I flush the toilet, wrap myself in a bath sheet and make my way across the hall to my room. I crash onto the bed and cradle myself, rocking backwards and forwards. I feel like I’m drowning except I know I’m breathing. I’m stuck somewhere I can’t get out of, my mind in a completely dark place and I feel so alone. I don’t dare sleep. I worry about the night terrors and don’t want Cole to worry or question me if they happen again. I decide to listen to the iPod, hoping to lose myself in some lyrics.
Cole
After a brief chat with Mom and about 10 cookies later, I lay on my bed with thoughts in my head of Kennedy. Mom wanted to know why I was in such a mood tonight. I hate having to lie to her but I know she wouldn’t understand, so I blamed my whole shitty mood on Caitlin. I can’t believe the way she makes me feel, and pleasing her was as satisfying for me as it was for her. I’m a little worried about not being able to go and check on her. As I fall into sleep, the flashing image of hitting Dennis jolts me awake. My skin is soaked in sweat and I’m breathing heavy; my mind races, wondering what has happened to him.
I want to kick myself for reacting the way I did. The scumbag deserved it after what he did to Kennedy, but my conscience keeps coming back to taunt me, and I know I should have stopped to help him. What if I killed him? How could I live with myself? I feel like a sitting duck until I hear something, anything from anyone.
I finally fall asleep at am and I know I will feel awful tomorrow.
The sun streams in through my window and I wince. My eyes feel heavy from the restless night I had. My hand feels like it’s broken from the fight. In fact, when I move, my whole body aches. I don’t want to go to school today, but I know I have to face the music. And to be honest, the only thing that’s making me get out of this bed is the thought of seeing my Kennedy. I just hope she wants to be mine as much as I want her to be.
I jog down the stairs and find her sitting at the table with my mom. Her is hair is loose and she is wearing a white top. She looks like an angel; I can’t help but smile at the sight of her. She just has that effect on me.
I make my way towards the table and rest my hand on Kennedy’s shoulder.
“You ready to go Ken?”
She looks up at me through her long thick eyelashes and I swear I see a hint of a blush on her cheeks as our eyes meet. She just nods her head and stands up to follow me out of the house. I holler a goodbye over my shoulder and shut the front door. As soon as the door is closed I make a grab for her hand. I just need to touch her, to feel her skin on mine. This girl has me totally hooked, especially after last night.
She doesn’t pull away, just links her fingers with mine as we walk towards the car. I don’t want to let her hand go as I help her in to the car but I know I have to.
I jump in beside her, put the car in gear and set off in the direction of school. As the early sun beams through the window, it highlights her beautiful soft features; I am in awe of her beauty. “How do ya feel Ken? You know, after last night?” I can feel the heat in my face as I turn to her. With a dreamy expression, Kennedy leans in and plants a kiss on my cheek.
“I’m good,” she replies, giving me a meaningful smile. I pull her hand to my mouth and delicately kiss the back of it. I look up, studying her face. I notice the dark circles around her eyes, she looks exhausted.
“Are you sure baby? You look awfully tired.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” she answers, her head dropping as she turns away from me.
“Is it the night terrors?” I ask.
She turns to look at me, her eyes acknowledging what I already know. I see the sadness across her face and my heart sinks.
“Did you tell your Mom about your fight with Dennis yesterday?” she asks; quickly trying to change the subject.
“No way, she would only freak out; she doesn’t need to know about it. Why d’ya ask?”
“I just think she’ll find out eventually Cole, you know honesty is the best policy. I was also, uh, wondering… what’s the deal with you and Caitlin?” I could tell she felt awkward and found it difficult to ask about Cait. But I didn’t even need to hesitate before answering her.
“It’s over between us; to be honest it has been for a long time. Our relationship was one of convenience for so long, I didn’t know any different. Until you came along. The minute I laid eyes on you I didn’t even give her a second thought. What she doesn’t realize is she gave me the perfect excuse to call things off with the whole cheating thing. Dennis and Caitlin are welcome to each other!”
“And us Cole,” she points between us with her index finger, “what are we exactly? I feel so confused right now.”
“Right now, we are seeing where things go. No pressure, no expectations. I want to get to know you, everything about you; the good, the bad and everything in between. And hopefully we can have a little fun along the way.” I nudge her with my arm and she smiles coyly, leaning into me, placing her head there. We remain this way until we arrive at school. I jump out after I park, running around to help Ken out of her side. I close the car door and back her up until she is resting herself against the car. Using my body to pin her in place, I lean down to tenderly kiss her. I feel the sparks fly as we make contact, and my body aches to touch her. I pull back, trying to refrain. And to hide my obvious arousal. She gently runs her finger across her lips, all the while looking me deep in the eye.
“Wow Cole, I think you just took my breath away,” she whispers softly. She is wide eyed and visibly panting. Hearing footsteps approaching, I turn and see the scornful scowl that is Caitlin’s face.
“Well well. Didn’t take you long did it? You jerk; it wouldn’t surprise me if you two had been screwing around the whole time.” Kennedy’s body language changes, standing upright.
“Cole’s nothing like you Caitlin, don’t judge everyone by your poor standards,” she retorts defensively.
“No one asked you, whore bag, so just back off. I was talking to Cole not you; if I was talking to you, you would know about it.”
I butt in.
“You just can’t help coming over here trying to cause trouble can you Caitlin?” With a sudden change in her tone she sidles’ up to me, reaching for my hair. I immediately pull back but she keeps going.
“Cole baby, I’ve tried calling you like a bazillion times but you haven’t answered. I just want to talk, a chance to explain. I think after all the time we’ve been together you owe me that at least.”
I huff in utter shock. “I owe you nothing; you’re the one who’s been fucking around for god knows how long. We are through Caitlin. I have nothing more to say to you.” I grab Ken’s hand and start to walk off, pulling her along with me.
“Well where the fuck is Dennis then Cole, hmm? No one has seen him since the fight between you two. It’s like he disappeared off the face of the earth,” her screeching gets louder as I walk away.
“I couldn’t care less,” I shout the lie over my shoulder at Caitlin, who just stands there. I actually care a lot, the images flash violently through my mind and I clamp my eyes shut trying to push out the memories. I need to know more than anyone where he is.
Fuck.
Kennedy
He’s holding my hand. OMG he’s really holding my hand as we walk through school. It feels good but awkward at the same time. I know everyone will stare and wonder why Cole is with someone like me, the freak from a messed up background.
“Shall we get coffee before school starts?” Cole asks, leading me in the general direction of the cafeteria.
“Sounds good to me, Ash and Abbey are usually getting their fill of caffeine right about this time too.” As we reach the hall I see my friends sat at the table.
“Go take a seat with your friends and I’ll grab us the coffee ok baby?”
“Thanks Cole.” I look over to my friends and I can see them both gaping at me in shock, their mouths hung slightly open. Great, here come the questions.
Ash sits with his arms folded. “WHAT THE
FRIGGING HELL KEN!” he practically screams in my face.
“Could you be any louder? Just calm down will you?” I smile. “You are so embarrassing!”
“You are kidding! You come sauntering in to the cafeteria with mister ‘tie me up tie me down’ attached to your hip and you expect me to calm down? I want details and I want them now!”
“Come on Kennedy, it’s only fair. Nothing like this ever happens to us. We aren’t exactly in the popular crowd,” squeals Abbey, who seems equally as excited as Ash.
“Guys please, just act cool will you? He’s coming back over. I promise to fill you in later.”
They both slink down into their seats and cross their arms, pretending to be in a huff, but I can see the amusement in their eyes as they watch Cole saunter over to us.
My god, he really was a dream guy. Everything about him from his physique to his scruffy hair to the way he finds ways to constantly kiss some part of me. He reaches the table and sets the coffee down, softly kissing my temple as he drops down onto the bench beside me. He looks at my friends and offers them his big, bright, award winning smile and I see the both of them melt a little.
“Hey guys! How you doing? I’m glad to see you both. I wanted to apologize for what happened the last time we spoke; I was a real jerk, especially to you Abbey. I hope you can both forgive me?”
I see instantly that they will forgive him, there is something about Cole and it’s not easy to stay mad at him.
“Yeah it’s fine Cole, let’s just forget it and move on shall we?” Ash says. Just as Abbey is about to speak, we hear someone shout from across the room. We all whip our heads towards the door and see Jake jogging over to us.
“Cole, I have been looking for you everywhere,” he breathes heavily. “Hey guys, Hi Abbey.” He winks towards Abbey and her face goes the color of a beetroot. I will definitely have to ask her about that one.
“What’s up man?” Cole asked
“I just wanted to pre-warn you about Dennis.” I see Cole glare at him bitterly.
“I’m not the least bit interested in knowing anything about that son of a bitch.” I can see the muscles in Cole’s neck twitch; it is obvious he’s uncomfortable right now.
“No man it’s bad, I know a lot of shit has gone on between you two but this is serious.” Jake just stands there, glaring at him. After a long pause, eventually Cole responds.
“Why, what’s going on?” I can sense the tension in Cole’s voice since Dennis’ name was mentioned.
“He’s in the hospital man, in a freaking coma. No one knows what’s happened to him. In fact, the last time anyone saw him was when you were beating the shit out of him. No one remembers seeing him after that.” There was an audible gasp from everyone who had stopped to listen to Jake.
“Thanks for the heads up man, but I don’t know what’s happened to him either.” Cole’s voice sounded strained. I looked at him and he just slowly shook his head at me. It was so small that I doubt anyone would notice and I know he was telling me ‘not now’.
Cole
So I hadn’t killed the son of a bitch, I suppose that was something. It’s all everyone has talked about today, and Kennedy was eyeing me suspiciously when I said I didn’t know what had happened. My head has been all over the place with thoughts of what happened with Dennis; the images replay over in my mind and guilt floods me. I just hope the fucker didn’t see me or its game over.
As I sit in Trig class, I hear my stomach growling. I can’t wait to see Ken at lunch. We’re meeting in the cafeteria, grabbing some food, and then heading out to the lawn to have our own little picnic. I’m excited to spend time with her. I feel an unexpected elbow nudge my arm.
“Hey man, you know Kennedy’s friend, Abbey yeah?”
“Yeah I know who you mean, Jake.” I stifle a chuckle
“You reckon she’s hot man, I mean in a weird kinda way? We all know she can talk and never shuts up, but I could think of a few ways to keep her quiet, if you know what I mean? What do ya think?” Jake winks at me. His suggestive talk making me chuckle.
“Whatever floats your boat Jake, she seems to kind of dig you; god knows why though man.” I continue to chuckle as the bell rings. I jump up, stuffing papers into my bag.
“Where are you rushing off to man? Hey, wait for me. I might see if I can get to know this Abbey a bit better.” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down. I let out a sigh and turn to wait for Jake to catch up. “I also told Pete we’d meet him in the hall for lunch.”
“Well I have plans with Kennedy, you guys can cope without me holding your hand this once, I’m sure!” I continue to make my way to the cafeteria, Jake in tow. This guy is relentless!
“Excuse me, you know the saying Cole, bros before hoes, don’t be forgetting the rules dude!”
“Hey man, Kennedy certainly ain’t a hoe, so watch your mouth,” I say with just a hint of seriousness. I know Jake means nothing by his comment, but I hate the thought of anyone bad mouthing Ken.
Jake winks at me, lowers his voice and leans in, “Is the girl not putting out Coley Boy?” Jake throws his arm round my neck and forces my head down as he proceeds to run his knuckles roughly against my scalp. This guy is such a punk.
“Get off me, you fucker, a gentlemen never tells, you know the deal!”
Jake releases his grip, giving me a slap to the back and a cheeky grin.
“I would also suggest being very nice to Kennedy if you plan on tapping up her little red haired, fire cracker friend!”
I could see the cogs turning as Jake considered my last comment. As we finally arrive at the cafeteria, I catch a glimpse of Kennedy with Ash and Abbey. There are also two guys standing with her and it all looks very cozy. I stride over to the group. The two guys are leaning against the edge of the table casually. As I get closer I recognize them as Taylor and Brad; they are part of the surf crew, with their long blonde hair and ripped abs. I tell myself to act cool and not overreact.
“Hey Ken, hey guys.” I casually put my arm around Kennedy, hopefully a warning sign for these two dudes to back off.
“Yo dude! How’s it goin’ man,” he drawls at me, holding his hand up for a high five. “I didn’t know you and Kennedy had a thing going on,” he says and lifts his hands up in surrender. “I thought you were still with that Caitlin chick.”
“Hey, its early days yet, we’re not exactly a couple but we are enjoying getting to know one another, right Ken?”
“Well man, you are one lucky guy. Look after this one, she’s a keeper.” He sends a wink towards Kennedy and she looks down at her feet. Concealing her face and fiddling with her fingers, I get the feeling she doesn’t like attention.
“Yeah and don’t I know it! Look we’re going to run and grab some lunch. Nice catching up with you guys.”
“Hey no problems man, nice to meet you Ken, bye guys.” With a loose wave they stroll away from us and join another table across the hall.
I feel someone nudge me in the ribs and turn to see Kennedy looking up at me with her bright eyes.
“So what’s going on with Jake and Ab’s? They seem to be getting along well.”
I turn to see Ab’s, Jake and Ash laughing and joking with each other. Jake looks up and I smirk at him. I shrug my shoulders indicating to Ken that I hadn’t the faintest idea.
“Shall we grab some food and head out baby?”
“Sounds good to me,” she offers with the sweetest smile.
The six of us grab a sandwich and make our way out to the courtyard. The sun is shining brightly and it is a beautiful day, too nice to be inside. We get comfy sitting under a large oak tree, finding a little shade from the sun. Abbey is clearly flirting with Jake as he sits there lapping it up, while Pete and Ash seem to be discussing something that sounds far too complicated for Pete to ever understand. Let’s just say he’s more Jock than academic, excellent at football and good at nothing else.
I glance over to the beauty beside me. Her face looks radiant as the sun shines
down on her. I’m leaning back on my elbows just admiring and taking her in. She flips onto her stomach getting closer to me. “This is nice,” she states simply.
“I would definitely agree with that baby. Looks like our friends are getting along well too,” nodding towards our group sprawled out on the grass around us.
I touch her hand tenderly, stroking the back of it gently with my thumb. Ken smiles at me approvingly.
“Today has been my best day at school so far, I like spending time with you. I love that we can do nothing, but it means everything!” she smiles with a twinkle in her eye. Ken leans in and kisses the corner of my lips and I shiver, in a good way. This girl seriously has an epic effect on me. I stare momentarily at her breasts before she lifts her finger to her face. “I’m here Cole, let’s try and focus, just here, Okay?”
I let out a puff of laughter.
“Thank you Cole, thank you for today,” she says quietly. I feel her breath on my face and I just want to wrap her up in my arms and kiss her all afternoon.
“Ooh save it for the bedroom you two,” Ash shouts over to us, clearly trying to embarrass the shit out of Kennedy. The whole gang starts to laugh as her face reddens and she hides in the crook of my neck. If that’s what she does when she is embarrassed, Ash can do it anytime he wants.
We notice the other students around us making their way back into school, a sure sign our lunch is nearly over. With audible groans, we grab our things and head back inside.
Ken runs forward to catch up with Abbey, clearly wanting all the information from her conversation with Jake. Jake drops back and slumps his arm on my shoulder, as he always does.
“I think I’m on to a winner here bro,” he says while smiling from ear to ear.
Kennedy
Beautiful Broken Girl (Broken Girl series Book 1) Page 10