The next few days were uneventful. I ate, slept, shower, show up at school and repeated. I reached to a point in life where I couldn't give two ducks anymore. I couldn't give a crap about Asha's rude comments as we passed each other in the hallway. I couldn't give a bleep about Carmen giving me side glares in class and I definitely didn't give a flying duck about the entire student body. Since after Asha started bringing up past events again, everyone wanted to know about the beach incident.
"So I hope everyone do well in their finals." Mr. West shouted over the bustling of students who were determined on exiting the class. They really didn't care what he had to say after his class period was over. "Aren't you all a lovely bunch to work with." He said sarcastically but no one bothered to turn around. I watched as they filed out the classroom, ready to head off to lunch.
"The loveliest bunch you have ever seen." I voiced, giving him a smile and he returned it. "You really do work your hardest to make everything work out in the end, don't you?" I said, deep in thought as Mr. West shuffled through some papers.
"I want to see good marks on the finals for every kid. Including you, Lenna Adams." He handed me over my research paper he had me redo and I smiled at the B plus that was scribbled across it. I did well.
"You really find it hard to give me that A, don't you?" I shook my head, grinning and he shrugged with a wide grin of his own.
"You had tacky handwriting." He pointed out and my jaw hit the floor. "It looks like you wrote it the period before my class."
I slapped him on his arm playfully. "Well I didn't, you jerk! What does handwriting have to do with anything." He chuckled and I stuck out my chin defiantly. "I will get good grades in that finals. Just you wait and see."
"You better." He stated with a grin, casually leaning back in his chair. "Or else I'm telling Jason Adams." I rolled my eyes, smiling a little. He always teased me about ratting me out to my father. Sometimes I hated that he knew my father on such a personal level. He never actually told my father anything but it was sometimes hard to take Mr. West seriously during class after hanging out with him so many times when he came over at my house to speak with my dad. I saw him as a long time friend not a teacher. Definitely not. Then again he was only twenty two. Quite young I must say. No one took him seriously in Cayman High.
"Ugh, for a minute there I forgot how annoying you can be." I told him jokingly and he pressed a hand over his heart as if hurt. "I'm going to have lunch while you have to sit here like a loser grading papers." He laughed.
"Yeah but you also have to go home and study for my test tomorrow like a loser instead of hitting up that party on Barb street." My mouth opened and closed as I glared at him.
"I really hate you for those random test sometimes." I said and he shrugged casually, acting all high and mighty.
"Best part of being a teacher. Students act like brats, we get revenge by issuing tests."
"And they made you a teacher." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head, disapprovingly. Mr. West was as childish as a toddler. Same ol' sixteen year old Mr. West.
I turned to head for the door without saying any goodbyes. "Lenna, look out!" I screamed, jolting back. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. My eyes swept the room frantically as I clutched my chest. Laughter filled the air and I knew Mr. West did that on purpose. So childish! "Ugh!" I groaned, annoyed. "Seriously, why are you a teacher?" I said before walking off, his chuckles getting lighter with distance. What torture he was sometimes. He honestly scared the living daylights out of me.
When I entered the library as per Keeva's request, I felt a bit nervous. I had no idea how this conversation would end. I didn't know if it was for the best or the worst.
I spotted Keeva closer to the back on a table. Her eyes were buried in a book so I slowly approached her. Upon reaching the table, I placed my back pack on the wooden chair beside me then pulled out a chair for me to sit. She immediately looked up at me, giving me a barely there smile. I returned it
"So..." I trailed off awkwardly and Keeva cleared her throat.
"Where should I start?" She muttered to herself and took in a sharp intake of breath.
"How about the beginning? That'd be convenient enough." She stared at me for a while, probably trying to get a whiff of my mood.
"Well, here goes nothing. At first I didn't have anything to do with Liam. I only met him two months after he ran off." I remained silent. "I met him at a mall in Phoenix. At first I was completely shocked. I never expected to see him."
Keeva's POV *Flashback*
I was wandering around the mall, completely worn out. I had been here for over two hours, making sure to enter each store. Apparently, my cousin couldn't stop talking about how amazing the outfits were here. Since I would be leaving Phoenix tomorrow, I figured I should do last minute shopping before I left.
Speaking of shopping, where was Anastasia? She was the one who dragged me here. She ran off after a cute boy from her school and assured me she would be back in no time. I hadn't seen the blonde since.
I continued looking around, casually walking. A few shopping bags were in my hands too. I looked over my shoulder towards the escalator and I could have sworn I saw...never mind. That could never be. But wait...
One of the bags fell from my hands and the contents spilled onto the floor. I took my eyes off the escalator and quickly knelt to pick the stuff up. I glanced over my shoulder again at the escalator but I saw no one. Oh. I was probably seeing things. Two hours in a mall can do that to you. I fumbled with the bags before standing again. What a riot this was. I sighed.
I turned around and my heart dropped to my toes. I couldn't say a word. Somehow sentences were caught in my throat. The bags slipped from my hands again, the thud louder than it should've been. "Keeva."
I eyed Liam, still not believing he was standing here. I thought there was a one in a million chance of seeing him again. Mainly because I didn't think his getaway state was Phoenix. I thought he would move to China and become a rice farmer or something. I don't know, somewhere really far from the States and his family. Well his dad. But you get my point. "Liam." I said softly, staring at his chocolate brown eyes, perfectly straight nose and tousled brunette hair.
We were now sitting at a table outside a fast food restaurant in the mall. Liam all but dragged me over here despite my protest. He bought me food I refused to eat and made me sit at a table I opposed to sitting at. I sat there with my hands folded on my chest, eyeing the food. He stared at me with narrowed eyes. "Eat."
"You're a really shitty brother you know that?" I huffed out and he leaned back in his chair with a frown. "You know how much Lenna cares for you yet you left her behind. And you not only did that but you refuse to answer her calls or text messages. Do you know how she feels about that?" I was out on a rant and I knew it but seeing Liam now set off an alarm in my head. Lenna was sad because of him.
"How is she?" He cut off my rant and I glared at him. He looked really sad. He wasn't even making eye contact with me.
"You would have known if you answered her calls." I stated, rolling my eyes. I always had a crush on Liam ever since. To me, he was incredibly handsome and kind. However, he hurt Lenna and now I was just completely pissed with him.
"Keeva, how is she?" His voice had an edge to it and I was taken aback. He still wasn't making eye contact. "There are reasons why I changed my number and stopped talking to Lenna. You think I wanted to cut off all ties with my sister?" He finally looked at me and my face softened at how hurt he looked. "I love my sister. But it's better this way." I looked away from him, shoving a fries into my mouth as a distraction. "I need you to trust me on that one, Keev." His eyes were pleading.
There was silence for at least two minutes without interruption. I was trying to get my thoughts together. "If you must know, she misses you a lot." His head shot towards me, brows furrowed. "She's hurt by the fact that you want nothing to do with her. She feels like she did something wrong and you hate her. That you think she chose her father's side that night." He was shaking his head from side to side, his face pale.
"Lenna did nothing wrong. I wanted to keep contact with her but that would worsen things. Believe me when I say it will." Somehow I believed him. He looked truly distressed and although he didn't say why exactly he cut all ties with Lenna, I still believed he had a pretty good reason. He looked genuine and confused. "And I didn't think she chose Jason's side." I nodded. "I couldn't bring her along because she was fifteen and mom and Jason are her legal guardians. Her parents. There was no way I could have brought her along. And it would have killed mom if we both took off." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. I understood him in some way. "How's..." He trailed off, staring at his food. I waited patiently for him to finish. "How's mom?"
"Depressed." I stated, straightforwardly. He ran a hand down his face with his eyes closed. He looked pained. He was suffering just as much as Lenna and his mom were. "She misses you a lot. Believe it or not, the Adams family has changed since...that night."
"Shit." He muttered under his breath and I nodded. Yeah, 'shit' is right. You really did wreck havoc before you left. "I bet Jason threw a party the same night." He laughed, humourlessly. It was clearly forced.
"Your dad is almost to never home."
"Asshole." He said under his breath but I still caught it.
"Maybe he misses you too. Overworks to get his mind off things." I shrugged, sipping some water from the glass.
"Yeah. Sure." The way he said it was definitely not convincing. I had no idea what really happened that night everything went to shit. Not the whole truth at least. I doubted Lenna told me everything but I wasn't going to pry into that part of her life when she obviously didn't want anyone to know about it. I respected that. When she was ready to tell me, she would.
"Well I mean, you packed your bags and left over an argument with your dad. He'll feel guilty I'm sure." He chuckled softly with a shake of his head.
"Is that what Lenna told you?" He asked with an amused smile. I narrowed my eyes at him. His mood seemed to be rising again.
"Yeah well, I know that's half the truth but I still feel kind of honoured." I admitted and he watched me curiously. "Your parents pretty much told the entire town you left for a college out of state so..."
He laughed loudly and I paused. Tears formed in his eyes as he continued laughing while slapping his knees. "Oh man." He wiped a stray tear away. "Is that the nonsense they fed to them?" He was truly laughing. He shook his head, calming down from his laughter. "Oh boy. Jason keeping it classy as always, huh?" I stared at him. Although he was laughing, the coating of sadness in his eyes was still there. "Let's forget irrelevant people. Let's talk about mom and Lenna." He resented his dad, didn't he? The fight must've been bigger than I thought.
Anastasia found me an hour later, apologising non-stop for ditching me so long. Carrying on about she didn't want to miss her chance with her crush. Unluckily for her, he had a girlfriend. She also tried introducing herself to Liam who basically subtly ignored her.
As we neared the exit of the mall, Liam pulled me to a stop. "I'll give you my number so that you can update me on how my mom and Lenna are doing." I froze as he punched in his number into my phone. "Do not contact me unless something bad has happened to my mom or Lenna." I blinked slowly at him. Who'd want to contact him otherwise? I rolled my eyes. "When I left town I truly wanted no one to get in contact with me but I need to know how Lenna and mom are doing. I'll call every month for a report." I nodded absentmindedly. I was barely processing his words. "Do not tell anyone we met and do not give anyone my number." I nodded again. "It's for the best if no one knows. Trust me on that one."
I hadn't even fully understood the agreement between Liam and I until I was in the car on my way home. Wait, I had to keep this from everyone? From Lenna?
What did I just agree to?
Lenna's POV
"I really wanted to tell you but apparently he had reasons. Reasons he kept to himself. He said it was better that way and the way he looked when he said it made me not tell you. He acted as though he would get into trouble or something." I nodded. Was Liam in trouble? I didn't understand. I guess I understood why he didn't contact me now. "Anyway, he called every month like he said to check up on you and your mom." I smiled. At least he cared. I thought he didn't. I was pretty sure mom thought so too. "After a while, we talked more often over the phone than we anticipated and I guess things escalated from there. Before I could fully fathom, we had this bond that resulted in a relationship." I fiddled with the bookmark in my book.
"Oh." Was all that left my mouth. She stared at me.
"I wanted to tell you but Liam said it was better if you found out after he figured things out." I got up from my seat and her eyes followed me. She looked scared. Her eyes searched mine, wondering if I still 'hated' her as she so blatantly put it.
I walked over to her side of the table. She stood, keeping eye contact. Her eyes were filled with water. I pulled her into a huge hug. She immediately wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so sorry I kept it from you. I'm so sorry." She repeated over and over again.
I pulled away, watching her tear stained cheeks. Keeva rarely cried. So this really went at my heart. I looked her in the eyes. "I don't hate you, Keeva." I assured her and she nodded. People were giving us weird looks. I mean, we were having a heart to heart moment in the library. "I should've listened to your full explanation." She wiped her tear away, sniffling and I smiled. "A true friend would do what you have done. You helped my brother look out for me from afar." She smiled and I grinned.
"I can't believe I'm crying!" She whined with a smile. "Worst day ever." I laughed softly and students glared at us. "I cried all night last night thinking you would end our friendship. Now I have a major headache. Worst mistake ever." Stray tears were still falling from her eyes as she laughed.
I sat down at my seat again. "No, I think that was the time you agreed to date Liam." I laughed and she did the same, hitting me on the arm playfully.
"Heyyy." She groaned as a grin took over her face. A few students whined and I gave them a look that made them silent.
"He could be a pain in the ass sometimes." I stated, opening up my book. It's good to see that Keeva and I got that issue cleared. I missed her energetic personality for the awkward one and a half week period we spent moping around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the past week, everyone had been buried in books. Finals was soon and I guess we realized we had no time at all and that a month was nothing when comparing time. Also, everyone wanted to relax the week before finals.
The student council along with my help also came up with this idea to do group studies. So after school, instead of heading home or to the beach or whatever these teens did with their time, we gathered at the park. The park was completely crowded with us sitting in groups. The smart people would go around and help the others. We also did Q&A or multiple choice slips. It was a bit loud too with people shouting for help or others explaining things. We also had quiet times too where this one person would explain at the front and the others listened carefully.
Another place we gathered was at Benji's. I had no idea how he allowed it because it was complete chaos at some point. There were days where it was completely quiet too. We used the tables and had a study session. Kia had a lot to do with it too. She worked here at Benji's so she probably convinced him to give us two hours of study time where he would temporarily close. It was a good bargain too because apparently studying results in a bunch of hungry teens so technically he wasn't losing sales and we only used his restaurant twice in one week.
The study group was quite beneficial.
"No that was not me." Isa denied as we laughed. Keeva, Isa and I were in my bedroom reminiscing the past. They were rarely over so it meant a lot when I invited them over.
"It was!" Keeva shouted, shaking her head at the blonde. "It totally was." I smiled at them as I shoved some chips into my mouth.
"I will deny it till the grave." Isa grinned, crossing her arms over her chest. I grinned. I wanted them to spend the night over so that we could just laugh and talk like normal friends did. We would tell each other our problems and our plans after highschool.
"So you and Asha must've had some kind of argument to bring you guys to this stage." Isa said and I shrugged.
"It's no big deal really." Honestly for me, it wasn't. Then again Asha took it to a different level that day in the library and in the parking lot of Benji's. "It started in the library. She wanted to copy my math homework and I called her out on her habit. She didn't like it and now I'm her current enemy." I bit into some chips again.
"I think she was never your friend." Keeva added and I looked at her. "She always seemed fake to me and the only reason why she was 'friends' with you was because of both your dad's friendship." Was it? I really did see Asha as a friend. It kind of stung to actually think that was the only reason for our friendship.
"Maybe. Maybe not." I didn't know how to respond to that so I answered with something short. "She also thinks I told Keeva her secret."
"She has a secret? Tell me?" Isa came closer, bringing her ear closer. "I want to have leverage over her."
"You've never told me anything about Asha." Keeva pointed out and I nodded.
"I don't know what made her think so. Maybe something you said." Keeva shook her head, a thoughtful look on her features.
"There was this one time I met her at the park and she approached me. She said I had secrets that she could use against me so I told her I knew some of her secrets too." Keeva explained simply. "The nerve she has. I might've mention her use of turtle neck t-shirts to shield her secrets." My eyes widened and Keeva smirked. So Keeva knew half of her secret. "I was totally bluffing that day but her reaction sold her out."
Isa was listening closely. Her eyes bouncing from Keeva to me. I was happy to see her relaxed. Since after her mom's burial, her mood had been a bit down. It was normal for someone to feel unhappy three weeks after their mom's funeral. In fact, Isa was holding up well. She cried a lot of the times but it was expected. I noticed she tried keeping a good mood for the sake of Keeva and I. The sadness was still evident in her blue eyes.
"How'd you even-" I started but Keeva cut me off.
"Know? She always wear turtle neck. Even at pool parties she wears a bikini bottom and turtle neck crop top. She doesn't allow anyone near her neck. She completely freaked when Abi touched her turtle neck sweater near her neck. I think it's pretty obvious she has some kind of secret revolving around her neck." Well I guess that made sense. Anyone who paid close attention to Asha would notice how odd she acted when her neck was involved. "Of course I don't know the story behind her little secret or why she was so insecure when it came to her neck. I'm guessing you know." I nodded slowly and Isa shrunk back.
"It seems personal. I don't want to know anymore." Isa said with a frown.
"I was never interested to know to begin with." Keeva rolled her eyes and I laughed at the two.
"I wouldn't have told you guys either way." I told them and they both hit me with a pillow as I giggled.
The doorbell rang downstairs and my brows furrowed. Who could it be? It couldn't be a delivery guy because we received our order earlier. Mom wouldn't ring the doorbell and she wouldn't be home until twelve. It was now nine at night.
"I'll go see who it is. Wait here." I said before climbing off the bed and heading for the door. I made my way down the stairs lazily. I opened the front door and froze in place.
He was here. Caspien was here. He was back. "Who is it?" I heard Isa's voice and footsteps.
Seeing Caspien here made my heart beat fast. I knew he would come back soon but what I didn't know was that my heart would beat so erratically in my chest. My palms began to sweat and my breathing increased. Caspien went away for three weeks and came back looking like a Greek God. Skinny jeans and a white t-shirt.
His face was emotionless though.
I finally stepped towards him to hug him tightly. His hands stayed limp at his sides as I hugged the life out of him. He never reciprocated. I looked up at him, trying to get a look at his face but he stared straight ahead. His eyes were dark and distant. He looked strange.
I pulled away, taking a good look at him from head to toe. "What's wrong with your hands?" I asked and he hid them behind his back, his face still forward. I grasped his hand, bringing them up to my eye level. His knuckles were bruised. "I'll clean them." I pulled him inside and he absentmindedly followed. It was like he wasn't even here.
Isa and Keeva gave me a look and I pressed my lips into a thin line. I guided Caspien to a bathroom near the living room. It should have a first aid kit in here.
Caspien stood leaned against the bathroom counter while I sat on the lid of the toilet to clean the tiny bruises on his knuckles. He was silent the entire time. "Did you get into a fight?"
"It was just a playful wrestle with my brothers." His voice sounded detached and...strange.
"You have brothers?" He sighed and I watched him carefully. He seemed annoyed. "Oh right. You call your friends at The Society your brothers." He ignored me again. "I missed you so much." I chirped, grinning at him. I wanted to start up a conversation but he seemed uninterested.
"If you've missed me that much after a three week period, how would you feel when I go for good?" Again, his voice was monotone and he hadn't once looked me in the eyes.
"That's different." I told him and he remained silent so I continued. "I knew after three weeks you'd come back. When you go for good I know you won't ever come back so I'll be prepared for that. All done." I announced and he immediately moved towards the door.
"I should go."
"Why?" I asked quickly and he stopped near the door.
"So Society guy shows up and you suddenly forget you have friends." Right. Keeva and Isa were here. I totally forgot. He opened the door, heading down the hallway. We entered the living room and he went for the front door. "Good night, Lenna." He said, opening the front door and exiting. He never once looked back. He was totally different tonight. Definitely not his usual self.
I turned around to meet the gaze of Keeva and Isa. They were giving me the look. "You have a thing for him, don't you?" Isa said with a giddy look and Keeva was smirking at me. I ran past them, heading for the stairs.
"I don't!" I was grinning like an idiot as I made my way upstairs.
I totally did though.
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