Page 9 of Protector

Very.But I’ve heard it my whole life. So has Zach. It’s just how Kensley is. And yeah, I think maybe it’s getting a little better, but there will always be inconsiderate morons who refuse to think before they speak. “So hitting him would have made him less stupid?”

“It would have made him think twice before he starts saying that stupid shit again.”

I stare at him, seeing the anger in his eyes and not recognizing it. “What’s going on with you?”

He scoffs at that and starts walking again. “Nothing.”

I don’t let him walk away from me though, keeping pace next to him. “Nothing? This isn’t like you. They say stupid shit all the time. And I know Chloe is a tough subject for you.”

He stops and faces me again. “It’s not Chloe. It’s them being ignorant as fuck and me being tired of it. It’s your brother. Your blood.”

I search his face, trying to find the answers. It’s not like I don’t care about my brother, but it’s what we’ve all heard before. I know they’re stupid, but I don’t think I can change their minds. I don’t have the time or energy to try either. “Jameson is happy, and he can hold his own. He doesn’t need me schooling some high-school prick who’ll never leave Kensley and is likely to be on his third divorce before our ten-year reunion.”

“You don’t get it,” he says, his voice a quiet rasp.

“I want to,” I say honestly.

I desperately want to know what the hell is going on with him. “It doesn’t matter. I have to get to class.”

He adjusts his backpack strap on his shoulder and looks around nervously. This isn’t the place to have this conversation, and I don’t actually want to be late to class. “Talk later?”

He nods and makes a totally noncommittal noise, but then shuffles off without another word.

I hurry to class, but I’m left feeling nothing but empty and worried. I’m going to respect that he may not want to talk about Chloe and what’s going on with him in public, but I’m not going to totally drop it.

I need him to talk to me and soon because I can’t take this much longer.

SIX

ZACH

I need to get it together. I feel way too close to totally losing it. But I don’t understand how Adam can be so damn calm around ignorance. No—not ignorance—just plain stupidity.

They were talking shit about his brother and...

No.

I need to shake this off and not think too hard about why I got so pissed-off this morning. I also need to smooth things over with my best friend before he tries to make me talk more about it.

I don’t want to talk about it.

I don’t want to think about it.

I want to ignore it.

I’ve done okay with that plan so far.Well, sort of. Not really.

But I can’t do this. It’s our senior year. I’m almost out of high school, and even though I don’t plan to leave Kensley, I do plan to follow my dad’s footsteps and go straight into the oilfield after graduation. And no one will be paying close attention to me then.

I’ll be able to breathe without someone having something to say about it. Without walking down the halls of the high school and hearing whispers, knowing they’re talking about Chloe and me.

Chloe.

I try to push all memories of her away. You’d think they’d have more to talk about than us. But Chloe seems hellbent on keeping the gossip fires burning, and I still can’t bring myself to blame her.

I fucked up.

Big time. I know that.

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