Trial By Fire - Bouncing Back, Book 1

Four

Kennedy was still sitting by the window when Ambrosia walked into the room with the girl's file in hand. She was glad that she'd somehow found the courage to tell Memphis the truth. He'd been the first to make a move even though he knew that she could kill him without remorse of any kind.

After everything she’d gone through in her short, almost eighteen years of life, her faith in humanity was all but gone. She knew she was jaded, but her view of the world around her had been tainted by years of heart-hardening experience. Hearing the door click echo in the silence of the room, she turned to see her elder sister-in-law, concern shining in her eyes.

Ambrosia noted the faint red lines trailing over Kennedy’s cheeks. "Did something happen?"

The teen shook her head, her voice uncharacteristically soft for one so crass. "Nothing bad. Actually...."

Watching the gentle flush of pink stain the girl’s face, a small smile curved Ambrosia’s lips upward. "Oh?"

Clearing her throat, Kenni answered. "He… um… wow, this is still hard to believe. Amber, Memphis asked me out and, please keep this between us, but he kissed me, too.”

Ambrosia laughed, "You’ve both danced around that issue for a while now. I need to talk to you about something related to your recovery."

"Okay," Kennedy grunted. "How long before I can get out of here?"

Wincing, Amber sighed, “That’s just it. You require a minimum of thirty days in-hospital physiotherapy. I’ll reassess after that to see if you’re body can handle the outside world’s bullshit,” Ambrosia laughed.

“Are. You. Kidding. Me?! Just put me out of my misery already,” the teen moaned, throwing an arm over her face.

Scoffing, Amber dryly stated, “Oh, cut the teenage angst. Now, pull up your big girl panties and do as you’re told. Doctor and Donna’s orders. Besides, the team gathered all your missed assignments and homework. They said you would want it.”

Kennedy's eyes lit up. Her heart ached at the mention of her friends’ thoughtfulness. “They really are the best kind of people once you get to know them.”

"You all are. Listen, the reason for the mandatory physio is very simple. You see, some of your muscles have atrophied while you were in a coma, which would be bad were you to jump right into training," the woman said with a shake of her head.

Moaning, Kennedy gasped for breath as sharp pains shot through her feet and legs. "God, this is actually painful."

"I bet it is, honey," Amber replied. "I'll have a physiotherapist come in every day for an hour. I don't want you giving them any trouble, either. Understand?"

Her cheeks flushed from the effort, Kennedy was relieved when she was finally able to sit back down. "Can I pick who comes in?"

Ambrosia nodded, "Based on your history, I’ll grant that request. Do you have anyone specific in mind?"

Without pause, Kennedy smiled one of her rare, real smiles as she said: "Thomas Slade. I know he's not going to cut me any slack, and I trust the men I grew up around."

"Noted. I’ll talk to him," Ambrosia said. "Do you think you're going to need pain meds?"

"No," Kennedy said. “Abso-freaking-lutely not.”

Ambrosia shook her head with a soft laugh. "Alright, you little badass. I'll mark it in your chart."

******

The next afternoon, the father and son pair were called to the Don’s Den by request of the Donna. There, glad he was sitting, Thomas felt shocked to his core at the request waiting for him. “Are you joking, Amber?"

"If I was, we'd all be laughing," the woman replied.

Thomas groaned, "Great, now she wants to torture me. Why didn't she ask for anyone else?”

"Dad, Ken's smart, and she wants to heal as fast as physically possible. She knows Declan would likely go easy on her, and that’s not who she is.” Memphis rolled his eyes, knowing that his next revelation would piss his father off even more. “We’re dating now, by the way."

Thomas gripped the arms of his chair tightly. Seething, he tried to keep his temper in check as he glared at his son, "Memphis, I said no. She's not…"

"Slade!" Callum's voice was dark with emotion as he cut a scathing glare at the man across from him.

Even Trace, who had been diligently working on a new program, paused to look up. His grey eyes were wide with warning for Thomas to quit while he was ahead. Thankfully, his friend seemed to have gotten the message, giving the German man a slight nod.

Composing himself, Thomas leaned forward in the chair, “Pardonnez-moi, Mesitari Callum. I was out of line.”

His anger fading to disappointed acceptance of the apology, Callum continued speaking. "Other than the fact she speaks fluent sarcasm and has a sailor’s vocabulary most of the time, she’s a good girl, with a good heart if you take the time to really watch her. Don’t forget, Thom, Kenni matches energy, not attitude. With her, you get what you give, and I happen to like her that way.”

His head snapped up, eyes wide as he realized the truth of Callum's words. "I never saw it like that."

"No, of course, you didn't," Memphis scoffed.

Thomas sent his son a glare as Ross snickered. “What the actual hell, Memphis?!”

“Forget about Mom already, Dad. She didn’t deserve you. You were always busting your ass, and she proved in the end that it was only ever about the cash flow. That’s not who my girl is. She would never be so damn heartless!” As the teen calmed himself, he eyed his father. Regret bloomed in his chest, but he needed to make the man understand somehow. "I’m not sorry for telling the truth, Dad. I never will be. To me, Kennedy’s a cyclone of power and strength. A beautiful badass of a Boss b***h that knows how to get s**t done.”

Turning his eyes to the auburn-haired woman leaning on the desk, he bluntly stated his desire to be tested for dyslexia. Shaking her head, Ambrosia said, "Your father mentioned something about that earlier. So, I had a psychologist friend of mine agree to video conference with you. We'll get this taken care of now, but I want the room cleared.”

Knowing his wife meant business, Callum gave the signal to vacate the room. Giving her a kiss on the forehead, he left Ambrosia with the teen and closed the door before he made himself comfortable in the plush armchair in the hall. Across from him, now looking more lost than ever, Thomas anxiously bounced his knee. “What’s really your issue with Ken? You’re always one of the first to praise her, so what the heck happened, man?”

“I’m terrified that history might repeat itself with him. I’m afraid she’s gonna break him,” Thomas barked a laugh. His eyes burning, he asked: “Why did she want me, though?”

Callum raised a brow, “You’re hopeless. You have elevated status as a certified trainer and you teach fitness and nutrition at the school. She’s an overachiever of the highest rank; reads anything she can get her hands on just to learn more and more. Put two and two together and you get, what?”

“That conniving little… well, I’ll be. She certainly outsmarted us all, didn’t she?” Thomas laughed. “Alright. I’ll humour her.”

******

Getting to the hospital with his father after the appointment, Memphis sighed. “Not again.”

Thomas watched the guard approaching with an almost demonic look. “What the f**k is this i***t’s problem?”

“One word: racist,” Memphis replied dryly.

Thomas clenched his teeth, "Oh, so you’re the screw-up that profiled my innocent teenager?”

Pausing, the guard glared at him. “Sir, I’m going to nicely ask you to calm down.”

“I am calm. You’re the one with his taser unclipped. That’s a violation, by the way.” Thomas replied coolly.

The man snorted, “Like you know the law.”

“My students at the Ottawa Police Academy would disagree.” Pushing past the now flustered guard, they made their way up to Kennedy's room. Opening the door, he wasn’t surprised to see Phoenix and Andromeda, but he was surprised to see AP books scattered around the redhead. Why didn’t he notice before that she was in advanced placement classes? Was this the reason his son continued to pass each year without fail since meeting her?

Thomas grimaced internally. Now that he took a step back to see her objectively instead of subjectively, he saw the things Cal was talking about. Her ability to hold multiple conversations at once, coupled with her intensity and deep-seated sense of loyalty made her dangerous.

Phoenix barely glanced at them, his humoured focus holding steady as Kennedy scowled at the papers in front of her. "I'll take the assignments you’re done with."

Kennedy snorted derisively, "Yeah, sure. Almost done with my Science work; I just have to finish this part. Lithium sulphate is Li2SO4, and Li2S is lithium sulphide. There. All done."

It was the first time Thomas was subjected to seeing her brilliance firsthand. "What the… Kenni, when did Amber drop off your books?"

"Yesterday afternoon, just after Memphis left. Mark dropped off Math work before that, but I had it done before the new stack came in." Kennedy replied as she opened her English book. "Geesh, Declan must be mad at me. Define all highlighted terms."

"He’s not mad at you specifically. Marleen Mayweather made some comment about his relationship to you one day, and he doubled down on the entire class," Memphis pulled off the backpack on his shoulder as he dropped to the bed beside her. "I need help with that one if you're not too tired."

Kennedy nodded, "I can do mine in no time, so let's get yours done first. Romie, can you bring me the assignments from Art class?"

“Sure, babes,” the blonde replied happily before leaving with her boyfriend.