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"Generosity is its own form of power." —Frank Underwood 'House of Cards' ———————————————————

Chapter 10
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"You have to stay quiet okay?" I warned Kade.

A smug look came across his face. "This isn't my first time sneaking into a girl's house love, I got this. But don't wet yourself."

I rolled my eyes at his remark, a wave of anger drowning me. I surfaced immediately, trying to reminisce in our bad history. By all means, any girl could have him.

What the hell was I doing? Sneaking in a guy that hated me, that was a beginner lunatic move.

I regathered my being. "Okay, c'mon."

I motioned for him to wait before walking inside of my house. I peered inside, in search for either my brother or father.

There was nothing. I guessed the two were asleep.

"Follow me," I quietly instructed him.

He nodded his head, following close behind me. I abruptly stopped by Ryland's door, causing Kade to bump into my back.

"Why'd you stop?" His husky voice questioned from behind me.

I knocked once on my brother's door, awaiting for two knocks back. When I received nothing in return, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I opened the creaky door, poking my head inside. "Ryland?"

Still no answer.

"Ryland!" I yell-whispered.

I could see his silhouette shift in the dark. "What?" he groaned, shielding his eyes from nothing in particular.

I suppressed my smile. "I got home safely."

When I received no answer, I repeated his name,"Ryland?"

"Yeah, sure," I heard him mumble against a, probably damp pillow.

"Nice underwear by the way," I joked.

He yanked the white blanket over his Madagascar boxers, growling at me. "Get the hell out of my room, you son of a—" Before he could finish speaking, his pillow came my way in an attempt to make me leave before I immediately slammed the door.

Dad was probably knocked out by now. He never could make it past ten, and that man could easily sleep through a storm.

"Coast is clear," I told a very amused Kade.

He stopped me, and in response I shot him a weird look.

"You're wearing makeup," he stated.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, I am."

He tilted his head, eyes roaming all directions of my face. "Why?"

I only shrugged as a response. I wanted to end the conversation quicker then it had started so I turned back around.

"Well, he wasn't worth it," I thought I heard him say.

Was that a form of a compliment?

I lead him to my room, my confidence suddenly deflating once I set eyes on my scattered items. I rushed in before him, shoving the clothes in different directions.

"Sorry," I mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

"Okay."

I watched as Kade sat down on my bed, like it was his home. He propped two long legs up on it, crossing his arms across a muscular chest.

I scurried to the small television that sat in the center of my room. If I couldn't talk, then maybe the tv could.

I could feel his eyes trailing me. "Are you going to sit anytime soon?" Kade asked.

I tripped and twisted over my words. "Oh yeah...sure."

I awkwardly got on top of the bed, but since it was a twin, our personal space was very limited. Our legs remained dangerously close, as well as our arms.

I kept my eyes downcast. "Sorry, my house isn't exactly large."

"A home is a home," Kade stated, his eyes locked on the tv.

I decided to leave our small conversation at that. I wandered off to the early events from tonight, going back to that tight spot.

Carter was going to force himself on me. The longer I had stayed with him, the worse the situation would've gotten. I shivered at the thought.

He was another one on the list, the list of people who proved my mistrust was right all along.

Even though I had cracked a few smiles tonight, that didn't mean that I felt alright. Although my exterior consisted of meaningless smiles, my interior felt as if it were a sinking ship. I thought Carter was my friend, I thought we were friends. But turned out, I was just a dare to him.

"You okay?"

I turned to look him, my head still stuck on the sinking titanic. "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry."

His apology reached my ears, yet it didn't quite reach my brain. "What?"

"I'm sorry," his words were forced out in that deep, husky voice of his.

I tilted my head in confusion. "For what?"

He sighed, his arm raising to cover his eyes. "I'm sorry he touched you. Even though I don't like you, no girl deserves to get taken advantage of like that. He's a little bitch who couldn't take no for an answer. And I'm sorry about that."

I ignored the beginning, accepted his apology then thanked him for helping me. I lowered my gaze to my pale hands. I didn't want to piss him off and make him leave, I couldn't be in the room by myself right now. I wouldn't be able to sleep, knowing the past events that happened tonight. But, this didn't forgive anything.

"Did you follow us?" I finally asked him.

"Fuck no," Kade responded. "I was with Amber, she wanted to go see that boring ass movie." He rolled his eyes after the statement.

I rolled my eyes at the mention of her. "Where did she go?"

He turned on his side, his back to the white wall behind him. Sweet chocolate like eyes stared back into my brown, dull ones.

He shrugged as if it were no big deal. "She drove her own car. No pussy is worth my gas."

I frowned at his answer. Hell, I didn't even like the girl, but damn.

I had to refrain that he had technically used said gas on me, well...without the crude part. But, I didn't.

He tilted his head back, black locks going along with him. His lips settled into a thin line as he awaited my response.

"What was Carter's dare?" I hated how weak my voice was.

His eyes were shut tight as he relaxed into my bed. "He was dared four hundred bucks that he could fuck you by the end of this week. One if he could finger, two if you would suck his pencil dick. I didn't hear about it until later."

I felt nauseated at his answer. That was his plan all along, to get me in bed with him. I wasn't sure how his mind worked, or how he could even hurt someone that much, but I wanted no part in it.

"And," he drew out a sigh, throwing a nod my way. "I stayed after the movie once I saw you and him, just in case."

"Why?" I blurted out without a second thought.

His eyebrow rose along with his confusion. "Why, what?"

I circled my finger along my wrist, those same scars. "I mean why do you do it? You're an evil asshole one minute then you're...this."

He snorted at my words. "Why do you think evil people exist?"

"As a lesson. If you rip peoples souls apart piece by piece, there are consequences," I answered him simply. It was a thing that I had asked myself a million times over.

Kade's sigh reached my ears before he spoke, "Consequences? Like revenge or some shit?"

I shrugged. "You could call it that."

He crossed one leg over the other, his tatted arms flexing from under his head. "You believe in it?"

I shrugged. "I guess but, I don't exactly believe in 'evil' people. There's a reason for everything, including people. No matter how hard it is to figure out, it's always there."

Kade sat quiet for a minute before asking, "Even your mom and brothers?"

I shouldn't have let it hit me as hard as it did. But it did. I bit my lip at that as the familiar burning began at the back of my throat. The thought of them brought me to an entirely different headspace; the family that never was. To this day, I wondered what would have happened if my mother was actually a mother.

I changed the subject to something else. Anything else. "What does your mom do? I mean, you seem—"

Kade interpreted what I was going to say, "Rich?"

I nodded.

"Money is just money. It's useless, really. Besides, I'm going to be on this stupid planet for a while anyway, why not wreck some shit while I'm here?" Kade said in a casual voice.

I gave him an odd look, my heart aching in envy for the freedom he had. "You should be thankful for what you have."

"What do you mean by that?"

Hesitation nipped at me. I didn't want to piss him off, since I seemed to do that so often.

"I mean that you should embrace the things you do have. Money, friends, a family," I slowly said to him.

I silently pleaded for him not to take it the wrong way. I watched his jaw work slowly before lifting his weight off of my bed.

"You don't know shit about me," he spat.

My eyes widened at his words."I never said I did. I was just saying others don't have what you do."

His expression was framed over with anger. A frown downturned his lips, as well as his attitude as he stood.

My eyes followed him. "What are you doing?"

"Just be quiet for a minute," he hissed through clenched teeth.

A tortuous pain tore through my already injured heart. I couldn't quite understand him, I couldn't understand why he began acting like this because of my honest opinion.

My voice was soft as I examined him closely. "Are you okay?"

Kade began to thread his hands through his dark hair. He was angry or frustrated or maybe even both. "Kimberly, just do what I say, and please...shut up."

I wanted to scream as rage filled my belly. I felt my ears begin to heat from anger. "I'm not obligated to do what you say."

"Can you not just do what the fuck you're told?" he sneered at me. "Jesus."

I stood up, digging my heels into the carpet. "How is that the problem? Why are you this way? Why are you so mean to me one second then nice to me the next? You steal my things then get mad at me for questioning your motives? Be serious."

His laughter only added fuel to my wrath.

"You think this is funny?" I snapped at him.

He shot daggers at me, with no trace of emotion in his expression. "The situation you're in is your fault. Don't come to me with a damn pity party, because I truly do not give a fuck. You're just a joke to me right now."

Something snapped inside of me, like a switch had been flipped.

"So you think it's funny that I'm standing here right now, still shaking from almost being assaulted? You think it's funny that you took the only sense of protection I've had for years? You think it's funny I've been getting tormented because of you and your bullshit?" I tried to keep my voice at bay but it was a task proven to be difficult. "You call me weak, but that's coming from your perspective. Someone who doesn't a thing about me! You get angry when I judge you, yet you have been judging me since day one!" I exploded, my finger pointing in his face. I could see him backtracking at my words.

I wasn't finished though. "Just when I thought I could trust someone, he proved me wrong. I thought I could have a close friend in the future. But you don't understand or care, do you?" I chuckled. "You still have your friends, don't you? You still have your self confidence, your looks, and your money to fall back on? I have nothing, but me. And I'm not even sure I can trust my own damn self sometimes! So don't act like you know shit about me, Kade!" By the end of my yelling, my chest puffed with pure rage.

His face was blank. Nothing, but a blank canvas.

I hated the buildup. My eyes began to grow wet with anticipated tears. My walls, the walls that held me up in public just... fell. Moment by moment, they fell like rain. The muscles in my chin trembled from my frustration. I was tired.

He scowled, but his expression began to grow softer. "Quit crying."

I turned away from him. I couldn't give him this too.

I couldn't do it, I couldn't stay near him anymore longer. I was a punching doll for him, a waste of space.

I felt his hand land on my arm, pulling me closer. I was too weak to fight any more, my fight was done with and over for the night.

"Stop crying, sweetheart," I heard Kade say softly above my head. "Please."

Kade's damp shirt held up through my constant disposal of tears. I stilled against him, caught between shoving him off, and staying.

I hated to admit it, but I didn't want to let him go. Him being here was calming my spirit down in a way that left me with conflict. And I hated it. I hated myself for allowing it.

Somehow, we ended up in my bed. With our clothes still on though.

Once he led me to my bed, I felt a sense of panic that he was going to try and sleep with me. Although, when his hand to my, now straightened hair, my throat loosened up.

"Why are you doing this?" My voice was thick with emotion.

Kade didn't answer my question at the speed I expected him to. At his silence, I raised my head from his chest to catch his eyes already on me.

"Go to sleep," he said to me in a gruff voice, not once claiming my eyes.

I began to argue, but I was interrupted with his own,"You've had a hard night. Go to sleep."

I rolled my eyes, although I would rather deal with Kade's mood swings than be alone right now. If I had been alone in this tiny room right now, I wasn't sure that I would be able to keep the little sanity I had left.

There were two different types of tired. One consisted of a recharge of energy in a human's body. The other was when a human's emotions were all worn out, only to be tattered and messed with until the 'battery' died.

In my seventeen years of life, I learned that both could combine and completely tire you out both physically and emotionally. It was exhausting.

I felt my head, along with my body begin to move. A warm, chiseled pillow held my head up on top of it. A hand raked through my hair, teasing me back into slumber.

"You say I know nothing about you, but you are so wrong," Kade's voice was barely a whisper. I figured he thought I was asleep.

My eyes remained closed while he spoke. His voice varied in emotions, beginning with honesty.

"If I know nothing about you, how would I know that your dad and brother are the most important people in your life? How would I know that you hate to hurt someone's feelings even if they hate you? How would I know that your glasses are always tumbling down your face and you don't even care most of the time." I made the mistake of rearranging my head to hide the red color in my cheeks. Kade's sentence cut off quickly once he felt the movement.

To my advantage, he continued to speak in a quiet voice. "I was supposed to hate you..." I heard him pause to sigh. "But, ever since I laid eyes on you, I can't stand to watch you walk away from me. I hate not knowing you. I hate wanting to. You agitate me so much, and I hate myself for wanting to be in your company. I hate that stupid look when you're about to cry. Yet, I can't stand to it," he continued. "But I can't change it...fuck, I can't change it."

My confusion began to rise the longer I heard him. What was he talking about?

I couldn't understand him, not in the least. The way he spoke differed entirely from the acts of his actions. From him.

I heard the sigh leave his lips. "Why did you have to come back here, and fuck up my life even worse than you already have, Kimberly?"

My head was swimming for answers. How could I have fucked up his life when I hadn't known him any longer than a couple of weeks? I was so frustrated at the small clues he was giving off.

"Silence can mean a lot between two people," I heard him whisper one more time before he went entirely silent.

***

The first thing I noticed in the morning was that Kade was gone. Once I had woken up, I felt a wave of loneliness drown me.

"Guys never stay the night," I mumbled to myself, stating the number one rule of romance books.

I threw the blanket off of my body, not bothering to pick it up once it landed on the carpet. I lazily stood on wobbly legs, making my way to the bathroom.

"Ryland, open up now!" I banged on the door for the fifth time this morning.

He finally pulled open the door, only to cause me to fall towards him. He was too busy on brushing his teeth to notice me, and before I knew it I was on the floor.

Ryland bent down to inspect my mouth. "Fuck, are you okay?"

A metallic taste spread through my mouth, starting off with my tongue. My bottom lip began to throb in pain.

"I'm fine," I lied.

He sent a look clearly saying 'Don't lie to me' in my direction. I tried to pull away from his touch, mostly for the stinging his finger was causing and because we had to get ready.

"Ryland, I'm not ten years old," I told him as I reached for a towel.

He stood up, offering a hand to me. "I couldn't tell by your attitude."

"Leave me alone and go fix our food, asswipe," I shoved him out of the door, chuckling.

I anchored my attention on the girl in the mirror. Traces of my mascara were on my face. I nearly scared myself. I looked if a cat had dipped it's claws into mascara and attacked me. Based on my appearance, that was what other's would probably think if I didn't wash my face.

I got ready in my hoodie, along with a pair of blue jeans. I walked out of the bathroom, the smell of breakfast hugging me.

"There she is!" My dad yelled at my appearance.

I internally winced. I didn't want to tell them about the night, yet I didn't want to lie to them. Ryland would go hunt down Carter if he found out about what had happened and dad would walk aside Ryland with a shotgun.

"Spill, little sister," Ryland said, clapping my shoulders a little too rough.

"It was cool, but we were too different. We wanted different things so we decided to stay as friends," I pulled a tight-lipped smile to add onto my lie.

Dad nodded his head with a frown growing on his lips. "Good, he seemed like a guy that liked to mess with...an abundance of young women anyway. That type of heartbreak can make or break you."

"Says the champ himself," Ryland stated, standing to help dad.

Our father laughed, laying a pancake on each of our plates. "Hey, I'm retired from all of my adventurous days since I have you two kids keeping me busy."

"Sure, dad," I chuckled at him, glad the focus was off of me.

I waved goodbye to them before closing the door behind me. I took the 'secret' path I had formed, kicking dirt off of my already dirty sneakers.

I looked up from the dirt path to see the school. A bad feeling settled in my stomach at the thought of going back in that evil, evil place. Not only did I have to see the other bullies, but I was sure word got around the school about Carter. And I had a feeling he didn't tell the entire truth.

"You got this Kimberly, only a couple of months left," I tried to persuade myself.

Fuck.

I made my way closer to the large school, my eyes concentrated on the ground below me. I raised my gaze a couple of times, to prevent from bumping into someone.

God, how I wished I would have kept my eyes down.

Everyone's eyes were fixated on every move I took. I looked around at them, noting the looks of sympathy, hatred, disgust, and anger I was receiving.

Maybe I'm just overreacting.

I felt as if I was on a red carpet, my every move being watched. Their eyes were only concentrated on me, searching for any mistakes I would make. For any sense