Chapter 5 The Visit

• OAKLYNN
• I didn’t get very far.
• I was so close, though.
• As soon as Hailey and I made our grand escape and were safely in the cab, Jordan, Kyle Kinley, Cash, and Corbyn stood in front of the Uber, shaking their heads in disapproval.
• Hailey and I broke into screams of delirium and only noticed later that the cab driver was screaming almost as loudly as we were. But we’ll talk about that later…
• “Hotness overload! Hotness overload!” Hailey shouted, bouncing up and down the seat like an errant toddler. “OMG! I think I died and went to hottie heaven! Somebody pinch me-this is a dream. That’s it-I’m dreaming!”
• Cash and Corbyn walked back inside, while Kyle stood back, leaning on a streetlight, while he signed autographs. Jordan stalked over to the taxi, yanking the door open at my side. “Going somewhere, little one?” he drawled as he peered in the back seat. “Out,” he jerked his head to the side. “You know that you have unfinished business waiting in the club, right?”Accepting my fate, I scrambled out, and Hailey was frozen to the spot.
• “You know, I didn’t take you for a coward, Oaklynn?” Jordan said, assessing me, just as his wife came from behind.
• “Stop terrorizing her, Carter,” she reprimanded her husband as Kyle joined us.
• “Lana is right. We shouldn’t have cornered her, JC,” Kyle said. “Are you okay, Oaklynn?” he stared at me intently, and that was my undoing.
• I couldn’t help myself… I mean this was like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I may never get another one like it. My ultimate idol was standing right in front of me. Most girls would give a kidney to be in my position right now, and I couldn’t let them down.
• Shame of this nature was totally worth it. This was the kind of story you told your children and your grandchildren. It was the type of story that was passed down from generation to generation.
• I wasn’t going to pass out-no way. Although I was slightly intoxicated-well, that’s down-playing it. I was going to see this out. I was going to savor every delicious moment of my impending humiliation.
• Believe me, one look into those chocolate brown eyes, that gorgeous face, his tantalizing scent, and the rest was history.
• So in typical fan-girl style, I let out a hysterical scream, jumped on him…and clung onto him for dear life, refusing to let go. And I might have kissed him...Okay, I did. And I might have told him that I loved him at least a hundred times. Every female had fantasized about doing that, so I had to take one for the team, right? Though he wasn’t willing and way beyond shocked, did I care? No.
• Well, not at that moment anyway.
• A gasp of surprise echoed all around, and someone finally remembered that this wasn’t normal behavior.
• “Oaklynn!!” Hailey cried out. “What are you doing??! Get off him!!!”
• Kyle Kinley peeled me off him with some difficulty, and Hailey grabbed me and immediately shoved me back into the taxi.
• “Step on it, driver!” she commanded,d and the cab skidded forward at high speed.
• I was spared the lecture I knew was coming because as soon as I settled in the backseat, I passed out.
• The next morning, I woke up in my bed, although I had no recollection of how I got there.
• I was never drinking again. Like never, ever, ever, never.
• A very ticked-off Hailey was standing by my bedside, and then it all came rushing back.
• “What do you have to say for yourself, Oaklynn Turner?” She compressed her lips and glowered at me. “Your behavior last night was nothing short of appalling!”
• I shifted in the bed and covered my face with my comforter. “Sorry, Mother…”
• Hailey started giggling and hopped on the bed. “You’re crazy, do you know that?”
• I sat up and groaned. “On a scale of one to ten-how bad was it?”
• “Twenty, babe. It was a twenty if you factor in that Mason, Jordan, Shawn Mendes, and Nick Jonas witnessed your act of shame.”
• “Oh no…” I moaned and massaged my temples. “Do you think he will ever forgive me? Do you-” Then it hit home. “Oh gosh! His wife was there??! What was I thinking??!” I dug my fingers into my hair in mortification.
• “I’m sure his wife is used to groupies mauling her husband on sidewalks,” Hailey cracked up. “Fortunately, she didn’t witness it, but her friends did, and I’m sure they’ve told her by now.”
• “Gosh, I’m never touching alcohol again-even if it’s for medicinal purposes,” I closed my eyes, ashamed. “I’m never stepping out of the apartment again.”
• Just then, the buzzer went off, and I froze. “If it’s for me, I’m not home. I’ve moved out.”
• Hailey laughed as she went to answer it. “You need to face the music, hun. Do the crime, do the time.”
• It was a little before noon when I clambered out of bed and tried to look decent. Odds are the visitor was for me-call it a gut feeling.
• “Lynn?” I heard Hails call out when I was brushing my teeth. “It’s Zorii. She says she’s-”
• “Kylo’s sister,” I finished off as I yanked the door open. “Let her in, I’ll be there in a minute.”
• When I was looking human again, I shuffled into the living room and found my ex-sister-in-law (almost) sitting on the lovely couch her brother had bought for me. Ironic, isn’t it?
• She stood when she saw me, and I waved her back down. “Sit, please.”
• “Hi Oaklynn. I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced-”
• “Think nothing of it. What can I do for you, Zorii?” I perched at the edge of the sofa and remembered my manners. “I’m sorry for being a bad hostess. Can I get you anything?”
• “No. Thanks, though,” she said.“I’m just here to ask you if...” she hesitated and nervously fiddled with the tassel on the scatter cushion.
• “Go on,” I urged gently.
• “You don’t even know me-I have no right to be here, let alone ask you anything.”
• “That may be true, but I feel like I know you. Ren spoke about you all the time. I think meeting you was just a formality,” I smiled.
• “You still call him, Ren?”
• “Yeah..it kinda stuck,” I shrugged.
• “I think it’s kinda sweet-the way you two met, I mean,” she returned my smile. “What a meet-cute!!”
• “Is that why you’re here-”
• “No,” her brows snapped together. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but... my mom is in the hospital.”
• “Yes, I heard. I’m sorry,” I replied. “How is she?”
• “She’s fighting... she’s fighting really hard.”
• “That’s good, right?”
• “Yeah.. but she uh..she told Kylo that she’d like to see you.”
• “Oh.” This was news to me.
• “I was actually surprised that he hadn’t brought you sooner…unless..” She looked at me tentatively. “Are you guys having problems?”
• “You can say that…” I didn’t know how to answer that, so I followed her lead. It was obvious that he hadn’t told them about our breakup.
• “But you’re working it out, right? I mean, he did propose, right?”
• “What?” I frowned. “No..”
• “Why?” she frowned. “But on the news, they said he did-although the ring isn’t the one we had initially chosen-”
• I raised a hand and stopped her. “Wait! You’re way ahead of me here.”
• “I think I’d better go. I’ve said too much,” she rose abruptly and grabbed her bag.
• “No Zorii-wait,” I pulled her back gently. “Please tell me why you came in the first place?”
• She sighed and met my gaze. “I wanted to ask you if you could come with me to see my mom. She really wants to see you, but it’s okay. You don’t have to.”
• “What if I want to?”
• “She would really like that.”
• “Then give me ten minutes to get ready? Is that okay?”
• She nodded and sank back onto the seat. “Yes. Thank you.”
• I couldn’t help but wonder why Kylo’s mom wanted to see me, but I was going to find out.