Page 49 of The Heavier The Chains…
Kenzlee~
Apparently, Lars and Hunter Finley were connected enough to launch their own news station.
By the time I was walking towards third period the entire school knew Talon and I were officially an item. My phone had dinged with notifications for every social media outlet I had with requests from Edie, Lars, and Hunter to be added to my lists of friends and followers.
Alexandria had been giddy and excited all morning for me, and I thought it was hilarious how fangirl she got over Talon. The kidnapping thing aside, she really was happy for me. She said the simple fact that Talon’s never had a girlfriend before was enough for her to believe he was serious about me.
I didn’t tell her that I had no doubt Talon was serious about me. We stayed up all night learning about each other and nothing had been off limits. We talked about his father walking out on his family. We talked about Kaden and how Talon had met him before. We talked about why Talon fought and all his plans for Edie and his mother. We talked about how my father lost everything and how my parents dumped me on my uncle. We talked about how he never had a girlfriend and my relationship with Cameron. Granted, we glossed over that topic because Talon hadn’t been too eager to discuss Cameron, and how I lost my virginity to him, but we did touch on the subject.
We talked abouteverything.
We even talked about his planned future and my uncertain one. But what had surprised me the most was how Talon had made it clear that none of that mattered. He told me our futures would be whatever they were going to be, but we were going to live them together.
I believed him.
By the time we had hung up the phone, he had convinced me that we were going to have a happily ever after. It had been an easy fantasy to fall into. I had no direction after graduation and just the idea that, I might be lost but I wasn’t alone, was enough to put my heart all in.
Heading down the hallway towards third period, I was brought out of my thoughts of Talon and our relationship when a tall redhead stepped to me. I didn’t know who she was, but I’d seen her around. I often passed her after gym class, but we’ve never spoken or greeted one another. She was very pretty, but something told me her approach had nothing to do with wanting to be my newest BFF.
She was taller than me by a few inches, but nothing intimidated me much these days. Even her classy features and a nice figure wasn’t enough to make me doubt myself. And not because I was stunning or anything, but simply because I didn’t care about petty high school egos.
She stopped in front of me. “Kenzlee, is it?” she asked although we both knew she already knew my name.
I gave her a sharp nod. “Yep.” I cocked my head to the side. “What can I do for you?”
Her chin shot up a notch. “There’s some ridiculous rumor going around that you’re dating Talon Draven. Is it true?”
There were two ways I could play this; answer her cordially or point out that Talon and I were none of her business. Now, usually I opted for politeness because that’s how I was raised. We were polite above everything else and never caused a scene.
However, I wasn’t stupid.
I knew dating Talon was a big deal around here. Even if he wasn’t an underground fighting superstar, I was the first girl to catch his eye and matter to him beyond getting a condom out. I knew guys were going to be curious about what made me special, and I knew girls were going to be catty wondering why they weren’t. I couldn’t show any weakness or Talon and I would be over before we begun.
“I’m sorry,” I said politely, “but who are you?”
“Tammy Jones.” She said it as if I should know who she was. A part of me prayed Talon hadn’t slept with her, not because I was jealous, but because I didn’t want to deal with old crushes.
“Well, Tammy Jones,” I retorted, “Since I don’t know you, and Talon’s never mentioned you, I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
She looked truly offended. Her chin went up another notch before saying, “You’re nothing but a novelty, you know that, right?” I didn’t respond. “You’re the new girl. The girl who’s fascinating for the moment.”Christ, this girl really had no qualms about being nasty to someone she didn’t even know.“Talon will see that you’re nothing special soon enough.”
I laughed. She was a real piece of work. “Even if all thatistrue,” I replied. “I still don’t see how it’s any of your business.”
Jealousy was clear as day on her face and oozing from every pore on her body. “I know you’re just latching onto him because of all the money he makes fighting,” she spewed, trying a different tactic.
I shook my head. “Make up your mind,” I bit out. “Either he’s using me or I’m using him, which is it?” Before she could answer, the second warning bell rang over our heads, and while I wanted to be the better person-I really did-I needed to put a stop to this now. “Look, I don’t know who you are or what you think, and frankly, I don’t care. However, a little advice? If Talon wanted you, he’d be with you,” I stated simply. “And since he’s not, well…that speaks for itself.”
Her face was raging red when she said, “I’m going to laugh when he finally gets tired of you and dumps you.”
I smiled in the face of her jealousy. “You can,” I said. “You can laugh right along with everyone else, but you still won’t end up with Talon.” The last warning bell rung, and I turned my back on her to head towards class.
She didn’t call out to me or try to stop me, and I was grateful. I’ve never been in a fight before, but I wasn’t afraid to be in one. I have just never been in a position where someone was so upset with me it turned into a physical altercation.
I got to class just in time, and thankfully, while I got a few glances here and there, no one was super obvious in their curiosity.
I sat at my desk and I felt like such a girl at the thought of sharing fourth period with Talon. I’d seen him this morning in the parking lot, but we hadn’t had much time for privacy. It had felt like the entire school had surrounded us, even though that hadn’t been the case. I just really had wanted to be alone with him, and so it felt that way.
We weren’t ten minutes into class when the classroom phone rang and the teacher told us to hold on a minute. Staring out the classroom window, I hadn’t been prepared for her to call my name after she hung up the phone.
