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"Mama always said 'Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.' — Forrest Gump
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Chapter 16
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"Kim, wake up!"
My brother's voice broke through my slumber. My eyes, slowly but surely, opened to the sight of his wide ones staring back at me.
"What do you want, Ryland?" I mumbled in a grumpy voice.
He tossed a random outfit toward me. "Get dressed!"
I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "You're not handing me my other stuff too?"
His eyebrows rose as the red spots blotched his cheeks like ink. "Are you crazy? I'm not touching your lady shit! Now get up!"
An annoyed grin grew on my face. "Ryland, you know that my shirts are on top of both my underclothes, right?" I lied.
His face quickly shifted from shock to disgust. His eyes widened at my words, and before I could say anything else, he rushed out of my room.
"He's the older sibling, but acts like the youngest," I mumbled to myself.
I giggled at his melodramatic attitude. Even if it were morning, I still liked to mess with him when I got the chance.
Once I had gotten dressed for school, I figured I'd actually change up my look today. Instead of a grey hoodie, I wore a black one.
As I scanned my appearance in the reflector, I mumbled, "Good improvement."
"Are you ready yet, honey?" I looked to see my dad's brown eyes staring back at me through the crook of my door.
I smiled at the man who raised me, my love only growing for him even more. "Yeah."
"You're riding with me today, right?" Ryland asked once we were all sat at the table.
I nodded while chewing a piece of bacon. As badly as I wanted to save gas for us all, my feet were terribly aching from the previous night.
My heart could say the same about the aching part. I didn't know which one hurt the most, my heart or my feet.
It seemed that the 'moment' between Kade and I, affected me more then I thought it would.
When I closed my eyes, all I saw were his chocolate drop ones. When I tried to redirect my mind elsewhere, it would always find it's way back in Kade's direction. When I breathed in the fresh air around me, my oxygen seemed to be Kade's scent.
When I bit my lip, it felt like it was Kade's lips I were tasting instead of my own. Though we didn't get to kiss last night, my lips still managed to hold onto the small graze against his. I wondered if he was losing his mind like I was.
I hated, but at the same time thanked Raven for interrupting the moment that happened between Kade and I. Somewhere in me, I knew that kissing him would have been too wrong for my own good. He would only hurt me again, and I knew this.
I did.
"Kimberly."
I snapped my head up to look at my very curious brother and father.
I guess I zoned out for a minute.
"Yes?" I tried to pretend to show interest in whatever subject they brought up.
Ryland shot a weird look toward me, and his blonde eyebrows rose with his curiosity. "I asked how school was." I answered with a lie to soothe his worries.
The drive to school was very talkative, and when I say talkative, I meant Ryland. He found new things to talk about every second a conversation ended.
I couldn't be more relieved, but also saddened once we arrived to my school.
Yes, my brother talked a lot, but anything that would keep me from this hell, was worth it.
"Hey." I turned around to Ryland once he stopped me.
His head tilted as he examined me carefully. "You been doing good, kid?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, with the adjustment? The move, all of that...how have you been?" he asked me then motioned toward the school.
I wanted to confess to him. I wanted to tell him everything that had happened lately, but I held it in. I held it in like I had been doing for the last seventeen years.
"Yes, everything is fine." No, everything is terrible.
Ryland studied me for a minute, his eyes on high alert for anything out of the ordinary. "Mhm," he hummed, finally reaching my eyes. "Have a good day."
I smiled at him, though I could feel my smile wavering with every second that passed.
I tried to be happy with my family, and with everyone else. I tried to put up that smile that everyone was custom to. And it hurt, badly. More than any physical pain could come close to.
I left out his car, and watched as he drove away. I wished that I could be in the car with him, driving away from the terrible things this school had to offer.
Even though time had passed since the pictures were posted on the walls of the school, I still received the weird looks. I heard the hurtful whispers. It seemed that Carter received nothing but praise for what he did or tried to do.
One more year, Kimberly.
I tried to brush off the looks I received from the other students, the ones who still hung onto the past. I could feel their hard stares burning holes into my back with every step I took.
Making my way inside of the school, my ears caught the patter of footsteps behind me. I jerked around in time to catch the perpetrator.
"Jesus." Raven placed a hand to her chest, her eyes wide and startled. "I was trying to scare you, but you beat me to it."
I rolled my eyes at her, a small batch of laughter left my lips. "Why were you trying to scare me?"
"I have a surprise," she grinned, her entire mood positive.
We continued to walk further down the hallway to a vacant classroom. I was the first to sit in a empty desk, and she soon followed. During my time here, I learned which teachers didn't care if you sat in their rooms as long as you left it how you found it.
I leaned back into my seat. "What's the surprise?"
Her eyes fell as she frowned. "Levi Wallace asked me out on a date."
I frowned at her reaction. "Why is that something to be sad about?"
"Have you met Levi? He's a player. One of the biggest in the school actually, and as sweet as he is, I don't know if he's trying to get inside of my pants or not." Her eyes raised, this time full of hope. "But that's where you come in."
My frown deepened. What the hell was she possibly talking about?
Raven stood up and paced the room with long strides. I watched her, my nervousness similar to hers. She looked like a sergeant from here.
"I need you to come along with me," she blurted out.
I stared at her back in shock. "What?"
She turned to face me, her eyes averted to the tiled floor below us. "Okay, I'll admit it. I'm scared shitless, right now."
My eyebrows got closer to the other once her words reached my ears. "Why?"
This time, she took her previous place on top of the desk in front of me. I watched her, awaiting the answer.
"I've been crushing on Levi ever since I spilled milk on him my first day here, which was back sophomore year. I still remember the cafeteria seat and all, because it was so fucking embarrassing," she confessed before continuing,"I just don't want to get hurt by another guy like Justin, again."
Raven had a good perspective of my no touching rule. But I knew that a hug could sometimes do more good than harm. She had comforted me with the Kade situation, and now this was my chance to return the favor.
Slowly, I reached forward to wrap my arms around my friend. She relaxed in my arms, and I felt her return the hug back.
We hugged for a few moments before I pulled back. I held no judgement toward her skepticism of dating, none at all.
Her glossy eyes zeroed in on me. "Thank you, Kimberly."
I sent a smile of encouragement her way. "I understand, Raven. You've been through a lot lately with Justin."
She smiled back, despite her lack of enthusiasm.
I decided to change the subject in order to help her feel better. "So, when do you guys have the date?"
"Tonight," she responded. That was way quicker than expected.
I nodded my head in deep thought. I never did anything like this before, and I never intended to until I met Raven.
"So, what in particular do I have to do with this?" I asked.
Raven looked up a the white ceiling shielding us from the outside. "I have a plan for that." She took a deep breath. "So we both head over to my house after school, and once Levi picks me up, you can take my keys and follow us to wherever he's taking me."
"Oh, and once we get there, you can just sit in my car and chill or whatever. I'll even give you my card or something to get you dinner. And if you see me running out of the restaurant, acting all fucking Godzilla and shit then just drive up to me so we can hurry back to my house. I need a quick escape plan without humiliating myself too much. Does that sound okay?"
I nodded my head. It wasn't like I had anything better to do anyway.
"What do I get in return?" I teased at her.
She caught onto my joke, and her lips stretched in a grin. "The happiness of helping a friend, a free homemade sundae, and free dinner?"
I laughed at her proposal, though it did sound like a good deal. "Fine."
In the first time in forever, I felt a tiny speck of happiness form inside of me. I never had a real life friend, not for this long anyway. I was still very hesitant about our friendship, but every day she proved she wanted to genuinely be friends, and that made my skepticism disappear little by little.
Raven's eyes rolled once the piercing alarm filled the quiet classroom we were in. "Looks like we're off to class."
"Sadly," I added.
"We're meeting in our usual spot for lunch, right?" Raven asked as she stood up on stylish high heeled boots.
I nodded my head in agreement. We waved our goodbyes before we were both off to the first class of the day.
***
I watched from behind Raven's house window as Levi drove off. I waited ten seconds before running outside, hopping into her car, and following behind them.
I made sure to keep a distance, just in case Levi caught on. I didn't know every direction of this new city yet, but once Levi pulled down Raney Road, then I knew where he was taking her.
He was taking her to one of the most expensive restaurants in Washington. The Chambone.
Good thing I'm not in Raven's place right now.
Personally, I didn't care for expensive restaurants. I couldn't even enjoy my meal wholeheartedly if I knew the price was a monthly car payment. But, I could understand if some girls liked the flashy things and expensive restaurants, their preferences were theirs and it wasn't my business to try and change it.
I stared at Raven's skin tight, knee high red dress that she was pulling off perfectly. I helped straighten her red curls, and from where I sat, she looked perfect.
When they walked into the restaurant, I let back the seat I was in. I sat, relaxed in Raven's car and played an old game on my phone while they continued with their date.
Though I tried to hide it, I could feel my anxiety slowly creeping up on me with every second that passed. Maybe it was the fact that I was out in the dark.
Alone.
I still felt the waves of fear wash over me while I played angry birds on my phone. The game managed to keep my mind busy for a few minutes, but once I placed the phone down, my eyes scanned the darkness around me for anything out of the ordinary.
Fuck.
It wasn't that I was scared of the dark. I just feared the eeriness, the dangers that the night brought along with it.
What if something happens to me?
God, I'm going to be sick.
I jumped out of my skin when I heard a finger rap against the glass shielding me from the outside. My head jerked toward the window in fear.
Cocoa colored eyes stared back at me, and I had no trouble recognizing them.