by B. B. Reid
“Why isn’t your phone locked with a security code?”
“Oh, I…don't have much activity through my phone,” I stated sheepishly. I only had Willow and Aunt Carissa as constants in my life… there was no one else and he knew that.
He stared at me for a moment before looking back at my phone. He was taking his time so I got the impression that he was searching through it. What was he looking for? I heard a vibration after a few minutes then he pulled out his phone and silenced it.
“Why do you still have Peter Simpson’s contact information? Any contact or relationship,” he sneered, “you have with him ends today. Make this the last time I tell you.”
“I haven’t even spoken with him in a year since you–.” I stopped when I realized he was ignoring me and remained silent while he finished invading the privacy of my phone. There were a few other numbers in my phone from guys that I saved out of politeness but never used. It wasn't until after Keiran went away that any guy would show me any attention and even then only in complete secrecy.
Once word got around that Keiran was coming back, the offers stopped. I even had a few guys ask me to delete their number those last few days of school. I didn't understand why, but now I had the feeling it was because they were afraid of Keiran. But why would Keiran care about guys asking me out? He wouldn't care enough to do something that premeditated.
“What’s your first class?” he asked, handing my phone back.
“English IV with Mrs. Connors.”
“Let’s go. We’re late. He walked in the direction of the senior hallway.
“No shit, Sherlock,” I mumbled. He turned his head slightly as if he heard but turned back without saying a word. I breathed in relief that I escaped that slip-up unscathed.
I reached the classroom twenty minutes late much to the displeasure of the teacher. She shot me an annoyed look before motioning to take a seat. The other students seemed to be focused on me a little too hard and I wondered what had their attention.
I shrugged it off and sat down in the first empty seat at a table next to a guy who I think name was Josh. That’s when I realized Keiran was right behind me. I never considered that we might have the same class considering he missed his senior year.
So that was what had the other kids’ attention. Keiran and I had apparently entered the classroom together. I nervously looked around and could see a few of them speed texting while others continued to stare and I knew by the end of the period the whole school would know about what should have been an insignificant and ordinary piece of information not gossip. Only day one and there was already a rumor spread about me.
Great.
I was taking out my notebook when I felt Keiran’s hand grab the back of neck and lift me, none too discreetly or gentle, from the seat. He then grabbed my backpack and marched me to the back of the classroom where two empty seats were. The teacher, of course, was oblivious to his manhandling because her back was turned to the board.
The medium-sized tables were two-seaters and seemed intimate now that I knew it would be ours. I never imagined us ever sharing anything.
“Unless Mr. Masters and Ms. Monroe are teaching the class please face the front and do try to pay attention,” Mrs. Connors huffed out when she turned to find that the other students attention were fixed on us rather than her lesson.
The entire class was sneaking peaks at us until Keiran leaned forward from his sprawled position to rest his forearms on the table to shoot them all warning glares and suddenly they were all scrambling to turn around. It was the one time I was grateful for his power within the school. I didn't want the attention, especially when it involved Keiran. I felt my phone vibrate and read the text from Willow.
Tell me the rumors aren’t true! What is going on??? U n Keiran?!
Willow’s social status was not much better than mine, although she didn't have an enemy like Keiran, but if news already reached her than that means the entire school already knew. I looked up at the clock – five minutes.
That’s got to be a record.
I started to type out my response when Keiran deftly plucked my phone out of my hand, checking the message before pocketing it. I gaped at him. He just took my phone!
“Ms. Monroe, please pay attention. If you cannot I will have you removed from the class,” the teacher announced. I heard snickers around the class mainly from a few of the popular girls sitting together in front of us.
My embarrassment doubled when Keiran shot the teacher a look that had the color draining from her face. She fumbled over herself and then resumed teaching the class. Whoa, the teachers are afraid of him too? That didn’t give me much hope for enlisting help. I wonder who else is afraid of him?
The rest of class passed without much excitement and I was surprised to find that Keiran was actually studious. He took notes although he didn't engage in any of the discussion. I didn't either, but then again I never really did. I had conditioned myself to stay hidden at all times even when he wasn’t around. It was a messed up way to live but he left me no choice.
* * *
By the end of English I was eager for my next period, which was physical education. I was pretty sure I wouldn't have class with Keiran because athletes weren’t required to take physical health as long as they were active on a team. The schools made physical education a yearly requirement at all levels as a way to promote health awareness.
He stopped me before I could walk off for my next class and said, “Let me see your schedule.” I handed him the card and he scanned it before handing it back to me. He then grabbed my chin and raised my face to his to stare down into my eyes. “You tell no one about this, not even your friend.” I looked away from him defiantly, but he only gripped my face tighter. “Don't test me on this Monroe, you won’t like the consequences.”
I nodded then asked, “Can I have my phone back?”
He looked as if he wanted to refuse, but then he dug my phone out of his pocket and handed it over. He followed me all the way to the gym where I had Volleyball. I was looking forward to it for two reasons. Willow and I enjoyed the game so we decided to take it together and Keiran wouldn’t be there. The only downside was there were only females in this class and every one of them was in love in Keiran. I headed into the locker rooms to get changed. As I was storing my phone in an empty locker, I noticed I had a message.
Behave.
I frowned at the cryptic message until I read the name or rather the initial "K". He must have gotten my number when he was digging through my phone earlier. I wondered for a moment what I should say before I decided not to respond and tossed my phone into the locker. I changed into my gym uniform while cursing my current predicament and myself.
"Alright you, cough up the good stuff and no funny business, capiche?" I couldn’t help but laugh at the bad impersonation of a mobster and turned to face my best friend...who was actually holding a toy gun.
Her antics never stop.
"Hey, who’s holding the gun here? No laughing." I stifled my laugh and waited for her to continue.
"Now a little birdie tells me that you and the dark lord showed up to class this morning and were making cute and cuddly in the back of the class. Tell me my Intel made a mistake. I don't want to have to off any tops, if you know what I mean, but I have to protect my interests. You are one of my best, Don Lake."
To someone who didn't know Willow would think she was just clowning around, but I heard the message loud and clear. She is scared for me and wants me to remember that I'm her best friend and she is here for me if I need help.
I wanted to confide in her but I knew Keiran’s threat wasn't exclusive to my aunt...he would use anyone I loved to get to me. I couldn't let that happen so I only hugged her to me. Willow and I were like sisters where it counted and could feel each other's pain. I let a tear fall as we embraced.
"Lake you can't keep secrets from me, you have to be honest! Tell me what's going on with you," she sobbed and broke down in frustration
.
"You first...”
Chapter Four
I finished the game with an over aggressive spike that had some of the other girls raising an eyebrow but ‘so what?’ We won the match. Most of my anger was coming from the fact that Willow wasn't speaking to me. She even chose an opposing team, which was huge for us. We did everything together and now it felt as if there was a wedge driven between us. I couldn't lose my only friend but I also couldn’t believe she was hiding something, but wanted me to bare my demons. I shook my head in frustration. What the hell happened with her this summer?
I now had confirmation that something was wrong. She closed up after I hinted that she was keeping secrets. Willow was an open book—a free spirit. She knew who she was and wasn't afraid to show the world; unlike me, I hid. After showering, I rushed to catch up with Willow who had finished before me and left without saying a word. We had lunch period together this year, but I didn't know if she would show up since we normally avoided that area.
When I rounded a corner, my mouth took a nosedive and I blinked just to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Willow’s lips were freaking attached to a tall, muscular guy. He had a strong arm wrapped around her waist while a large hand palmed the back of her head as he devoured her lips like a starved man. They were oblivious to my presence and continued to feast on each other, so I stepped back around the corner to give them privacy. When I heard a low masculine groan I peeked around to watch them again. His hand was lowering to grab onto her ass and lift her into his groin. She moaned which seemed to make him hungrier.
Willow had the body of a siren that could bring men to their knees – all voluptuous and womanly, but she always griped that she needed to lose weight. If she saw the lustful stares she often got, especially when she wore her unusual getups, she wouldn’t feel that way. She was a knockout.
“Wait,” Willow softly protested. He only pulled her tighter, unwilling to let her go. She looked so small in his arms. “No!” She tore her mouth away, gasping for breath. “I told you I can’t do this anymore. It was a mistake.” When she pulled away my mouth dropped along with my heart that was now sitting in the pit of my stomach. I pulled my head back around the corner to regain myself and prevent a mental meltdown. It couldn’t be him. She wouldn’t…
“A mistake?” he asked, sounding amused. “What was? When I fucked you or when you fucked me back?”
“Don't, please,” she pleaded, causing me to peek back around the corner.
“Why not? What we shared was real, our whole summer was real.”
“I won’t be your plaything. That's all you want.”
He growled in frustration and took a menacing step forward crowding her against the lockers. “How the fuck would you know what I want? You don't even know me.”
“You’re right.I don't know you,” she spoke firmly. “And I don't trust you.”
“I don't care,” he barked. “I get what I want.” He left the warning hanging as he stalked away.
What a douche.
I wanted to comfort a sobbing Willow even though I felt sick and was angry with her. I couldn’t tell her who to date but then I never thought it would be with the enemy. Regardless, I knew I had to be there for her. We could talk about what I saw later. I stepped forward, ready to console my friend, but was suddenly hauled back by an arm that felt like steel wrapped around my waist. My back impacted the hard chest and I was held arrested, my body molding to the muscular body holding me hostage.
“What are you doing?” Keiran’s harsh voice spoke into my neck. I didn’t see or hear him approach so I assumed he must have come up from the other hallway.
“I was just–” I stopped when I felt his other arm wrap around me. His face was still buried in my neck as he brought me close like a lover would. Despite my shock at how natural it felt to be in his arms, I closed my eyes, relishing the moment and forgetting who we are and what this was.
This wasn't reality; it was a fantasy. It felt too good to be real. All it took was one wrong move and this fantasy would quickly turn into my worst nightmare. His lips brushed my neck and his thumb swept under my shirt to caress my stomach, making butterflies erupt.
“If you try anything, you will be sorry,” he whispered. The malice is his voice was like a bucket of ice water thrown in my face and suddenly the feeling of his hands and lips on me felt like the kiss of death.
“Let me go,” I demanded. I was angry, but I wasn’t sure exactly what I was angrier about. He shoved me away and when I almost fell, I glared at him but his back was already turned as he walked away as quietly as he’d come. I followed behind at a slower pace so that I could recover from the last five minutes. Fucking hell.
* * *
The cafeteria was alive with upperclassmen milling around in various cliques. I usually avoided the cafeteria, choosing to spend lunch in the library or anywhere Keiran wouldn’t be. It was usually his routine to torture me at either the very start or end of the day and ignore me during the middle. Still, I thought it was safe to be invisible during that time just in case he ever felt extra sadistic.
I chased around answers for why Willow wouldn’t tell me about this summer as I looked around for her. When I didn’t immediately see her, I knew it meant I would have to risk going further. With Keiran out for my head I was more on edge than ever. All morning I’d been wondering if he was actually serious about taking my virginity for revenge. At least…that’s what I think he was saying.
The idea that Keiran desired me sexually when he hated me so fiercely was impossible to believe. He has to be using sex as a way to humiliate me. It wasn’t about desire. It couldn’t be.
I circled the entire cafeteria looking for Willow when I realized whose table I was unknowingly approaching and before I could avoid it our eyes connected and I suddenly got the feeling that he had been watching me the entire time. I quickly turned around to head back in the opposite direction.
“Stop.”
I froze on the spot. The sound of that command took me back ten years to the playground where I first laid eyes on him. I slowly turned back around to face him and his table of mindless followers.
“Have a seat.” He ordered and pushed out the chair in front of him with his long leg.
“You seriously don’t mean here do you? But we hate her.” The catty girl currently sitting on Keiran’s lap and staring daggers at me was Anya Risdell: head cheerleader, and all-around bitch. I’m sorry was that mean?
“Yes, I mean here. If you have a problem with that you can go sit at another table,” he replied, coldly without taking his eyes off me.
I was still standing a few steps away, thinking of a way to get out of entering further into the lion’s den. When his eyes flickered from me to the chair and back, I reluctantly sat down in the designated chair, letting my displeasure show. He looked only a second away from causing a scene and I remembered all too well the last time he caused a scene in the cafeteria. Don’t go there.
I felt numerous eyes staring between us curiously. Keenan was sitting at the table along with their other friend Quentin, who they called Q. He was a lot like Keiran: silent and brooding. He never really had much to say and sort of moved in silence. No one has ever seen him with a girl on his arm either and so there was a quiet rumor around school that he might be gay. People are idiots.
A couple of other guys and girls were sitting at the table as well but they were all jocks and cheerleaders. Give me a break. Sheldon Chambers, Keenan’s girlfriend was at the table as well. She seemed to be the only person not giving me hostile looks. Instead she was looking at me curiously from her seat next to Keenan.
“Who were you looking for?” Keiran asked breaking me out of my inner musings.
“No one.”
He became eerily silent as he watched me from lowered lids; his face looked like it was carved out of stone as he clenched his jaw muscles. “Is that a lie?”
“No,” I lied again. I didn’t owe him an explanation on anything I di
d.
“We’ll see,” he replied smoothly, but I heard the threat in his words and saw the promise in his eyes. I knew I made a big mistake by lying, but it was too late to do anything about that now. My mind was occupied with Willow and what I heard just minutes ago.
Sometimes I wondered if Keiran’s empty threats were just that– empty. But the look in his eyes would always warn me that they weren’t. So what held him back? I’ve been enduring his tricks and torments for ten years. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle with only a year left and my freedom right around the corner. I was going to make it.
“So, Lake. How do you like the fact that Keiran is back? I’m sure he has a lot of catching up to do with you. I cannot wait,” Anya cackled and her robotic friends laughed with her.
“I don’t think he’ll have much time to do anything if he’s too busy using you. I heard it was his favorite hobby.” There were a few muffled laughs and snickers around the table from the guys, and Anya turned a deep shade of red.
Normally, I would just ignore Anya but the frustration from dealing with Willow and Keiran this morning, had me a bit touchy. I decided to ignore her anyway and discreetly texted Willow for the third time. I had to think of a way to get out of here and away from the firing squad.
When I returned my attention back to the people at the table, I noticed Anya was still glaring at me. I met her start and lifted an eyebrow in mock challenge. Her lip curled as she leaned forward and spoke words that I definitely wished I could have slapped right back down her throat. “Didn’t you and Jesse Fitzgerald have a thing last year? I mean, you two were pretty cozy for a while, but who could blame you. He was a major hottie. So what happened to that? You finally get a boyfriend and couldn’t keep him?”
The table grew deathly still as silence descended after Anya’s question. A few guys shifted in their seats and looked at Keiran nervously which was weird because I was the one he was looking at like he wanted to kill. I avoided his gaze and looked down at the empty space on the table.