Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Five

On 6/12/18 I changed the lengths of all the chapters to be more effective in interest and reading. If you don't know where you left off, message me where you were in the storyline and I will let you know where you need to start back off at. Sorry for the inconvenience:)

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Kason stood from the table and faced Miles. Kason was taller than Miles—he looked stronger, too—but that didn't stop Miles from facing off with him. He looked confident facing Kason while he had a warning look in his eyes. It made me think he was crazy. Kason with that look in his eyes made him look dangerous. His getup didn't help either. With ripped jeans and a jean jacket, he already looked like someone you didn't want to mess with.

Holden stood up from the table but stayed back like he was the backup, believing Kason could handle the situation. I watched Kason cross his arms intimidatingly. "What do you want, Miles?" he asked, his voice deep and icy. Glancing at Aria and Marla, I noticed they were on edge, but it looked like they were used to this happening. My eyes met my brothers, and I realized he was just as confused as I was. I looked around at the bystanders they were staring at Kason and Miles as if they were waiting for a bomb to blow off. Was this a common occurrence?

"I just wanted to see how you are holding up after last night," Miles said, smirking arrogantly.

Kason chuckled. "Look at me. I'm great. I'd be worried about your buddies though. They are lucky I held back on them," he said. "We both know I could have done a lot worse."

Miles' eyes hardened. "It won't happen again."

"You're right because you are going to leave us alone."

Miles shook his head, his hair not moving at all—not to my surprise. "No, because next time, we are going to take you down."

"I'd like to see you try," Kason said. "Oh, wait. You have. Dozens of times."

Miles' jaw stiffened. "You have it coming for you, Kason."

"That's what you keep saying, but I have yet to see any competition."

Then, a fist was flying through the air straight towards Kason's face. I tensed, expecting an impact, but it never happened. Kason grabbed Miles' fist before it came near him and twisted it, making Miles cry in pain.

"Just leave, Miles," Holden suggested with a hard tone.

The blonde boy ripped his fist out of Kason's grip and held his wrist, glaring at the boy in front of him. "Watch yourself, Kason." He looked behind him at me. "You too, Lydia." With that, he turned around and stalked away, most likely to find his own group of friends.

Kason sat back down in front of me at the table and Holden folded suit, sitting beside his girlfriend. "Is this a common occurrence or something?" Jaxon asked before I had the chance.

"You could say that," Kason said before taking a bite of his salad.

"Did you beat up his friends yesterday or something?" I asked, recalling their conversation. Kason looked up at me but didn't respond, giving me my answer. "Do you get into fights often?" I couldn't help but ask.

Kason glanced up at me again. "People are afraid of me for a reason."

"I didn't realize people were."

"Stick around in this town a little bit longer and I can guarantee that you will know that this whole town knows not to mess with me," he assured me.

I hadn't realized that he had a reputation. It scared me, but I'd never admit it. I didn't need to get mixed in with any more drama—I had enough going on as it is. I noted to stay away from Miles. Sticking around Kason and the rest of the group, could get me in enough drama as it was, and I had a feeling getting any further on Miles' bad side was a horrible idea.

#

"You can't take that spot on the soccer team!" I yelled at my brother.

He leaned back against the kitchen counter. "And why not? I love soccer. My last coach said that if I continued playing, I could get a scholarship into any college I want!"

I shook my head, hating the idea of him accepting the position. "Your face would be known by a lot of people. Your picture would be everywhere. We can't have him seeing your face in a random newspaper and tracking us down. You can't take it."

His eyes hardened and he got off the counter and took a couple steps toward me until he was standing a foot away. "Just because he ruined our old life, doesn't mean that we can't try to build it up again, Delilah."

"Don't call me that."

"Why? Because it's your real name?"

"We can't let our guard down, Gavin. This is our life now and no matter how much we hate it, we can't change it."

He shook his head. "We are still the same people. We shouldn't have to change our whole lives just because of him."

"If we don't, he finds us," I reminded him, my voice cold. "Then we die."

He sighed. "We don't know that he will kill us."

"Yes, we do! He almost succeeded last time!" I yelled, hating the fact that he was letting his mind wander off into places it shouldn't. "Why are you suddenly questioning everything we are doing?"

"I just want to be happy," he told me sadly. "I want to enjoy life and not have to constantly look over my shoulder."

"I do, too, but until he's gone, we don't have a choice but to live this way," I told him, crossing his arms.

He walked back over to the kitchen counter and jumped up to sit on it. "We can allow ourselves to at least enjoy ourselves while we are here," he said. "We can't push away these people who were nice enough to let us join their friend group."

"What happens if we find ourselves bonding too well with them?" I asked him. "Gavin, we can't put anyone else in danger."

He nodded, agreeing with me. "If we do find ourselves finding friends for life, then so be it. We will deal with that problem if it happens, but Delilah, I don't want to have to feel like we are in hiding all the time. Let's settle down and enjoy ourselves."

"We can't get distracted. He will sneak up on us."

"We won't let him. We'll still look out for any signs of him, but let's let ourselves have a little fun while we are here."

I sighed but nodded. "Just don't get let yourself forget about the real reason we came here."

His eyes darkened, but he nodded. "I don't think I could ever forget."

#

I looked down at the email in my inbox and smiled. A man wanted me to babysit his three-year-old daughter. I was overjoyed and replied immediately, telling him I could start whenever he wanted me to. He replied just a minute later saying that I could watch her the next day after I got off of school. He explained that he works evening shifts so if I could come by after I get off school that would be perfect. His son can watch her some days, but most days he is working also. I received his address and it turns out that he lived just down the street. It was the perfect job.

After calling my brother in from the other room, I told him that I had gotten a job babysitting. "That's great," he told me.

"Did you apply for any jobs while you were in town a few days ago?" I asked.

He nodded and got a weird look in his eyes. "Yeah, I actually got a job where Kason works."

"Really? Where at?"

"A restaurant downtown. I'll actually be making pretty good money," he said.

"That's great. Hopefully, soon we will be able to afford a better place," I said, setting down my laptop.

"I start tomorrow. What about you?"

He nodded. "I start tomorrow, too. Trust me, Delilah, I'm going to get us a better place one day soon."

I saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded. It would be great to actually live in a decent house for once in our lives.