Kyle's unearthed goldmine

Hall of shame

 “Beth, stop!” Kyle called out. 

“Say something Beth,” Lewis whispered.

Beth pulled back from Lewis and turned in the direction of Kyle. 

“Who are you?” she asked, giving Kyle a stern look. 

“What do you mean? It's me Kyle,” said Kyle, looking surprised. 

“Kyle? I see. Well I don't know you. All I know is that you're a poor boy who can't even feed himself. I heard that from a couple of girls around,” Beth said, laughing. Lewis’ approach gave her the confidence to lash out at Kyle with full firepower. She didn’t hold back one bit. “You can't even pay your bills without asking anyone for support.“ she added. 

Lewis’ words did not hurt Kyle much because he’s used to  being talked down to and made to feel like nobody but Beth’s words pierced through Kyle’s skin like arrows. 

He could not believe that a lady he has been dating  for 4 years could switch up on him just like that.

“Beth means the world to me. I won't go down without a fight,” Kyle thought to himself. 

Beth, we both know Lewis doesn’t love you and he’s trying to exploit you like he’s done with almost every top girl in this university. You don’t have to do this, Beth. It’s not too late to change your mind. I love you Beth and you know it,” Kyle said, trying to convince Beth who looked uninterested in what he had to say. 

“I wonder what’s going through Kyle’s mind right now,” a random voice from the crowd said.

“He still thinks he has a chance. His girlfriend is gone,” another added.

Whispers came in from all angles of the crowd but no one moved towards Lewis, Kyle and Beth who were alone in the middle of the crowd like artistes on a stage.

 “Fighting for love, eh? In what world are you deserving of a lady like Beth? She’s superior to you in every way and that’s why I’m here to relieve you of your duties before things get worse.

 If you don’t mind, I have a couple of friends looking for an experienced cleaner and since that’s your specialty, I can give you a recommendation. You’ll earn yourself a few bucks to at least change these worn-out shoes from the early 2000s,” Lewis said with irritation written all over his face.

The whole crowd burst into laughter. 

The “Kiss him!” “Kiss him!!” chants that echoed through the crowd earlier soon changed to “Poor boy!” “Poor boy!!” with various weird gestures directed at Kyle.

“This wasn’t the plan, Beth. This isn’t us. It won’t end well, trust me, it won’t,” Kyle shouted, his voice echoing through the crowd and forcing a deafening silence.

“Trust you? Really? I trusted you for 4 years. What did I get in return? Nothing! Nothing but vague, unfulfilled promises and dreams that will forever remain dreams. You are very well known on this campus for being a poor, directionless guy but my boyfriend here is well known for being a rich, handsome young man with a promising future ahead of him,” she said, pointing to Lewis and blowing him a kiss. “It’s over, Kyle. IT’S OVER! Also, there’s no ‘us’ between you and I anymore. There’s only Beth Aarons and Kyle Hughes,” she added.

Kyle was gradually losing it. He turned to leave but he was held back by some men.

“Please excuse me,” Kyle said, his voice lower than a whisper.

The men stood their ground and weren’t willing to let Kyle through. After multiple attempts, he looked away and turned to leave through another opening only to be kicked to the ground by one of the men. 

Kyle did not understand what was going on. He meant no harm so why would anyone kick him so hard? He tried to get up but was forced to sit on the floor.

 Apparently, the crowd was filled with people hired by Lewis to praise him or make a mess of anyone that crossed his path as the case may be.  The men that faced Kyle were the strongest of Lewis’ men and Lewis had sent them to teach Kyle a brute lesson.

Upon receiving the go-ahead from Lewis, the men took Kyle out of the crowd and gave him the beating of his life with clear instructions not to get anywhere near Beth ever again.

Shortly after, the clouds gathered and the bright sky gradually became dark. It was about to rain. Lewis signalled to one of his boys and a car pulled up in front of the cafeteria. The crowd gave Lewis and Beth a guard of honour as they walked into the car. It was a limited edition Aston Martin DB12 with blazing colours. It was one of many exotic cars owned by Lewis’ father which he has free access to.  Kyle looked on helplessly and with teary eyes. He watched everyone run to safety as the gentle wind became violent. One could tell that there was about to be a heavy downpour.

The beating from Lewis’ men left Kyle in a bad state.  He felt so heavy that he could barely move his hands and legs. Thanks to Lewis Harrison and Beth Aarons, he had just experienced the most embarrassing moment of his life.

The rain came down, straight and silvery, like a punishment of steel rods. It clattered onto the nearby buildings and onto the rooftops. The thunder made some sounds like grand pianos falling downstairs, then settled to a softer continuous rumble, which was almost drowned by the sound of the rain.  Kyle was in the middle of it all. He was well beaten and drenched by the rain. He just sat there, taking in the moment with hot tears rolling down his cheek.

The shame was too much to bear for Kyle. He could not imagine that his 4-year old relationship ended right before his very eyes. He loved and cared for Beth so much even if he didn't have enough money to buy her everything she wanted. 

After about a quarter of an hour, the rain stopped and Kyle got moving again. He got up as if energized by the heavy rain and his hands and legs became moveable again. Unsure where he was headed, he walked around aimlessly with his worn out shoes becoming even worse from the effects of the rain. 

Lewis and Beth have to pay for their actions somehow but till then, Kyle has to get some rest and recharge his body.