Page 57 of The Heavier The Chains…
When I finally reached fourth period, I couldn’t believe what I’d been reduced to. I was standing outside the door steeling myself to face a slip of a girl who had turned my world around in a matter of weeks. I had to actually take a deep breath and…willmyself to open the fucking door. And, when I did, it was as if the air in the entire room had been sucked out.
Kenzlee was sitting in the same spot she always was, and I knew it for the dare it was. She was daring me to sit next to her. She was daring me to face her after what I’d done. And the worst part about it?
She was a better actor than I was.
I walked into class as she was leaning to the side letting Linda Hernandez show her something on her phone. I wanted to act unaffected, the same as her, but I couldn’t tear my eyes off her as I walked down the aisle to my desk. Kenzlee reached for her phone as I sat down, and she showed it to Linda. They were sharing apps or looking at social media like every other girl all over the world, and Kenzlee looked positively okay.
Mrs. Thompkins called the class to order, and Kenzlee treated me like a ghost as she opened her book and faced the front of the room, eager for whatever Mrs. Thompkins was going to teach us today.
I thought back to what Lars had told me about her going back to Madison Prep, and I prayed she would. Seeing her today, no matter what poison I spewed yesterday, I knew I wasn’t going to win this battle of the wills.
I thought I was strong enough to walk away from Kenzlee and her money, but sitting here next to her, knowing I no longer had the right to touch her, was killing me.
It was fucking killing me.
Yesterday had been full of nothing but good intentions.
Today those good intentions no longer existed.
Chapter 22
The fear that tricks us.
Talon~
Ihad an hour before I had to get to the fights. I was scheduled to fight at nine, and with dinner done and Edie set for the night, I would be able to leave soon.
I was in my room packing my bag, when the door opened, and Edie walked in. I didn’t say anything as she sat on the bed. I knew she was in here to either bitch to me about the fight or ask me about Kenzlee. It didn’t matter either way. I didn’t really feel like talking about either subject.
“Talon?”
I stopped stuffing my clothes in my bag and closed my eyes for some patience. “Edie, not now,” I begged. “Please don’t do this now.”
“If not now, then when?” she snapped.
I turned towards my sister. “Never,” I snapped back. “How about never, Edie?”
“Talon-”
“No, Edie,” I barked. “I’ve been doing this for two years, and you’ve been fighting with me about this for two years. What is it going to take for you to realize you cannot change my mind about this?”
“You’re my brother, Talon,” she cried. “I’ll never stop fighting for you to do the right, safe thing.”
“This is the right thing,” I argued. “Sending you to college and getting you out of this…thisrut, is the right, safe thing to do!”
“Not at the expense of your safety!” she yelled. “I’d rather have you whole, happy, and healthy than a freakin’ college degree!”
God, this argument was old. Too old for us to keep having it, especially now that I’d made up my mind to schedule more fights. “Well, you’re going to have to get over it, Edie,” I told her. “I’ve scheduled more fights, so…you’re just going to have to deal with it.”
She let out a painful gasp. “Why, Talon?” she whimpered. “Why on earth would you schedule more fights?”
“Because we need the money to-”
“I’ll get a part-time job, or something,” she cried. “I’ll start babysitting or-”
I couldn’t do this with her now. “I need the extra money, Edie!” I roared. “I need the money if…if…”
Her eyes, the same as mine and Mom’s, widened. “If what, Talon?”
