Redemption

CHAPTER2: Now

Motely Crue’s “Wild Side” blared in her headphones as Kylie bumped up the speed on her treadmill to a-tempo run pace. She had just finished her strength workout and now jumped on the treadmill for some cardio and to burn off some excess stress the first workout hadn’t seemed to. Her morning had started off well. She taught virtual Yoga in the morning before heading into the gym she managed, only to discover the crazy rainstorm we had the night before had caused some flooding in parts of the building. After spending the morning helping clean up, she had to cover the front desk as Kelsey had called in sick. Again. It wasn’t like it was a big deal, she liked seeing customers and interacting with the regulars, but it meant she had to reschedule some of her personal training clients and had to find some instructors at the last minute to cover her evening fitness classes. By the time she got home, she was done and just needed to move her body to get rid of some excess energy she felt pent-up.

She was running at a good pace, and had the music so loud she didn’t hear Matt come into their home gym. He walked around to the front of the treadmill, holing up the cordless phone covering the mouthpiece. Kylie jumped to the side of the treadmill and paused the belt, took the headphones out of her ears.

“There’s a call for you” Matt said, holding up the phone.

“Who is it”, Kylie asked, hesitantly. Not many people called the house line.

“Paul”, Matt replied, looking at Kylie with concern.

Kylie stared at the phone. What the hell was Paul calling her for? The last time they spoke, it was not a pretty scene, and she all but told him to go to hell. Anger rising in her, she grabbed the phone.

“Yeah?” she snapped.

“Kylie? It’s Paul. How are you?”, the voice at the other end of the line replied.

“I know who it is, the question is what do you want?”. There was a pause.

“Kylie, I know it’s been a long time and the last time we talked things didn’t end well. But I’m calling about Dave. He needs you”. Paul said. Kylie jumped off the treadmill she had been standing on and started to pace the area of her home gym. It’d been a long time since she had thought about her stepdad.

“What about him?”, Kylie asked. There was another pause on the other end of the phone before she heard Paul take a deep breath.

“He’s in jail”

“And what the f*ck am I supposed to do about that? Better yet, why should I try to do anything about that?” Kylie barked. Matt came up behind and rubbed her shoulders when we saw her tense up.

“Please Ky, can we meet, and I can explain everything?” Paul asked. Kylie almost gagged when we said “Ky”. That used to be his nickname for her, but hearing him say it now made her want to vomit. Checking her watch, she replied:

“Legends Tavern, I’ll meet you there at 9:00 tonight”. She heard a sigh of disappointment from Paul. He hated alcohol, drinking and bars, which is exactly why she picked that place.

“Fine” he replied and hung up.

Kylie ended the call on the phone and turned to face Matt who was looking at her intensely. She could tell he had a thousand questions but knew better than to bombard her with them. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and held her close. Kylie melted into him, feeling the need to be close to his body.

“What did he want?” Matt asked.

“Dave is in jail” Kylie replied. Matt knew all about Dave. He had met him a few times since him and Kylie had known each other since second grade, and he knew all about what had happened.

“What?! Really? And so, what does Paul want you to do?”. Kylie shrugged.

“Who knows, but I’m going to meet him to find out.”

“I’ll come with you”, Matt insisted, making Kylie smile. She loved how protective he was of her. Not that she needed it, but it still meant the world to her to have someone who cared for her in a way not many people did.

“I would like that” she replied. “I’m just going to grab a shower and change”.

After she showered, she threw on faded skinny jeans and her favorite Def Leppard shirt. She blow-dried and straightened her hair and threw on some make-up, which she didn’t often do because of her job. She came downstairs to find Matt sitting at their kitchen island with his laptop, checking emails. Right after high school, Matt had decided college was not for him and decided to get his Real Estate license. He worked for Sunset County Realtors, one of the largest real estate brokerages in the city, and he was doing quite well. Of course, that meant he was always on call and always seemed to have a deal going. When he saw her come down the stairs he gave a whistle of approval.

“You look amazing” he said, pulling her to him for a kiss. She blushed. He could always make her blush.

“Not so bad yourself” she replied, kissing him back.

“Are you sure you are ready to do this? It’s not too late to cancel and tell them all to go to hell”. Kylie laughed at this.

“As much as I would love that, my curiosity will not let me rest until I at least hear what he has to say”.

“Alright, but if things start getting too intense, just say the word and we will walk out. I am not letting these people do anything to hurt you again”, Matt said protectively. Kylie slipped on her flats, grabbed a jacket, and leaned up to kiss him.

“That’s one of the things I love about you.”