Betrayal: Kyle's Revenge (The Betrayal Series) (2 page)

Kyle stared at the blank screen and felt his sanity slipping away. The voice in his head was back, taunting him, telling him that his girlfriend was cheating on him. Breathing had become difficult again.

Kyle thought about accessing Abby’s text messages through her iCloud account. But then he remembered that doing so would have alerted Abby to the fact that someone had accessed her iCloud account. So he didn’t do it. Instead, he hacked into her email account. It was easy since Abby was using the same password for both accounts. Abby didn’t use email much, so there was nothing in those email messages that could help Kyle figure out what Abby was up to.

Kyle let out a loud groan and pounded the desk with his fist. He was a technology wiz, yet couldn’t use technology to find out whether or not his girlfriend was cheating on him. After that little outburst, Kyle reigned in his anger and reminded himself to be patient because as soon as Abby’s phone were back online, he was going to be able to track her every move.

Kyle figured that hitting refresh on the tracking app every five seconds was going to drive him crazy. So he decided to get out of that room and away from his electronic gadgets. He needed to clear his head with some fresh air, otherwise he was going to lose it.

After tossing his iPhone on the desk and closing his laptop, Kyle stepped out of his bedroom and rejoined his relatives at the backyard get-together. He was not in the mood to socialize but had no other place to go. He wanted to be alone but couldn’t just take off and wander the streets. That would have increased his mother’s suspicions that something was wrong with him.

Kyle put on his best everything-is-fine face and engaged in casual chitchat with cousins and uncles at the pre-reunion barbecue. He smiled and pretended to laugh at the jokes his uncles were telling, but he was not really listening to what they were saying. His mind was in New York.

The uncertainty was killing him. He kept picturing Abby in the arms of her lover, rolling around in bed and laughing at him. The sheer rage in his eyes prompted one of his uncles to ask if he was okay. Kyle shrugged his shoulders and assured his concerned uncle that everything was fine.  While he continued to fake laugh at his uncle’s lame jokes, Kyle wished the minutes and hours away. Sooner or later, Abby was going to charge her phone and get online. Sooner or later, he was going to figure it all out.

Kyle worried about the video chat session he and Abby had agreed to do that night. Kyle wondered how he was going to get through that video chat while pretending everything was okay.

Chapter II

Later that day, Abby and Brianna found themselves in the back of a taxi. They were engaged in a vigorous make out session when the cab came to a full stop. Dusk had descended upon New York City, and Abby and Brianna were winding down their busy day of shopping and getting to know each other.

Realizing she had arrived at her destination, Abby pulled away from the lip lock. Letting out a predatory growl, Brianna reluctantly released Abby’s lips.

“This is my stop,” Abby whispered, trying to catch her breath, her lips swollen from all the kissing she and Brianna had done that day. Brianna had been stealing kisses from her all day-in elevators, inside dressing rooms, in the back of taxis. Not that Abby was complaining. She had enjoyed every single one of those kisses.

“No. I don’t want to be apart from you a single second,” Brianna protested, rubbing the pad of her thumb over Abby’s upper lip. “Come home with me. I want you to spend the night with me.” She buried her face in the curve of Abby’s neck, nibbling on it while one of her hands disappeared under Abby’s skirt.

“I can’t,” Abby replied, shivering from the feel of Brianna’s lips on her sensitive neck. “I promised Kyle I would video chat with him tonight.” She gripped Brianna’s wrist and pulled her hand out from under her skirt.

That last statement sobered Brianna right up. Hearing her brother’s name felt like a big bucket of ice had been dumped on her head. Kyle was their big elephant in the room. She pulled her lips off Abby’s neck and gazed into her eyes.

“I understand,” Brianna nodded, giving Abby a resigned smile. “I will see you tomorrow then. After work, come to my apartment. I’m going to cook you dinner.”

Abby nodded and smiled. Ignoring the visibly annoyed driver and the fact that the meter was still running, they exchanged another lengthy, steamy kiss that left both of them in a daze and gasping for breath. They said good night to each other, and Abby jumped out of the car.

Abby stood on the sidewalk and waved at Brianna as the cab drove away. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. She was smitten. Her lips were still burning from that last kiss and all the other kisses they shared that day. She giggled by herself, not caring if people thought she was nuts. She felt like she could float away.

 Abby turned on her heel, and her reality came crashing down on her when her gaze landed on hers and Kyle’s apartment building.

Kyle.

Abby let out a sharp breath and walked inside the brownstone building. Once inside the apartment, Abby plugged her phone to the charger. She had noticed earlier that the battery had died but had no place to charge it. She turned the phone on and, as she had suspected, there were missed calls from Kyle, five to be exact. She checked her messages. There were several text messages and a voicemail from Kyle asking her why she was not answering her phone.

Crap.

Getting flustered, Abby called Kyle right away.

“Hey, honey. How is it going? I’m sorry I missed your calls. My phone died…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kyle cut her off through gritted teeth. He was trying his best to not give away how angry he was. When Abby called, he was still in the backyard of his mother’s house watching his cousins throw a football around. “I figured that’s what happened. You always forget to keep your phone charged.”

“Yes, I’m such a scatterbrain.” Abby chuckled nervously. She was a terrible liar. Lying made her very uncomfortable.

“So how was work?” Kyle asked, needing to confirm what Victoria had told him earlier about Abby not showing up to work that day.

Abby began to stammer. “Oh, it was the same as always. Really busy. You know how that place is on the weekends.”

“Oh really?” Kyle replied, trying his hardest to remain civil and not call Abby out on her lies. “Did you sell a lot of books? Were the customers annoying?”

“Yeah. We had a good day,” Abby replied, the pitch of her voice rising.

“How’s Victoria? I hope her illness is nothing serious.”

“Oh, she’s fine. She just came down with a cold. That’s all.”

Kyle took a deep breath as crushing disappointment washed over him. The realization that his sweet, lovely girlfriend was nothing but a two-faced, two-timing slut was simply too devastating for Kyle to bear. Abby was the most honest person he knew. How could she lie to him so easily?

Had it all been a lie?
Kyle wondered.

He felt the urge to yell at Abby and smash the phone against the wall. But the backyard was full of people, and Kyle didn’t want to make a scene or worry his mother. Besides, Kyle wanted to have concrete proof before he confronted Abby with her lies.

 Only three more days.

Kyle counted to ten in his head and was able to calm down a bit. He shook his head and rolled his eyes at how bad a liar Abby was. The stammering and the rise in the pitch of her voice gave her away. Kyle could practically see the sweat beads building on her forehead.

Amidst all the disappointment, Kyle found some comfort in the fact that he discovered who his girlfriend really was before it was too late. Kyle felt he dodged a bullet by not proposing to her that night at that restaurant. Finding out Abby was a two-timing cheating whore after he had married her would have done irreversible damage to Kyle’s ability to trust and love.

“So are we still video chatting tonight?” Abby asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the subject of her whereabouts. “I can’t wait to say hello to your mom and your family.”

Kyle was not in the mood for video chatting. He felt that if he saw Abby’s cheating, lying face, he was going to put his fist through his computer screen. “No. We’re not going to do that tonight,” Kyle snapped, almost giving away how pissed he was. He cleared his throat to regain his composure. “Everyone decided to go out to dinner tonight. Maybe some other day.”

“Okay. We’ll do it another day then,” Abby sighed. She was sensing something was wrong. Kyle sounded distant, cold. She knew him well too. She could tell he was upset about something. Little did she know he was on to her.

“Is everything okay, Kyle?” Abby asked.

“Yeah. Everything is fine. I’m just a little tired. That’s all. Listen, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Kyle and Abby exchanged cold goodbyes, and after some awkward silence, ended the call. Abby sat on her couch clutching the phone in her hands. She wondered what was wrong with Kyle and why he wouldn’t confide in her. It also dawned on her that Kyle hadn’t said ‘I love you’ to her in a while. Abby found it odd, but immediately shrugged it off. She just assumed that whatever was bothering Kyle had nothing to do with her. The thought that Kyle might know she was cheating on him never crossed her mind.

With the video chat cancelled, Abby had the night free to do anything she wanted. She thought about going over to Brianna’s and spending the night with her, but decided against it. She had things to do. She spent that whole night doing her laundry and other chores around the apartment.

After she was done with her housework, Abby ordered some takeout Chinese food and ate it while watching an episode of Downton Abbey. After she was done eating, she stepped to the kitchen and sat at her kitchen table. With her laptop in front of her and the iPhone Brianna had given her, Abby got on the internet to activate her brand new, expensive gadget.

She logged into her iCloud account and downloaded all of her contacts, photos and apps to her new phone. She played around with all the cool new features and was surprised at how easy it was for her technically challenged self to figure it all out. She configured her phone that night, oblivious to the fact that her boyfriend had hacked into her virtual storage space and was tracking her every move.

After setting up her new phone, Abby spent some time packing some of her things. She wanted to be ready to go when Kyle kicked her out of the apartment. Abby looked around the bedroom, realizing how much she was going to miss living there. Yes, the apartment was tiny, and the building was old, but she loved it anyway. She had spent some of the best years of her life there.

Abby sighed, overcome with conflicting feelings. On the one hand, she was sad that the beautiful, solid relationship she had with Kyle was coming to such an unfortunate end. She was sure she and Kyle were going to go all the way. On the other hand, she was excited about her relationship with Brianna. She was looking forward to moving in with her and getting to know her better.

She smiled as she remembered being in Brianna’s arms that morning and shivered at the memory of Brianna’s hands and lips touching and kissing her everywhere.

Even though Abby had decided to give herself a chance to be happy, she still felt guilty about it. Fear and dread still tied her stomach in knots every time she thought about confessing to Kyle what she had done.

As she emptied her drawers and stuffed clothes inside a suitcase, Abby wondered how Kyle would react to her confession. Kyle was not a violent guy. Over the three years he and Abby had been together, Kyle had never raised his voice to her, let alone gotten physical. Sure, they had fights like any other normal couple, but they always resolved them rationally and civilly, with words, not with fists.

Still, what Abby did to him was so hurtful and undeserving, she was convinced there was no way he was going to react to it calmly. Part of her wished she could just tell him and get it over with. The uncertainty and anxiety were driving her crazy.

 Abby was also dreading telling her family and friends about breaking up with Kyle. The news of their breakup was going to be tough on her parents, especially on her mother who adored Kyle and was looking forward to him becoming her son-in-law. Kyle hadn’t proposed to Abby yet, but Abby’s mother was certain he would soon.

Abby’s brothers were also going to be disappointed upon hearing the news that she was not dating Kyle anymore. They were very protective of Abby and thought no man was good enough for their little sister until they met Kyle. Kyle had turned out to be a standup guy, and Abby’s brothers were looking forward to him joining their family.

But the thing that Abby dreaded the most was telling her family about the new person in her life. Even though her family were rational, loving people who loved her unconditionally, Abby feared they wouldn’t understand and shun her the way Brianna’s family had shunned her. The thought of her parents being ashamed of her and cutting her out of their lives made Abby feel profoundly sad.

But there was no going back. She had made up her mind. She was going to follow her heart on this. She was going to be with Brianna whether her family or friends approved of the relationship or not.

Abby’s head was spinning. She had so many things to do and so many explanations to give. There was too much uncertainty in her life, and she hated that. After she was done packing her most essential things into a couple of suitcases, she took a warm, relaxing shower and slipped into her favorite pj’s. She downed a cup of warm, chamomile tea to quiet down her mind and then went to bed, hoping she’d survive the next ten days without losing her mind.

****

After dropping Abby off, Brianna instructed the cab driver to take her to her apartment. She had bought so many things for her new, temporary home, the doorman of her building had to help her carry all of her bags upstairs.

Brianna walked into her apartment with a huge smile on her face. She had been smiling like a deranged person all day and didn’t care who saw it.