Avianna's POV
Kaden is making my life heck. We are learning new phrases, and trying to work on fluency, and he won't stop jabbing at one of my bruises. What is even worse is that he knows they are there, so it looks like I will be getting conditioned to abuse again after all. Kaden continues to pummel my side throughout the period, and I feel one unjustified tear sliding down my cheek, stupid nervous system; why can't the school day end already?
Kaden's POV
I made her cry, but this is necessary. She needs to stay away from the guys and I because we will bring her nothing but pain and suffering. Looking at her though, I am not sure that this is the right way to try and protect her. I know that I am stooping dangerously low by damaging one of her bruises, but I need to get my point across.
The guys chewed me out for being harsh, and I got in a fight with Luke. He seemed to be getting way too cozy with her, and I haven't seen him talk to somebody that much since his sister died. His burst of speech was unnatural for all of us, himself included. I was surprised when he held a conversation with her and annoyed that the guys were becoming invested.
I could see their desire to befriend her grow as she demonstrated her knowledge about cars, and I became more than a little wary. I feel protective of her, and we will just damage her. I am a truly messed up guy.
When I saw her walk into Ms. Lopez's classroom, it was obvious that this would be my way to make her want to sever all ties with us. I hate seeing her upset, but I have to do this. I don't get close to people for a reason.
When the bell rings, she rushes outside, and I feel accomplished. She will stay away now, but then I hear the thunder.
When the student body reaches the doors, we are all able to see a storm ripping through the city. The wind was tearing down branches, and the streets were already semi-flooded.
Lanie.
I push through the crowd, tearing the doors open and desperately climb into my truck. Lanie is home alone, with this storm ripping the city apart. For once the engine doesn't give me heck, and the truck roars out of the parking lot seconds later, muffled by the magnitude of the storm.
I hadn't driven that far when I see Avianna out the window. Her makeup is gone, and she seems to be soaked to the bone. She isn't walking, though I think that is out of fear of being found out. She can't apply her beloved makeup in the storm. I am about to leave her when I hear the approach of another party.
I can't make out what they are saying to her, but I can see her walls appear, and the blank look coating her features. She looks dead inside, and the men are pushing her against the wall. I need to get to Lanie, and I need to leave, but I can't bring myself to drive away and let her get hurt more.
The guys have already begun to kiss up and down her neck and put their hands where they shouldn't be by the time I reach her. She seems so used to this treatment, and I become more and more furious before my fist collides with the jaw of the apparent leader. I don't wait for the crew's reaction before taking each of them down. Everything was a blur of shoving and I think one of them bit me. By the end of it, there were five men laying unconscious on the slippery pavement.
I grab Avianna more forcefully than what was probably appropriate and yank her to the truck. She needed to get out of the rain, and I needed to get to Lanie. Once I had successfully gotten her buckled and secured, I put the car in gear and we started moving again.
"Are you okay Avianna?" My only response was a sneeze followed by a series of what sounded like a coughing fit, but way more breathy. I look over once we reach a toppled tree, and I am upset to see her shivering violently. Her lips are blue, and she seems unaffected by the heat that is on full blast.
"Look, I don't do this a lot, but I am sorry for being such a jerk at school. You didn't do anything wrong, I was just pissed at the world in general". Lies. I had very specific reasons that did, in fact, revolve around her. "I am going to take you to my house before I take you home. I have to get my baby sister." Avianna looks at me blankly, and I sigh. Back to square one.
********
It isn't too long before we reach my house. Surprisingly the building hasn't toppled down, and we didn't swerve off of the road. Tree branches and street signs were scattered everywhere, and I was very precise when lifting Avianna out of the truck and into my house. Both of us needed to change clothes and dry off, though mainly her.
As soon as I open the door, I am met with the sound of tears. Following Lanie's sobs, I pull Avianna to the laundry room, where Lanie is curled up in a corner. She hates lightning, so I walk over and pull the small two-year-old into my wet shirt.
"Kay" Lanie was blubbering into my shirt, and Avianna had the faintest spark of curiosity on her face. Once Lanie sees her, she wiggles out of my arms and bounds over to the guest, holding her arms up with the expectations of being held. Much to my surprise, Avianna gladly complies and sets my little sister on her hip in a manner similar to my own.
"Hi!" The toddler's eyes were lit up as she addressed Avianna, and Avianna grinned. Her eyes squinted at the corners, and the way her lips curled up at the corners was unexpectedly attractive.
Avianna waved at Lanie, the smile seemed to have taken a liking to gracing her features. Lanie giggles even more, and looks at me expectantly, probably waiting for an introduction.
"Lanie, this is a girl from school, her name is Avianna", I wasn't stupid enough to call Avianna my friend, I am almost certain that Avianna can't actually stand me. This encounter ruled as an exception since she really had no choice when I pulled her into my truck. Avianna looked at me after playing with Lanie's fingers for a while, and I nodded, despite having no clue what she wanted me to do.
She followed me into the kitchen and set Lanie down, probably observing the layers of dust covering the chairs. I only sit in one of the chairs on very few occasions, and Lanie is always held or in her chair.
Saying that our kitchen is humble is far too kind. The linoleum flooring is cracked and peeling, and every outlet and light switch is an ugly yellow from all of the nicotine in the air. Rust coats the outside of the oven, and will not disappear no matter how many times I use or clean the baking apparatus. The cabinets need a fresh coat of paint, or just new cabinets, since every little motion results in wood shavings. The microwave is more up to date because my mom can't actually cook.
I keep the refrigerator clean, mainly because it is hard enough to cook as it is without moldy food making things worse. Even the walls surrounding the kitchen are cracked, and the ceiling is bowing inwards. Avianna looks around for a little before walking over to the fridge; she took out ingredients for hamburgers.
"Are you trying to cook?" She nods at me, and I sigh before grabbing the small Foreman grill that I had saved up money to buy. She sets the temperature and waits for the appliance to warm up before placing the two patties on. She begins slicing some apples, while I grab the cereal for Lanie, though I am still shocked at Avianna's altered behavior.
Avianna seems either defiant or cold at school, but here she is complacent around me, and happy around Lanie. Is her persona at school one fat lie? I watch her move around the cramped space with ease, she must be used to serving others. I plop Lanie into the high chair while Avianna puts the patties into buns, it doesn't take her long to find plates and carry them to the card table.
Dinner felt more silent than usual since I was in the company of someone my own age, but couldn't actually converse. Avianna seems so irritable and she didn't bring her whiteboard to the table, so I don't think she wants to talk. Oh, screw it.
"Hey Avianna, I wanted to say sorry again, because the way I treated you was absolute bull crap. I can take you home once the storm dies down, but for now, you should stay with us. Do you want to play a game with Lanie and me?"
Avianna stares at me for a few seconds before standing up to grab the whiteboard and a pink marker from her soggy backpack. She sits back down with her legs pulled close to her chest and begins writing.
'Forget about it, I am used to it. I would like to go home as soon as possible, but if I have to stay then I will need to text Ms. Victoria. What game would we play?' She looks so bleak and done with everything, and the guilt swells up in my chest.
"We could play 'Don't Fall in the Sea'. I make an obstacle course in the living room, and Lanie has to cross without touching to carpet or 'sea'. Could you help me make it and then cheer her on? If she falls then we get to be sharks and tickle her." I look at Avianna again, noticing how one hand tightens around the marker, while the other is drumming on the worn tabletop; maybe she plays the piano.
I watch her pop off the cap and hear the loud angry squeak of an uncertain person writing with a marker.
'That sounds okay I guess... What words can Lanie say?' She looks meek for a moment, while she looks at me sheepishly from underneath her dark eyelashes. I think that she is biting the inside of her cheek, which is probably a nervous habit, but her overall appearance is adorable. If only her body wasn't so tortured with these stupid scars, maybe she would be more confident; then I finally realized that she was still wearing her wet clothes.
"Avianna! You need to get in the shower and let me get you some clothes, I completely forgot about changing! Are you cold, do you think that you are getting sick?" She looks at me with wide eyes, and nods a little, allowing me to run up to my room and grab the smallest sweatshirt I have, along with some boxers, which should be smaller since they are from when I was maybe 12 years old.
I run back into the kitchen/living room, thrusting the clothes at Avianna, who accepts them with a raised eyebrow. "Come on, I have to show you to the shower. When you are changed I will throw the wet clothes into the dryer." I pull on her arm slightly, leading her to the one bathroom, which is sadly littered with cigarette butts. She looks terrified, but thankfully she gets into the shower, and I turn around, leaving as soon as I hear the water.
**********
So.... We got some Kaden info! The next chapter will be Avi, and she will add her two cents to this whole situation, so watch out for that update!
*Looks at empty auditorium*
How do I keep forgetting that nobody reads these???
Whatever,
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~Experiment51