Page 40 of The Heavier The Chains…
Even when Kaden had died, I hadn’t acted out like this. After his funeral, I had cried in private. I had raged and bargain with God in private. My depression was hidden behind a polite smile and a million ‘I’m fine’s. When Patrice had followed him soon after, it was more of the same thing. I grieved for her in private. All my emotions were always expressed privately.
Mitchells didn’t cause scenes.
And, now, here I was, about to cause another one.
“Look, no matter what happens between me and Talon, leave Alexandria the hell alone,” I snapped, tired of everyone’s bullshit.
Hunter stepped to me and confirmed my suspicions. If someone ever told me that they’d seen Hunter burying a body somewhere, I’d believe them. “If you want us to leave Alexandria alone, then I suggest you stop being difficult and justgive.The. Fuck. In. Kenzlee.”See?The Mob all the way. “If Talon ends up expelled or in jail because of your bullshit, us buying lunch for Alex is going to be the least of your concerns.”
Whether he was serious or not, I wasn’t going to gamble with them messing with Alex. She didn’t deserve it and I wouldn’t repay all her kindness like that. “Well, in case he hasn’t informed you, I already gave in, Hunter,” I admitted. “I gave in and he treated me like a slut making my way through Lakeside.” Hunter straightened to his full height, and as he crossed his arms over his chest, I knew he didn’t care about my arguments. “So, don’t accusemeof being difficult when it’s obvious that Talon’s doing nothing but playing games with me.”
“Next time don’t ignore him all weekend long,” Lars chimed in.
“Why are you guys doing this?” I had a fair idea, but I still asked.
“Because it’s no less than what Talon would do for us if we ever lost our minds over some pussy,” Lars smirked, and I reached out before I found myself trapped inside Hunter’s strong arms.
“Whoa, hellcat,” he chuckled.
“Miss Mitchell, is there a problem?” Coach Hiller hollered from where all the girls were gathered.
Hunter immediately let me go, and as I righted myself, I hollered back, “No, Coach Hiller. There’s no problem.” Turning my back on the Finley brothers, I headed towards my gym class.
“This isn’t over Snow White,” Hunter warned, and my feet faltered at the name. I wondered just how much Talon’s told them about us, because even Alexandria didn’t know Talon called me Snow White.
Gym class sucked.
∞∞∞
Talon~
Hunter told me all about gym class during sixth period and, in hindsight, kidnapping Alexandria might have been a bit extreme. I was going to have to remember that in the future. But I was hoping there wouldn’t be incidences like these in the future.
After Kenzlee had poured her soul out in the janitor closet, I had spent most of the day ignoring what the good teachers of Lakeside High were trying to teach me and I stalked her like a certified creeper on social media.
It was during my stalking spree that I found out the brother that Kenzlee lost was Kaden Mitchell; her twin.
I knew Kaden from the fights. He didn’t fight, but he would bet heavy and he was always the king of the party. He had been very charismatic and easy going. It wasn’t until the last couple of years before his death that he had taken his partying ways up a few notches. He was always drunk or high, and that girlfriend of his had always been by his side; protecting him.
As a matter of fact, I’d only seen shit go sour one time during my association with him, and that was when some guy had grabbed his girl’s ass and Kaden had gone knuckle strong on the dude. It was how we officially met. I had to stop Kaden from killing the guy and risking the longevity of the underground fights. After that, we had a casual passing acquaintance every time Kaden attended the fights.
When the rumors spread that he had overdosed, I hadn’t been shocked because he hadn’t kept his addictions or partying ways a secret, but I had been saddened. Kaden Mitchell had been a good dude even on drugs or drunk, I couldn’t imagine what an extraordinary guy he could be sober.
And,Jesus,when the rumors had spread that his girl had killed herself a couple of weeks later, that had really been like a punch to the gut. Seeing them together, anyone could tell they were in love and she adored him. Kaden hadn’t been bashful or overly macho about his attentions towards her. Wherever they went, everyone knew they were together. I had always assumed knowing she couldn’t have helped him is what did her in. That kind of guilt was crippling. Hell,lovewas crippling. I ought to know, because Kenzlee had me all fucked up.
Kenzlee.
Armed with all the shit she threw at me, I had made significant progress in my online stalking of the girl, and that’s when I learned about Kaden and about her parents losing everything. Her father had made headlines among the wealthy newsfeeds and the articles had been scathing. But any sympathy I might have felt for what they were going through died a quick death when I came across a couple of small articles where they blamed Kaden’s girlfriend for his overdose.
What fucking assholes.
I glanced up at the clock and there were only three minutes left in class, and those three minutes weren’t ticking away fast enough for me.
After I Hunter told me about their little run-in with Kenzlee, I knew we couldn’t continue this way. Kenzlee was becoming more and more combative and her protective stance regarding Alexandria was giving her more inner strength than I needed to deal with.
I also needed to tell her that I knew her brother. It felt…wrong that she didn’t know that. Kaden wasn’t just her brother, he had been hertwin.That’s has to matter in a way I’ll never understand. I’d lose my soul if I lost Edie, but to lose the one person you actually shared a womb with? No wonder Kenzlee was a mess.
The bell rang and Hunter stood up as I did. “So, you’re skipping seventh, then?”
