Home > Torment Her (Rebels At Sterling Prep #5)(14)

Torment Her (Rebels At Sterling Prep #5)(14)
Author: Caitlyn Dare

"Hot dogs?"

We eat, we play, and we laugh. We laugh so fucking much my cheeks hurt. It’s just like old times, and I can't wipe the goofy smile off my face, something that Kenny notices, pointing it out every time she looks at me.

I can't help it. This right now is everything. It's what I imagined every time I've seen Ace and Cole with their girls.

It was always meant to be me and Kenny, and even though I pushed her in another direction, I always hoped she'd come back to me. We were written in the stars or some shit. I was sure of it.

"I need to pee," she announces, swaying slightly on her feet as she heads toward the bathrooms. I watch her the whole way, not really believing the U-turn she's made today. I want to think this is it now, that she's forgiven me and is willing to rekindle our friendship, but something tells me that this is just a small reprieve from her anger.

Nothing with us has ever been that simple.

Resting back against the wall, I pull my cell from my pocket. As expected, I find messages and missed calls from Hadley and Remi, there are even a couple from Cole and Ace.

Ignoring the messages, I hit dial on Hadley, knowing that she'll probably be going out of her mind.

"Where the hell are you?" she barks the second the call connects.

"Hey, sis. It's nice to talk to you too."

"Don't try to be all cute, Jagger. Where is she?"

"Are you actually accusing me of taking her somewhere and hurting her?" I ask, shocked by her accusation.

"No. I know you won't hurt her. I'm more worried about you holding her against her will."

"Jesus, Hads. What do you really think of me?"

"Well, prior to meeting Kenny, I thought you were the nice one. But she brings something out in you that makes me worry. And I hate worrying. Your twin causes me enough, I don't need you on my plate too."

"I never asked you to worry about me," I snap, getting a little pissed off that she feels like she needs to baby me.

"Conner, it's not like that and you know it. So, where are you?"

"I've locked her up in a basement. You'll never find her."

"Ha ha, very funny. Seriously, where are you?"

"At the arcade," I relent.

"Oh," she breathes, as if she's shocked we're doing something so normal.

"We're just having some fun. Forgetting about shit."

"Okay, that's... g-good."

"Yeah, it is. It really fucking is. Now, are you done with the interrogation, Mom?"

"Yeah, we're good. Just..."

"What?" I ask when she trails off.

"Don't push her too hard. Follow her lead, yeah?"

"I'm not a fucking idiot, Hads. Give me some credit."

"I know you're not. She's just... she's not in a good place. I don't want you to think that just because things are okay right now she's put it all behind her."

Irritated at her assumptions, I bark, "Whatever," into my cell and hang up on her.

The rational side of me knows that Hadley is just looking out for Kenny, and a huge part of me is grateful that she's got someone on her side who can help her when she refuses to let me in. But at the same time, I'm pissed that Hadley doesn't trust that I know how to deal with Kenny. It was just the two of us for years. I know her better than I know myself. I'm the last person anyone needs to be worried about when it comes to hurting her.

I'm still staring down at my cell when Kenny returns.

"What's wrong?" she asks. When I look up, I find her brows pulled together in concern. "Are we in shit?"

"Probably, but no, that was just Hadley ripping me a new one."

"Why? You haven’t done anything wrong."

"She's just overprotective."

"Fucking tell me about it. What's her story, anyway?" Kenny asks as she falls into step beside me.

"Not my story to tell, K. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you herself," I say, not that I know the details anyway. Only Cole knows the whole truth.

"Okay, fair enough. But... Lylah said something earlier."

"Lylah is a lying bitch," I snap.

"Yeah, I got that, but..." She hesitates, and my stomach clenches uncomfortably, knowing what's going to come next. "She said you and Cole... shared her."

I laugh. I can't help it.

"Okay, good to know."

"No, K. It's not like that. She's Cole's girl."

"So nothing has happened between you? The three of you?"

"Well... uh... yeah, something did. But it's not as bad as you're probably thinking."

"Right," she mutters before falling silent.

I want to tell her everything, make her listen, but I know Kenny well enough to know that she doesn't want to hear it right now.

Neither of us says anything about where we're going, but after a few minutes we step down onto the beach. Kenny kicks off her shoes and socks and wiggles her toes in the cool sand, sighing in delight.

Unable to resist, I reach out and thread my fingers through hers as we walk. She tenses and my heart sinks, expecting her to pull away from me. After a beat though, her hold on me tightens and we continue forward.

We're both silent, but that's okay. I might have a million and one questions for her, but right now, I'll settle for just her company. Hell, I'll always settle for that.

"I thought I'd hate this place. But... it's not so bad, I guess," she admits, coming to a stop and looking back up at the lights of the Bay twinkling in the distance.

The sun is beginning to set, the evening drawing in, and even I can admit that the place looks kinda pretty right now.

"Yeah, it's not a bad place to be. You could be really happy here, K."

"Maybe."

Pulling her fingers from mine, she drops down onto a dry bit of sand and pulls the bottle from her purse once more. She downs what remains before wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Everything's going to be okay, you know," I say, dropping down beside her and ensuring our shoulders touch. I'm not ready to let her go yet.

"Maybe."

"You're not alone now, Kenny," I say, pressing my hand gently to her shoulder and encouraging her to lie back.

She stares up at the sky above while I roll onto my side, preferring to look at her.

"Whatever happens from here on out, you're one of us. I've got your back."

A shiver rolls through her and I reach out, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her up against me.

Her scent fills my nose and her curves align with my hard planes, making my teeth grind as desire washes through me.

She gasps as we connect, and her eyes fly to mine. Something crackles between us, my heart thunders in my chest, and I lose all my restraint as I drop my lips to hers.

 

 

Chapter Nine

 

 

Kennedy

 

 

Conner kisses me. It starts off slow. Tentative. As if he’s been waiting for this moment his entire life and he’s worried he’ll mess it up.

The thought is like a punch to the stomach. Conner wants me... he wants me, and yet he pushed me into Warren’s arms.

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