Loving Kinnick

A Good Friend Would Have Made Sure You Made It Inside Safely Before Leaving

After training with Kinnick yesterday, I didn't see him at school the next day. When I asked Miles, he shrugged it off. He must have felt guilty about ignoring me because he told me Kinnick went to the bar and got shitfaced. After dropping me off last night, he went out with a few guys from the bar.

It didn't take long for Luke to find out Kinnick wasn't here when he didn't show up to our second-period class. Now he's following me out of the classroom, asking me to talk to him about what happened over the weekend. He wouldn't stop pestering me, and I was about to freak out.

"I didn't mean to," he trailed beside me.

"I don't care. Leave me alone."

"I need your help with homework," he says. "If I don't get my paper done, I have to sit bench during the playoff game. Scouts are supposed to be there."

"You should have thought about that," I continued walking. "I'm not writing your paper for you."

"My mom's making spaghetti," he calls to me. "It's dad's work anniversary today and you know he loves pasta."

I instantly stop in my tracks, making him chuckle. "She hasn't seen you in a while. I'm sure she'd like to."

"If I go to your house and your mom isn't making spaghetti, I'm going to punch you."

He smiled because he knew he won. Spaghetti is my guilty pleasure food, but it only tastes good with parmesan cheese piled on top. When Luke mentioned his mom, Karren, is making it, I couldn't pass up the offer.

This didn't mean I forgave him or was going to help him with his paper. It just means I'm hungry, and my dad doesn't know how to cook. So, it's been a hot minute since I've had homemade spaghetti. And everyone knows Karren makes the best noodles from scratch.

I ignored him on the drive to his house, even though he tried his hardest to get my attention. When he got the hint, he stopped. I walked through the front door, letting the smell of spices hit my nose.

"Karren?"

A pan dropped from the kitchen. "Is that Bo?"

I braced myself for the small woman hurrying around the kitchen corridor. She wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist, then threw her arms around me. I hugged her tightly, letting her rock us back and forth as she yelped with excitement.

"It's been ages!" She sighs happily in my ear. "We've missed you so much. Don't worry. Luke got his ass-whooping for what he did."

Luke sucked in a deep breath. "She let me pick a belt from the bag."

Over the years, Karren has kept her kid's belts when they grow out of them. They sit in a brown paper bag next to her rocking chair. Tangled in the bag, she waits for her kids to step out of line, so she can make them choose which one they get beat with.

"It hurt -"

"How do you think Bo's arm felt?" She sneered, pointing at him with her spatula. "If you so much as think about putting your hands on another girl, let alone Bo, I will wring your neck."

He nods, sliding his hands into his pocket. "Got it. I'm going to my room now."

She turns her attention back to me. "He asked me to make you spaghetti tonight."

"What?"

"Yeah," she smiles. "He said you asked him to help you with your homework."

"Did he now?"

"Mhm," she scoots me towards the stairs. "Now gone on up, I will call you when dinner is ready!"

I skipped the stairs until I made it to the top where Luke's door sat. My hands shoved the door backward. I leaned onto the corridor, staring at him with my arms crossed. He sat on his bed, with a laptop on his legs.