Page 35 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

I just couldn’t stop thinking that despite what he was, he was still willing to risk it all to keep me safe, and that made it mean oh so much more.

I also couldn’t escape that fact that he was so unbelievably hot. Those intense eyes and chiseled features, lumped together with the body of a professional UFC fighter was enough to keep me awake at night.

And that was where I came full circle and was back to my biggest problem: Pretending to be okay.

Unfortunately, as much as I tried to put on a good front, Mia knew me too well. But the good thing about the relationship I had with Mia was that we both knew each other well enough to know when to keep our mouths shut. If I could just stop her from casting worried looks at me every few minutes or so, I’d be fine.

It wasn’t just her though. Jace and Aiden were in on the little anxious glance throwing thing too, and the whole thing just made me even more uptight.

By the time school was done with on Friday afternoon, I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there. Heading to my car like I was being chased by a horde of zombies, I prayed for a clean escape.

“Kaeli!”

Lady luck really hated me.

I turned to see Aiden striding towards me. Forcing a smile, I reluctantly released my grip from the door handle.

“I just wanted to see if you were coming tonight. I have a ticket for you.” He held out a little strip of paper for me to take.

“Uh…I’m not sure if I’ll be able to make it,” I answered lamely.

“You’ll try though, right? We like having you there.”

I repressed a sigh. “Of course.” I reached out and took the ticket off him, giving him another one of my winning smiles. Not. “Thanks.”

He nodded, looking like he wanted to say more, but I was damned if I was going to let him. Pulling the door open, I threw my bag in and sunk into the driver’s seat. “Hopefully I’ll see you there,” I said as I closed the door.

I didn’t look to see what he was doing. I just started the car and pulled away.

Driving home, I forced myself to stop thinking about it all. I passed on having a snack and went straight to my room to get a start on my math assignment, hoping that would keep my head busy.

The peace I was seeking though was only mine for a total of about forty-five minutes. When I ducked down to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, Ken walked into the kitchen and pinned me with a knowing smile. To say I was surprised would be a lie. It was Friday after all, and it seemed Friday’s were made for dark, illegal encounters.

When Mom disappeared into the laundry room, he turned to me with two words. “Five o’clock.”

He didn’t need to say anything else. I got it. With a quick glance at the clock, I saw I had approximately forty minutes to get there.

“I’m going to go see Mia, Mom,” I called out.

She appeared in the doorway. “Okay, honey. Will you be back for dinner?”

“Probably not. Aiden gave me a ticket to go see them play tonight, so I’ll probably go there with Mia.”

“Alright. Have fun. No drinking though, okay?”

I gave her a warm smile. “I won’t.”

My throat felt tight as I walked away. I hated keeping secrets from her. When it all came down to the barest of essentials, we only had each other, and we should’ve been sticking together.

I found the brown bag from hell near the front door, and without breaking my stride, scooped it up and walked out to my car. I knew Mitch told me not to drive again, but I could hardly say I was going to Mia’s then leave my car at home, could I?

Deciding to play it safe, I drove about halfway and caught the bus from there. There was no way I was doing anything that might piss TJ off. He was one scary son of a bitch.

For some reason, the walk between where I got off and TJ’s house felt longer than usual. It was strange, but the backstreets felt even scarier during the light of day. Something just felt off about it, and my imagination had me wondering how many guys like TJ lived behind each of the doors I passed. It was enough to make me pick up my pace.

I knew I was losing my mind for sure when I finally came to the backdoor of TJ’s house and felt relief. Taking a breath, I reached out and knocked.

My relief quickly turned to fear though, when the door was thrown open and I found myself faced with a sneering Pock. He stepped to the side so I could come in then shut the door behind me. I tensed when I heard the sound of the lock click into place.

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