it couldn't hide the way he seemed almost… spooked.
And in any case, though she hadn't known him long, she felt as though she knew him well enough to know what kind of boy he was.
He'd probably meant to hide it, of course, but she'd seen that he was more than a delinquent, more than a street kid with no morals, no manners, no future. Kyle would deny it more than likely, but it would be true nonetheless.
Yelina had to believe that it was true. Or else, she wasn't sure she would be able to understand why Horatio had agreed to bring this child into their lives.
Right now though, none of that mattered - not Horatio's reasons, not Kyle's. The only thing of any importance was finding out where he was at, and considering Yelina had looked at three places already, she was beginning to doubt that she would find him at all. There were still a few areas of Miami she could look - would look - for him, but as each place turned up nothing, she was forced to accept the possibility that Kyle had just run away.
Maybe not permanently, she told herself to avoid getting upset. Maybe he planned on returning to Horatio. Perhaps what Kyle had wanted was a break (God only knew she could understand the sentiment), and he'd left the station to get one.
But then… if that were true, wouldn't he have gone to a place that he was familiar with? Comfortable with?
Though it would probably kill him to hear it, Kyle really was Horatio's son. He didn't seem to like to take chances; he didn't like to be in situations he was unfamiliar with, and he certainly didn't seem like the type of person to hide out in the mall when he needed to think or get away.
Perhaps that was the point though, Yelina considered. Kyle was smart enough to know that someone would come looking for him as soon as Alexx realized that he was missing. And maybe he was trying to avoid being found until he was ready to talk to someone he knew.
She wasn't sure whether or not she hoped that was the case. On the one hand, she hoped that he would come back willingly. But she also wanted him to be some place she could find him. If only to avoid having to tell Horatio that his son was missing, she hoped that Kyle was somewhere she was going to look.
He was.
She was pulling up to the little strip of beach underneath one of the local piers when she spotted him. He was sitting on a rock, his feet hanging in the water that was being washed in by the tide, and though she could see he was smoking something, Yelina couldn't have been anything but relieved to see him. She'd been so afraid that she was running out of time.
By that point in the day, Alexx was probably worried enough to consider telling Horatio what had happened (if he hadn't already figured it out on her own). And Yelina herself had been only seconds ago beginning to feel the pressure of being unable to find her nephew.
But here he was, at the last place (of course) she decided to look.
As soon as she found a spot to park, she took out her cell phone. Furiously texting Alexx that she had Kyle, Yelina kept one eye constantly on the boy; the last thing she wanted to do was to have him spot her and run away once more.
In the end though, he didn't know she was there until she was standing in front of him, sea water pooling, much to her dismay, at her feet.
Blinking in surprise as she approached him, he asked carefully, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," she told him, her gaze briefly flitting towards the joint he was smoking.
He looked at her doubtfully. "Really."
"I certainly didn't come down her to ruin my suit," she pointed out gently.
"Right."
The word could have sounded doubtful, but in this case, he sounded more… resigned than anything else. Almost as though he couldn't come up with a better reason for her to be there, his tone was one that reflected his capitulation and his capitulation alone.
And for that Yelina was rather grateful. She was far too accustomed to recalcitrant teenaged boys to be unappreciative of someone who wouldn't fight her. Quite frankly, the change in pace was nothing short of welcome, and though she would have preferred to not be in this situation, given how bad it could have been, she was happy that he was willing to concede the point without much of an argument.
"Why are you here?" she asked gently. She needed to know the answer if she were to help him at all, but she didn't want to push too hard. But apparently though she hadn't pushed hard enough, because he shrugged and said nothing. "Kyle, I know the terms of your community service, and I know that Horatio wanted you to perform those hours at the lab with Alexx Woods."
He looked at her carefully before taking a long pull on the joint in his fingers. The act of defiance one she couldn't ignore, he was barely courteous enough to blow the smoke away from her. "You just know everything, huh."
"If I did, I wouldn't ask why you are here."
"Well, I don't feel like sharing."
Yelina nodded her head in understanding. She couldn't pretend as though she didn't comprehend his reticence. Truth be told, after everything he'd been through, it would have been foolish to expect anything other than defensiveness in this situation. And noticing her own body language - or more specifically, the way she was standing over him, her shadow casting dark gray light on his body and the rock he was sitting on - she realized that she was more of an interrogator in that moment than anything else.
Which she did not want to be.
Sighing, she sat down on the rock next to him, their thighs brushing against one another. It didn't get past her that her parents were going to be so dirty by the time she stood up; if anything, she was painfully aware of that truth. But she knew that her nephew was worth more than the pants, that earning his trust was worth more than the pants. And in any case, her trousers were probably ruined by now anyway, the linen of her suit having already eagerly soaked up the saltwater lapping at her.
"You don't need to do this," he told her quietly. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll find my way back, so -"
"So then you plan on returning?"
Kyle gave her a deadpan look.
"I know that it seems like a foolish question," she admitted. "But if there is one thing I've learned from teenage boys, it's that they tend to do foolish things."
"I'm not like your kid," Kyle snapped haughtily.
"No. No, you're not."
He stood up. "I wasn't running away. I just..." He didn't finish the thought.
She waited for him to say something. Her warm gaze intent on him, she didn't want to offer an explanation if she could force one from him. But really, it just seemed that the quieter she stayed, the more clammed up he became.
So Yelina decided that it was time to lay it all on the line for him. "Listen to me, Kyle. I know that it's not in your nature to trust people, and I know that… whatever is bothering you is probably something you don't want to talk about." He looked at her as though she were stating the obvious. "But at this point… you don't really have an option."
"You're going to torture me for information?" He was being sarcastic, which made her frown. Sometimes, based on what he'd been through, she considered him so much older than he was; his maturity on the whole was much higher than other children his age. But in the end…
He was a child.
"Of course not," she told him, refusing to allow herself to respond to his anger. "But you did agree to do a job. When you get back, Dr. Woods is going to want an explanation. Horatio is going to want an explanation. And most importantly, the state's attorney is going to want to hear one. Especially since the next time you take a urine test, you will be testing positive for marijuana."
Kyle looked guilty in that moment, but he said nothing in response. Which she supposed was better than being on the receiving end of his sarcasm. Nevertheless, it was not an answer, and that was what she truly needed.
"You may believe that going through this alone is the right thing to do. I would if I were in your position, Kyle. But the truth is your word to them… well, it doesn't mean much," she told him soberly. "If you were to tell me what's wrong, if you help me understand what happened, I can help you rectify the situation."
For a brief moment, she thought her attempt at getting him to talk had failed. He didn't say anything right away, and his silence made her think that he was determined to go this alone.
Eventually though, with a lick of the lips, he asked her, "What if I don't want to rectify the situation?"
She looked at him carefully. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"
He literally flinched at the affectionate name.
Cringing inwardly, Yelina ached for him. His inability to accept or appreciate even the slightest bit of affection made her feel so sorry for him. Though she hadn't known him for very long, she already felt protective of him, concerned for him. And the very idea that he had been without any love or appreciation for so long that he could actually be uncomfortable at the idea of receiving it made her…
Furious.
With Horatio, with Kyle's mother, with everyone who had been responsible for raising Kyle since then.
It infuriated her to know that he had slipped through the cracks, that try as she might to make it better, he had still been failed in the past.
And perhaps the worst part of all was that she had to keep all of those feelings to herself. Inwardly, she knew all too well that Kyle wouldn't be interested in an apology or her pity, and her anger would only serve to remind him of all the terrible things he'd been through. So she really had no other choice than to keep her dissatisfaction to herself.
Suppressing the emotion as best as she could, she heard him say, "I mean, what if I don't want or care about making things better with those people?"
"Why wouldn't you want to?" It wasn't so much a challenge as it was an earnest question, and she was glad to see him take it that way.
"Does the reason matter?" She gave him a pointed look, as if to say that of course it did. "Why?"
"Kyle, if there's one thing I've learned about you, it is that you are not impolite. And more importantly, you are smart enough to realize the opportunity you are losing by -"
"By what?" he demanded to know. "By not spending my day knee deep in dead bodies?" He scoffed as he stood up. Smashing his cigarette into the jagged edge of the rock, he said defensively, "I tried to go along with that. But I couldn't - I can't. And honestly if it comes down to that or going to jail, I'm choose jail any day."
Yelina looked at him carefully, silently trying to assess what he was feeling right now. Every muscle in his body was tense, as though every fiber of his being was straining to keep him upright. And truth be told, if he was as wound as he seemed, she knew that she would need to choose her words very precisely. One wrong move, and he would bolt.
"Kyle… you don't want to go to jail. You -"
"Oh, I forgot, Yelina, where you thought you knew everything there is to know about me," he snapped bitterly, so bitterly that she was almost shocked by his tone.
Folding her arms across her chest, she agreed with him. "You're right. I don't know everything. However, I'm hard pressed to find a reason why prison should seem more appealing to you than -"
"You want me to give you one?"
"I would like that. Yes."
"Okay," he nearly snarled, his fingers shaking at his sides. "How about the fact that I don't want to see any more dead bodies in my lifetime? How about I've seen my fair share, and I can't take having to deal with any more? That good enough for you?"
He was shouting at her, his face bright red. But she didn't even have time to register what he was talking about before all of the color in his cheeks drained away. Almost as though he understood what he'd just admitted to, he looked as though his words were going to be punctuated with vomit.
And in an instant she instinctively understood what he was trying to tell her. His reaction so visceral that it could only mean one thing, she knew that he was talking about his mother.
Yelina's lungs failing her, she felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach as she reeled from the revelation. Her mouth opening and closing, she eventually whispered, "Kyle…"
But it was too late.
He'd already taken off running.
Go on to the next chapter
Author: Duckie Nicks
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Yelina Salas, Horatio Caine, the whole Caine family
Author's Note: WARNING: SPOILER FOR SEASON 6.
Summary: Almost two decades ago, Horatio made a decision that would change his family forever. Will they ever forgive him? Will he ever tell Yelina how he feels? This is an alternative to the beginning of season 6. A Horatio and Kyle story; H/Y romance in the future.
Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35, Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, Chapter 42, Chapter 43, Chapter 44, Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48, Chapter 49, Chapter 50, Chapter 51, Chapter 52, Chapter 53, Chapter 54, Chapter 55, Chapter 56, Chapter 57, Chapter 58, Chapter 59, Chapter 60, Chapter 61, Chapter 62, Chapter 63, Chapter 64, Chapter 65, Chapter 66, Chapter 67, Chapter 68, Chapter 69, Chapter 70
Disclaimer: I don't own the show.
"Losing my mother at such an early age is the scar of my soul." - Mariska Hargitay
It was weird - going back to all of the places where she'd originally spied on Kyle. The locations she'd found him still programmed into her GPS and etched in her memory, it was a reminder that the life-altering events they'd all been through were still fairly recent ones. That it didn't feel that way was a testament to just how destructive and shocking Horatio's choices and the repercussions of those choices had been.
But Yelina didn't want to think about that now.
In fact, the less she thought about Horatio, the better off she would probably be. Because as much as she was trying to move past what had happened, thinking about him just made her feel more betrayed.
And more alone.
Maybe that was irrational, because she knew that Horatio was essentially the same person he'd been for a long while. The news of Kyle might have been new, but the events that had led to Kyle's existence weren't. This was a betrayal sixteen years in the making, not one that had happened overnight. Which meant that Horatio was basically unchanged from how he was a month ago.
But it didn't feel that way.
And that was precisely why she didn't want to go over the events in her head. It would just distract her from finding Kyle and from being able to calm him down when she did.
Yelina had no doubt that he was upset either. Some might have argued that, because she'd only caught a glimpse of him on that security tape, she couldn't really tell what emotional state he was in. But she'd seen that disturbed look in his eyes; the black and white footage might have been grainy, but it couldn't hide the way he seemed almost… spooked.
And in any case, though she hadn't known him long, she felt as though she knew him well enough to know what kind of boy he was.
He'd probably meant to hide it, of course, but she'd seen that he was more than a delinquent, more than a street kid with no morals, no manners, no future. Kyle would deny it more than likely, but it would be true nonetheless.
Yelina had to believe that it was true. Or else, she wasn't sure she would be able to understand why Horatio had agreed to bring this child into their lives.
Right now though, none of that mattered - not Horatio's reasons, not Kyle's. The only thing of any importance was finding out where he was at, and considering Yelina had looked at three places already, she was beginning to doubt that she would find him at all. There were still a few areas of Miami she could look - would look - for him, but as each place turned up nothing, she was forced to accept the possibility that Kyle had just run away.
Maybe not permanently, she told herself to avoid getting upset. Maybe he planned on returning to Horatio. Perhaps what Kyle had wanted was a break (God only knew she could understand the sentiment), and he'd left the station to get one.
But then… if that were true, wouldn't he have gone to a place that he was familiar with? Comfortable with?
Though it would probably kill him to hear it, Kyle really was Horatio's son. He didn't seem to like to take chances; he didn't like to be in situations he was unfamiliar with, and he certainly didn't seem like the type of person to hide out in the mall when he needed to think or get away.
Perhaps that was the point though, Yelina considered. Kyle was smart enough to know that someone would come looking for him as soon as Alexx realized that he was missing. And maybe he was trying to avoid being found until he was ready to talk to someone he knew.
She wasn't sure whether or not she hoped that was the case. On the one hand, she hoped that he would come back willingly. But she also wanted him to be some place she could find him. If only to avoid having to tell Horatio that his son was missing, she hoped that Kyle was somewhere she was going to look.
He was.
She was pulling up to the little strip of beach underneath one of the local piers when she spotted him. He was sitting on a rock, his feet hanging in the water that was being washed in by the tide, and though she could see he was smoking something, Yelina couldn't have been anything but relieved to see him. She'd been so afraid that she was running out of time.
By that point in the day, Alexx was probably worried enough to consider telling Horatio what had happened (if he hadn't already figured it out on her own). And Yelina herself had been only seconds ago beginning to feel the pressure of being unable to find her nephew.
But here he was, at the last place (of course) she decided to look.
As soon as she found a spot to park, she took out her cell phone. Furiously texting Alexx that she had Kyle, Yelina kept one eye constantly on the boy; the last thing she wanted to do was to have him spot her and run away once more.
In the end though, he didn't know she was there until she was standing in front of him, sea water pooling, much to her dismay, at her feet.
Blinking in surprise as she approached him, he asked carefully, "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you," she told him, her gaze briefly flitting towards the joint he was smoking.
He looked at her doubtfully. "Really."
"I certainly didn't come down her to ruin my suit," she pointed out gently.
"Right."
The word could have sounded doubtful, but in this case, he sounded more… resigned than anything else. Almost as though he couldn't come up with a better reason for her to be there, his tone was one that reflected his capitulation and his capitulation alone.
And for that Yelina was rather grateful. She was far too accustomed to recalcitrant teenaged boys to be unappreciative of someone who wouldn't fight her. Quite frankly, the change in pace was nothing short of welcome, and though she would have preferred to not be in this situation, given how bad it could have been, she was happy that he was willing to concede the point without much of an argument.
"Why are you here?" she asked gently. She needed to know the answer if she were to help him at all, but she didn't want to push too hard. But apparently though she hadn't pushed hard enough, because he shrugged and said nothing. "Kyle, I know the terms of your community service, and I know that Horatio wanted you to perform those hours at the lab with Alexx Woods."
He looked at her carefully before taking a long pull on the joint in his fingers. The act of defiance one she couldn't ignore, he was barely courteous enough to blow the smoke away from her. "You just know everything, huh."
"If I did, I wouldn't ask why you are here."
"Well, I don't feel like sharing."
Yelina nodded her head in understanding. She couldn't pretend as though she didn't comprehend his reticence. Truth be told, after everything he'd been through, it would have been foolish to expect anything other than defensiveness in this situation. And noticing her own body language - or more specifically, the way she was standing over him, her shadow casting dark gray light on his body and the rock he was sitting on - she realized that she was more of an interrogator in that moment than anything else.
Which she did not want to be.
Sighing, she sat down on the rock next to him, their thighs brushing against one another. It didn't get past her that her parents were going to be so dirty by the time she stood up; if anything, she was painfully aware of that truth. But she knew that her nephew was worth more than the pants, that earning his trust was worth more than the pants. And in any case, her trousers were probably ruined by now anyway, the linen of her suit having already eagerly soaked up the saltwater lapping at her.
"You don't need to do this," he told her quietly. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll find my way back, so -"
"So then you plan on returning?"
Kyle gave her a deadpan look.
"I know that it seems like a foolish question," she admitted. "But if there is one thing I've learned from teenage boys, it's that they tend to do foolish things."
"I'm not like your kid," Kyle snapped haughtily.
"No. No, you're not."
He stood up. "I wasn't running away. I just..." He didn't finish the thought.
She waited for him to say something. Her warm gaze intent on him, she didn't want to offer an explanation if she could force one from him. But really, it just seemed that the quieter she stayed, the more clammed up he became.
So Yelina decided that it was time to lay it all on the line for him. "Listen to me, Kyle. I know that it's not in your nature to trust people, and I know that… whatever is bothering you is probably something you don't want to talk about." He looked at her as though she were stating the obvious. "But at this point… you don't really have an option."
"You're going to torture me for information?" He was being sarcastic, which made her frown. Sometimes, based on what he'd been through, she considered him so much older than he was; his maturity on the whole was much higher than other children his age. But in the end…
He was a child.
"Of course not," she told him, refusing to allow herself to respond to his anger. "But you did agree to do a job. When you get back, Dr. Woods is going to want an explanation. Horatio is going to want an explanation. And most importantly, the state's attorney is going to want to hear one. Especially since the next time you take a urine test, you will be testing positive for marijuana."
Kyle looked guilty in that moment, but he said nothing in response. Which she supposed was better than being on the receiving end of his sarcasm. Nevertheless, it was not an answer, and that was what she truly needed.
"You may believe that going through this alone is the right thing to do. I would if I were in your position, Kyle. But the truth is your word to them… well, it doesn't mean much," she told him soberly. "If you were to tell me what's wrong, if you help me understand what happened, I can help you rectify the situation."
For a brief moment, she thought her attempt at getting him to talk had failed. He didn't say anything right away, and his silence made her think that he was determined to go this alone.
Eventually though, with a lick of the lips, he asked her, "What if I don't want to rectify the situation?"
She looked at him carefully. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"
He literally flinched at the affectionate name.
Cringing inwardly, Yelina ached for him. His inability to accept or appreciate even the slightest bit of affection made her feel so sorry for him. Though she hadn't known him for very long, she already felt protective of him, concerned for him. And the very idea that he had been without any love or appreciation for so long that he could actually be uncomfortable at the idea of receiving it made her…
Furious.
With Horatio, with Kyle's mother, with everyone who had been responsible for raising Kyle since then.
It infuriated her to know that he had slipped through the cracks, that try as she might to make it better, he had still been failed in the past.
And perhaps the worst part of all was that she had to keep all of those feelings to herself. Inwardly, she knew all too well that Kyle wouldn't be interested in an apology or her pity, and her anger would only serve to remind him of all the terrible things he'd been through. So she really had no other choice than to keep her dissatisfaction to herself.
Suppressing the emotion as best as she could, she heard him say, "I mean, what if I don't want or care about making things better with those people?"
"Why wouldn't you want to?" It wasn't so much a challenge as it was an earnest question, and she was glad to see him take it that way.
"Does the reason matter?" She gave him a pointed look, as if to say that of course it did. "Why?"
"Kyle, if there's one thing I've learned about you, it is that you are not impolite. And more importantly, you are smart enough to realize the opportunity you are losing by -"
"By what?" he demanded to know. "By not spending my day knee deep in dead bodies?" He scoffed as he stood up. Smashing his cigarette into the jagged edge of the rock, he said defensively, "I tried to go along with that. But I couldn't - I can't. And honestly if it comes down to that or going to jail, I'm choose jail any day."
Yelina looked at him carefully, silently trying to assess what he was feeling right now. Every muscle in his body was tense, as though every fiber of his being was straining to keep him upright. And truth be told, if he was as wound as he seemed, she knew that she would need to choose her words very precisely. One wrong move, and he would bolt.
"Kyle… you don't want to go to jail. You -"
"Oh, I forgot, Yelina, where you thought you knew everything there is to know about me," he snapped bitterly, so bitterly that she was almost shocked by his tone.
Folding her arms across her chest, she agreed with him. "You're right. I don't know everything. However, I'm hard pressed to find a reason why prison should seem more appealing to you than -"
"You want me to give you one?"
"I would like that. Yes."
"Okay," he nearly snarled, his fingers shaking at his sides. "How about the fact that I don't want to see any more dead bodies in my lifetime? How about I've seen my fair share, and I can't take having to deal with any more? That good enough for you?"
He was shouting at her, his face bright red. But she didn't even have time to register what he was talking about before all of the color in his cheeks drained away. Almost as though he understood what he'd just admitted to, he looked as though his words were going to be punctuated with vomit.
And in an instant she instinctively understood what he was trying to tell her. His reaction so visceral that it could only mean one thing, she knew that he was talking about his mother.
Yelina's lungs failing her, she felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach as she reeled from the revelation. Her mouth opening and closing, she eventually whispered, "Kyle…"
But it was too late.
He'd already taken off running.
Go on to the next chapter