Chapter 12
After his conversation with his uncle in the hospital, Kylo arrives back at the cottage by the mountain before noon, long before Rey will arrive home. He hurriedly packs his shirts and belongings and flees, leaving nothing behind.
He drives his car faster and faster, trying to outrun his thoughts.
He doesn't notice the squirrel that crosses the road until too late. He is running over 70mph on a winding, downhill road when suddenly something dashes in front of his car. It is just a stupid squirrel who chooses that moment to cross the god damn road, just a squirrel but his fast reflexes still make him turn the steering wheel to the side and his car crashes to a tree.
Kylo will come out of this worse than ten years ago.
—oOo—
The next day, on the day of Luke's last surgery...when Kylo doesn't show himself at the hospital, Rey becomes more and more angry as it becomes more obvious with the ticking of her watch that Kylo isn't coming to wait with her outside the operating room. She tells herself her anger is in behalf of Luke.
Kylo should be there with her waiting for Luke to come out of the operation. But when she remembers what happened to Kylo's arm ten years ago and his admission that Luke never visited him in the hospital, she grits her teeth and decides that it's Kylo's unsubtle way of doing the same thing. And she hates him for it.
That night, Rey goes to bed early. She doesn't bother waiting for Kylo to arrive home. What's the point of asking where he went? What's the point of hurling recriminations? Luke's surgery went well, Kylo must have called the hospital and was informed that.
The next day, when she goes to work, not seeing his car in the garage has meant...the blonde woman has given him a ride home again last night. She definitely won't seek him out only to find that out. The snake can sleep with whoever he wants, wherever he wants.
For another three days, Rey has not seen nor heard Kylo. But she never suspected...
Rey has no idea Kylo already left. She only knows he doesn't want to see her and she doesn't want to see him.
Kylo has been gone for four days before she finds out when Luke asks her to drive him home from the hospital. The journey home is spent with Luke resting his eyes. That is fortunate for Rey who is still in disbelief that someone can just leave her like that. She probably can't carry a conversation with Luke without losing her temper over his nephew.
Is she a total nobody to Kylo? He mentioned he was leaving to his uncle but not to her. Not even a simple note propped on the dining table to spell his intentions. In the past four days, she has swept and cleaned the cottage, she was sure there were no notes left behind.
Her disquiet if noticed by Luke isn't remarked upon.
That night, only she and Luke celebrate the event of his hospital release with a saltless, tasteless dinner.
Rey hopes Kylo is choking on his own albeit delicious dinner, somewhere.
But most of all, she hopes he regrets not saying goodbye.
—oOo—
~2 10, 4 1 18A 18~
