Page 2 of Tangled

“What the fuck is going on here? Seriously? What the fuck, man?” My eyebrows draw together in confusion and rage, my hands are thrown up in the air in question, the adrenaline roaring through my body takes on a life of its own as I rush towards him while he’s standing there butt-naked, and slam my fist into his jaw.

The crack of my knuckles hitting his face mimics my fist hitting the door just moments ago as he folds down onto the ground, clutching his jaw in his hands and curling up into the fetal position.

“Kane, stop!” Natasha yells as she scrambles out of the bed, wrapping the blanket around her, her long blonde hair a wild mess around her flushed cheeks.

I turn to her next. “Stop what? Sorry I didn’t let you finish.” I grit through my teeth as I watch her eyes fill with tears.

“I’m so sorry, Kane,” she pleads as beads of moisture leak down her face.

“Sorry for what? Breaking your promise to marry me? Fucking my best friend? Sorry that you got caught?”

I look down at her hand clutching the sheet, the engagement ring I gave her shimmering in the light from the bedside lamp.

“You were gone. I got lonely. You brought this on yourself, you know! I asked you not to re-enlist, but…”

“So that gives you the right to cheat on me? Let alone, with my best fucking friend?” I turn and bend down to look T.J. in the eyes, right as he opens his to meet the rage on my face.

“You are a piece of shit!” I yell in his face while pressing my finger into his chest. “You are dead to me, you hear? Never contact me again. Both of you,” I state finally, looking back at Natasha as I stand.

Her lips tremble as she studies me and then her eyes move to T.J., still cowering on the floor. She hurries to his side to check his face, which gives me no remorse in turning away and walking back down the hall.

“Fuck you both. Enjoy your life together,” I wave over my shoulder with my hand as my boots stomp down the carpeted hall and back to the front door, retrieving my duffle and bursting through the door, leaving behind everything and everyone I’ve ever given two shits about besides my family and the men standing beside me in uniform.

I fumble to retrieve my phone from my pocket, my hands shaking so violently as the rush of emotions over what just happened flow through my mind and my body.

I order another Uber, the same driver as before since he’s still close by, and wait on the curb, not bothering to look back at the apartment that I thought would hold a much different memory for me ten minutes ago.

I can’t look back. I won’t look back.

Only forward.

And I vow, right then and there, never to let anyone into my heart again.

Chapter 2

Kane

Present Day

“Alright, class. Simmer down, please. The bell is about to ring, so please make sure your classwork is turned in and you’ve copied down the pages you need to read over the weekend,” I project over the chatter filtering through my classroom.

“Mr. G., no one writes down the homework anymore. We just take a picture of it,” Daisy replies with a roll of her eyes as she saunters up to the whiteboard and snaps a picture of the homework assignment written there with her phone.

I shake my head. I swear, these teenagers have been programmed to look for the path of least work possible in everything they do.

“As long as it gets done, I don’t care how you remember,” I tell her before making my way around the room to verify everything is in its place. Books are returned to the shelves, trash has been picked up off of the floor, and the desks are pushed into their rightful position.

The sharp ring of the bell through the speakers is like music to my ears as the kids beeline for the door, signaling the end of another grueling week. It’s the end of September and we’ve been back in school for four weeks now. The honeymoon period has worn off, and the kids and teachers are all feeling the exhaustion.

“Have a good weekend, you guys. Make good choices,” I shout as my juniors in U.S. History filter out of the doors.

“Have a good weekend, Mr. G!” A few of them call out behind them just as the last kid leaves and I slump down in the chair at my desk.

I think back to three years ago when I first started teaching and how it was nothing like I thought it would be. Of course, I had just found my fiancé in bed with my best friend, so nothing in my life made sense. And even though that first year was hell, it gave me purpose at a time in my life when I really needed it. Everything I had been working toward was pulled out from underneath me, except for teaching. I always knew this was what I wanted to do, and the Army was a way for me to make it happen.

My parents—bless them both—were hardworking people, but couldn’t afford to pay for me to go to college. And I didn’t want to take out thousands of dollars in loans to then turn around and work to the bone to pay them off. So when the Army recruiters came to the high school and offered to pay for my degree in exchange for serving my country, I jumped at the opportunity. Most of my friends, T.J. included, didn’t understand, but they didn’t face the same monetary dilemma I did. And Natasha hated the idea of me leaving her after graduation, but she understood my reasons for the decision and promised to wait for me.

My high school sweetheart was supposed to wait for me and we were going to end up together… What a crock of shit that ended up being.

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