Fourteen
1765 Words
Thomas shook his head, “You sound like you’re all busy. What about you, Ken?”
“Everything’s been quiet since we took out Ramone. Those who didn’t transfer into my crew were killed after being handing off to the Mafia. I’m just glad it was a success.” She told him. Rubbing her arm, she scowled down at one of the questions. “Shit.”
“Found something you can’t do?” Thomas asked as Memphis laughed.
“No, she just temporarily forgot the method to solving the problem,” Memphis advised.
Thomas scowled, looking down at the exercise book Kennedy was working out her problems in. Sure enough, she was working on AP Physics. He let out a breath, “Don’t ask me for help. That stuff is gibberish to me.”
Laughing, the teens took his words in stride. A small, sharp inhale told Memphis that she remembered the formula, and he watched as she jotted down the answer beneath her workings without bothering to look back at her notes.
Giving her ponytail a tug, she sighed in relief. “I can’t believe I almost for got that.”
“So, Kenni, your birthday is tomorrow,” Memphis said as he smiled at her.
She lifted her head, her blue eyes narrowing, “It’s just another day.”
“No, it’s not ‘just another day’. I’m taking you out after school, and that’s final. I will drag your sexy as hell, hot-tempered ass to our destination if I have to, and you can kill me afterward if you’re still pissed, but we are going out,” he promised as he rose to his feet.
As the screen door slammed, she blinked before turning her face to Thomas. “That’s a first.”
“What is?”
“He took control of the situation. He doesn’t normally do that,” she murmured. “On top of that, he risked making me mad by telling me what to do. He means well, which is why he’s not getting beat to a pulp now. I just hope that whatever he’s got planned isn’t over the top or anything. I’m down-to-earth about everything.”
Thomas laughed, “So, what’s with this crazy-assed Science, anyway? I graduated top of my class, but this is s**t I’ve never seen.”
“I’m in all Advanced classes. It was the only way that I would attend that stupid public prison. Physics and Logarithmic functions are not as easy as what Memphis does in Academic.”
Raising a brow, he shook his head. “Are any of you in Basic?”
“Nope. We all landed in Academic and Advanced,” she answered as she finished her homework. She shut the book with a dull, yet sharp snap, shoving everything into her bag. “Now that I’m done, I have a scheduled tutoring session with Memphis. Which one of us is cooking today?”
Thomas laughed, “Nah, sweetie. We ain’t cooking today. I’m ordering pizza from Papa John’s.”
“Nice, I prefer veggie with a cauliflower crust, if possible, please. I can e-transfer you the cost of mine,” she said.
“You better not start that s**t. I’m a little hard-up because I’m saving for Memphis’s college, yes, but you’re sacrificing your time to make sure he passes his last year of school. This is my treat,” Thomas told her as she darted up over the stairs.
*****************
Getting to school the next morning, Memphis grinned as Kennedy slammed the door to her Jeep. Putting the kickstand down on his Kawasaki Versys 650, he tossed his helmet at her when she motioned for it. She caught it, putting it in her Jeep without a word. The team knew each other so well, they normally didn’t need to speak to converse or get things done.
She scowled as he held up two thick rectangles of card stock paper. Adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder, she asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Pick one.”
The others laughed, but she rolled her eyes. “Are you still trying to get me to relax and have fun?”
“You bet,” he laughed, waving the cards in front of her face. “So, the rules of this are really simple. I’ve written down two things you like for each round of the game. You get to pick which one we do.”
Tilting her head to the side, Kennedy lifted one brow. Confused as to why he’d go to such lengths, she shook her head. “You’re asking me to randomly pick what we do after school? And each round has two things I enjoy?”
“That’s right,” he stated proudly. Grinning, he told Jaxon that this was the brilliant idea the guy had given him.
Someone shoved her from behind, and she fell forward into his arms. He glared at Markus, shaking his head with a dark gleam in his eyes. Looking down, he said, “My best friend must have a freaking death wish.”
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into the school and toward the library. Knowing she hated mind games, he wanted her to be able to let her guard down around him when they were alone. It was going to take some time, but it wasn’t like they didn’t have amazing role models. Once they were inside the projector room, he locked the door and pulled her close. “Hard morning?”
She groaned, pulling away as she pulled out her elastic and shook out her hair. “I had solo recon training last night, helped Romie with her English report, finished up the rest of my assignments, and helped Aunt Amber and Tem put the kids in their places. Got up this morning only to have Hans shove a full container of margarine into my face – thank God I love my nephew. It got all over my bed, in my hair, and some even ended up in my nose, so I had to take care of that. Declan cooked breakfast, and I didn’t get to see my sister yet because she was having trouble with morning sickness.”
He blinked, wincing as she rambled about her day and how her morning was so far. Her shaking voice said she was close to her emotional and mental breaking point, and it hurt to know that he may have played a part in it. “Anything else happen this morning?”
“Oh, you know it. When I got to the parking lot here, some stupid cow told me to stay in my lane because she heard we were together. Then you show up with those card things and…” Kennedy stopped. Putting a hand over her mouth, she sobbed dryly. “I’m so sorry. I just… I’m flustered, frustrated, and feel like my walls are caving in. I just want this day to be over with ASAP.”
Holding her firmly in the circle of his arms, he sat on the floor with her as she gave in to her inner turmoil. Her mind was in chaos, and he knew it as she fell to pieces in front of him. Rubbing her back, it left him reeling that he had become a haven of security and safety for her. Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I didn’t mean to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. I just wanted to show you a good time after school. There’s a PD day tomorrow, and I already cleared everything with Diablo and Dad for us to stay out late.” He murmured softly.
She took a breath, letting his words sink in. Her mind analyzed them, thinking carefully before she formulated a response. His warm hands held her as she sat on his lap, his strong arms encasing her tiny, toned body like a life preserver. She licked her lips, relaxing as she rested her head over his heart. The steady thrumming calming her frayed nerves. “I can’t do things like this in front of the mob.”
“Why?”
“I… I don’t want them to see me as weak. I’m one of the smaller teammates, but I am not a breakable doll,” she murmured.
Memphis huffed a laugh. “Mon petit diable rouge, there’s nothing about you that’s weak. We all have moments of darkness but holding it all in hurts more than it helps, Kenni. Why break in front of me?”
Amazed at his level of emotional intelligence, she stared at him as he swiped her cheeks with his thumbs. Resolving to open up completely, she whispered, “You make me feel safe, Memphis. We’ve been dating for months, and you never pushed for s**t other guys would be gunning for. You respect me, and I appreciate that so, so much.”
“We’re late for class,” he said, attempting to distract her.
Pulling out her phone she noted how shaky she was as she called her sister, who answered on the first ring. “Sissy, I need you.”
“I figured you would be calling soon. Your nephew got a firm scolding from me about his actions this morning, too. Are you doing okay now? Tell me what you need,” the woman pressed, her voice soft as she got straight to the point.
Hitting the speaker button on the screen, Kennedy licked her lips again. “I broke down, sissy.”
“Oh no.”
Clearing his throat, Memphis spoke up. “Aunt Tem, Ken needs a mental health day. Would you mind if we skipped so I can take her to my house to get some rest?”
“God, yes. It’s quiet and calm over there, so do that. I’ll let Declan know so he doesn’t worry. He had no idea Hans pulled that nonsense this morning. Memphis, I’m glad you’re with her, but do me a solid and call your father to clear this with him. Tell him to call me if you have any issues,” Temperance said before the line went dead.
“Baby, why does getting your nose buttered bother you?” He asked.
Kennedy winced, “My dad used to do that to me, too. I know I should be over it, but it’s still so raw.”
“Okay. It’s okay, Ken. We’ll get through this. I’m here with you,” he replied, tapping out a message to his father.
- Writer
