Betrayal: Kyle's Revenge (The Betrayal Series) (22 page)

 It was already nighttime when Abby was released from the hospital. Abby spent that night at Brianna’s apartment. The next day, Brianna and Jeremy went to Abby’s apartment, gathered Abby’s things, including her beloved gold fish Joaquin, and brought them to Brianna’s apartment. Abby never returned to that apartment again.

Brianna also hired a nurse to take care of Abby while she was at work and gave her strict instructions not to let anyone in the apartment. She heard from the detective that Kyle had posted bail. She feared for Abby’s safety with Kyle roaming the streets. She wished she could protect Abby herself but couldn’t stay with her all day because of her work at the musical. After her boozing almost got her fired, Brianna was afraid she’d get canned if she missed more performances.

Abby spent the next few days resting and healing at Brianna’s apartment. She was going to spend the rest of the summer there but was still planning to move back to the NYU campus for the next fall semester. She had also talked to Jeremy and they both decided it’d be better if she stayed away from the bookstore until after Kyle’s fate had been decided.

Abby had also kept the whole ordeal with Kyle a secret from everyone. She didn’t even tell her parents or brothers who she spoke with regularly. To them, she and Kyle were still a happy couple that was about to get engaged. Abby did not want to worry them. She was planning to tell them everything in person and when she felt better. She didn’t tell Katie, her best friend back home, either. The only person who knew the whole thing was Jeremy, her boss at the bookstore.

Two weeks into her recovery, Abby received a call from Ryan, Kyle’s best friend. Ryan wanted to meet with her to talk about Kyle. Abby initially refused but eventually agreed to meet Ryan.  She invited him to Brianna’s apartment and hid both the phone conversation and the meeting from Brianna.

The day of the meeting, the nurse did not want to let Ryan in because Brianna had instructed her not to let anyone in the apartment when Abby was alone. Abby eventually convinced the sweet nurse to let Ryan in.

“Hey, Abby how you doing?” Ryan greeted Abby after the nurse let him inside the apartment. Abby just glared at him without saying anything. Ryan was more Kyle’s friend than he was hers. She didn’t trust him but was curious about what he had to say.

After the nurse left the room, Ryan took a seat next to Abby on the couch. “Listen, I’m so sorry about everything that happened to you. I have no idea what got into him. After the night he got back from Montana and crashed at my place, I hadn’t seen much of him. If I had known what he was doing, I would’ve done something to stop him.”

“What do you want Ryan?” Abby asked coldly.

“Kyle has been staying with me ever since he made bail. He is really sorry for what he did to you and Brianna. I’ve seen how sorry he is. He’s really broken up about it.”

Abby scoffed and shook her head. She had a hard time believing the monster that raped her and tried to kill Brianna could be broken up about anything.

“It’s true Abby. I’ve heard and seen him cry. He wants to meet with you and apologize.”

“I will never meet with him. You have no idea what he did to me, Ryan. You have no idea the hellish month I had to endure with him. I don’t care how broken up he is. I won’t meet with him or accept his lame apologies.”

“Please, Abby. He’s genuinely sorry. He’s also terrified of going to prison. I’m really afraid for him too. They are not kind to rapists in prison. I don’t think he’ll survive a single day behind bars.”

Abby’s heart began to soften up. She had not thought about what could happen to Kyle if he went to prison. Abby still had not told the police about the rape, but it sounded like Kyle expected her to report it at some point. Abby was still deciding whether or not to report it. But even without the rape charge, there was a good chance Kyle was going to do some time for assaulting her and Brianna.

Abby began to worry that Kyle wasn’t going to survive being locked up with a bunch of murderers. In spite of all the terrible things Kyle did to her, Abby felt sorry for him. She agreed to meet with Kyle, but only if they did it in a public place and with a lot of witnesses.

After setting a date and time for the meeting, Ryan said goodbye to Abby and went home to give Kyle the good news.

Later that day, Abby told Brianna about Ryan’s visit but did not tell her about the meeting she had set with Kyle. She knew that if she told Brianna about it Brianna would have vehemently opposed it. Abby had a plan and thought it’d be best if she didn’t share said plan with Brianna until after the meeting with Kyle.

The next morning, Kyle and Ryan sat across from each other at a café down the street from the bookstore where Abby worked. Their eyes flew to the door when Abby walked in. Jeremy was by her side. Ryan and Kyle shot to their feet as Abby and Jeremy approached their table. Jeremy scowled at Kyle, itching to punch him in the face.

Abby, sensing the meeting could turn into a fight before she had a chance to talk to Kyle, restrained Jeremy by stepping in front of him and blocking his path. She then assured him she was okay and asked him to wait for her at a nearby table.

Jeremy reluctantly agreed to leave her alone with Kyle, and after helping a still sore Abby sit down, walked two tables over and took a seat. Ryan joined him, and they both kept an eye on the tense, but civil, conversation Abby and Kyle were having.

Kyle sat back down and stared sheepishly at Abby. “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. How are you feeling?”

Abby did not answer him. Her expression was unreadable as she sat across from Kyle with her arms crossed over her chest. She studied the beaten down man sitting across from her and realized Ryan had not exaggerated. Kyle looked like he hadn’t slept much in days. He kept fidgeting with his hands and was having a hard time maintaining eye contact. The cruel, vindictive man who had put Abby through hell was nowhere to be found. Kyle was just the shell of the man he used to be. Abby felt sorry for him but was determined to not let him see it. If she was going to get him out of her life for good, she had to play her cards right.

“We’re both in violation of the restraining order I have against you, so you better make this quick,” Abby said.

“I’m so sorry Abby. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I don’t know what got into me. I wish I could take it all back.”

“Well, you can’t take it back, none of it. I did a terrible thing to you, but I’ve apologized many times. I didn’t deserve any of the things you did to me.”

“No, you didn’t. I know that now. I was so devastated when I found out what you did, I guess I just lost myself. I loved you so much. You were the best thing that had ever happened to me. I thought we were going to be together forever. I was about to propose to you. I was planning a life with you. And then it was all taken away from me in a second. I just didn’t know how to deal with that. I’m not making excuses for what I did. I’m just trying to explain why I acted the way I did.”

“So what? Am I supposed to just forgive you and pretend none of this ever happened?”

“No. I don’t expect you or Brianna to forgive me. I’ve done terrible things, and I’m probably going to prison for them. I deserve to be put away. I just needed to see you and tell you how sorry I am before they lock me up. I needed to apologize to you now in case I don’t make it out of prison alive.”

Abby took a deep breath. She saw genuine remorse in Kyle’s eyes-and fear.

“I’m not ready to forgive you. It’s going to be a while before I can forgive you for what you have done to me. But I don’t want you to go to prison either. I haven’t told the cops about the rape. I will not report it to them. I will also talk to Brianna and convince her to downplay the choking. A friend of mine who is a lawyer told me that if we don’t cooperate with the prosecutor, the charges against you will be downgraded. He said you will not do time and will only get probation because it is your first offense.”

Kyle’s jaw dropped. “You would do that for me? After what I’ve done to you?”

“Yes, but under two conditions.”

“Anything. I’ll do anything you want me to do.”

“First, I want you to leave me and Brianna alone. We love each other and are going to be together. You cannot contact us or harass us in anyway. You have to promise to stay away from us.”

Kyle nodded eagerly. “Okay. I will leave you two alone. You will not see or hear from me ever again. What’s the second thing?”

“I want you to promise you will not try to ruin Brianna’s career by leaking her arrest record.”

“I won’t. I swear on my mother’s life that I won’t. I’m done with this whole thing and just want to put it behind me. I’m even willing to apologize to Brianna face to face, but I doubt she’d ever want to be in a room with me again.”

“You’re right. She does not want or need your apology. She doesn’t even know I’m here talking to you. Just stay away from us and leave us alone. That’s all we need from you.”

Kyle nodded.

Abby felt Kyle was being sincere and was going to keep his promises. She felt like the old Kyle, the rational, caring one, was back, but she still didn’t want anything to do with him. “Okay then. I have to go now,” she announced. She went to stand up, and Kyle grabbed her hand to help her. This gesture prompted Jeremy to spring to his feet and rush to Abby’s side.

Kyle took his hands off Abby when he saw Jeremy charge towards him. Kyle assured Jeremy he was just helping Abby get up. He then turned his attention back his ex-girlfriend. “Thank you,” Kyle whispered to her.

Abby didn’t say anything. She just gazed at him with sadness over how things ended between them. “Let’s go, Jeremy,” she sighed, grabbing Jeremy’s arm and slowly walking out of the café.

Abby returned to Brianna’s apartment after that meeting with Kyle. When Brianna got home later that day, Abby told her about her encounter with her ex-boyfriend.

“You did what?” Brianna snapped. “You met with him? That was an incredibly risky and stupid thing to do Abby. That man’s a psycho. Have you forgotten what he did to you and to me?”

“He is really sorry about what he did.”

“And you believe him?”

“Yes, I do. I saw genuine remorse in his eyes.”

“What did he want? Why did he want to meet with you?”

“He just wanted to apologize for what he did. He is also really scared about going to prison.”

Brianna scoffed. “Well, he should be. Prisons are hell for pretty boys like him.”

“Which is why I told him we were going to help him stay out of prison.”

“Help him? How?”

“I won’t tell the D.A. about the rape, and if we downplay the assault at his apartment, my friend says the charges can be downgraded and he won’t have to do time at all.”

“And what makes you think I’d want to help that asshole in any way?”

“He’s your baby brother. I know deep down you don’t want him to get passed around in prison, or worse, get killed in there.”

Brianna let out a sharp breath. She didn’t want to admit it, but Abby was right. She was beginning to soften up, but then she remembered Kyle literally choking the life out of her a few weeks earlier and quickly snapped out of it. “I won’t do it. He needs to pay for what he did to us.”

“I made him promise he will stay away from us if we helped him. He also swore, on his mother’s life, that he won’t leak your arrest record to the press.”

“I told you I don’t care about that. He can leak whatever the hell he wants. I don’t give a damn.”

“Yes, you do. Your career means a lot to you. I saw it in your face when you were outside that theater signing autographs. You don’t want to lose it, and I don’t want you to lose it either.”

Brianna sighed, felling frustrated. “I just don’t want him to get away with what he did to us without any punishment.”

Abby cradled Brianna’s face and stared into her eyes. “He won’t. He’s already paying for what he did. He’s a broken man, Brianna. I could see it in his eyes how much he’s hurting. Yes, he’s done some terrible things, but he’s your little brother… and he saved your life seven years ago, remember? Do you want him to go to prison? Any time he spends behind bars, no matter how brief, could destroy his life. He’d have a hard time finishing school because he’d lose his financial aid. He would have a hard time securing a good job with a felony conviction, not to mention all the horrible things he’d be subjected to in prison.”

Brianna shook her head. “I don’t know Abby…”

 “Please. Let’s help him Brianna. I don’t believe in the eye for an eye thing. Destroying his life won’t bring me any type of satisfaction or closure. I don’t think it would bring you any either. So what do you say?”

Brianna shook her head. “I can’t believe you. I’ve never met anyone like you in my entire life. How can you be so kind and forgiving to someone who has hurt you so much?”

Abby shrugged. “I hurt him too, remember? We both did. We’re not without fault in all of this. Besides, life’s too short. I refuse to spend it feeling angry and bitter. I’m ready to move past all of this with you by my side.”

Brianna’s lips curled into a sweet smile. How could she deny anything to that gorgeous and maddeningly stubborn girl? “Okay. I will help him stay out of prison, but only because you’re asking me to. I’m not like you. I’m not ready to forgive him yet.”

“I haven’t forgiven him. I just don’t feel the need to see him suffer.”

****

Several weeks later, Kyle stood before a judge for sentencing. Thanks to Abby, the charges against him were reduced to a misdemeanor, and because he had no prior record, he was sentenced to probation and mandatory counseling. Neither Brianna nor Abby attended the proceedings. Kyle did not lose his internship nor his financial aid. He was able to finish his engineering degree at NYU while attending counseling sessions for domestic violence. He also began attending AA meetings.

Because they attended different campuses at NYU, Abby and Kyle only saw each other occasionally at social school events. Just like they had agreed, they stayed away from each other and cut ties with mutual friends. They crossed paths for the last time at graduation but kept their distance there too.