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"Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open." —John Barrymore

Chapter 5
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It didn't take Ryland long to figure out I was angry. He had broken a promise to me, one that claimed that he would never drink, no matter the issue. My mother was the cause of our pact. We had created it when we were young, but that didn't mean that the promise no longer stood.

"Kimberly," he acknowledged his own presence.

I knew that he was a grown man, but that still didn't mean our promise had no meaning.

I continued to pack my bag for the day. Walking downstairs, I noticed my father with his elbows perched on our countertop.

I rushed to him as I noticed the pained expression he wore. "Dad, what's wrong?"

He waved me off, a smile stretching ear from ear. "Just a little bit of back pain, honey. I'll be alright."

I frowned once he attempted to stand, again. "I got this. Sit down."

"Thank you, darling," he smiled, seeping back into the chair.

I offered one of my own smiles, placing a plate of breakfast in front of him. My anger still remained evident for Ryland, but I couldn't prevent myself from placing a plate down in his spot.

"Where is your brother?" Dad questioned.

I shrugged. "I think he's still getting ready."

Dad rolled his eyes, calling out to him, "Ryland, get down here before you make both you and your sister late!"

My father winked at me as he noticed the growing laugh. After I served the food to the three of us, we discussed how yesterday went for the both of us. Instead of waiting for Ryland, I began to eat.

My father chuckled at me. "You're not gonna wait on your brother?"

I shrugged. "We both know by the time Ryland makes it down, the food will be cold."

My dad thought about it, his head tilting to the side. One of the many traits I had claimed from him.

He shrugged his shoulders as my words finally hit some type of sense. His hands reached for his fork before the conversation continued.

"So, Celeste told me that you were at the diner yesterday, huh?" he brought up.

I nodded my head, while drowning my pancake in maple syrup. "Mhm. They offered me a job, too."

I glanced up at him for a reaction. Halfway, I expected the same one my brother had, but then I realized, it was my dad I was talking about. He wouldn't purposefully hurt a fly.

His smile was one of the most radiating gifts of the world. "That's great, honey. Any excuse to get you from your room is fine with me," he told me, biting into his toast.

I rolled my eyes at him, even though he was right. Back at our old house, I'd never left my room unless forced to do so. I liked it that way, though. Secluded, and safe.

I stood, and grabbed both of our plates. I washed them off, meanwhile leaving Ryland's untouched.

I kissed his cheek, feeling a bit of his prickly beard scratch at my face. "Heading out. Love you."

Without waiting for Ryland, I scurried out of the house. My legs picked up the pace once the memory from what happened yesterday hit me with the same impact the irregular wind did.

The bullying, the teasing, the Kade, my diary. Too much for one day, it seemed like. 

I decided it best to create my own pathway to school. One where no one would be able to harass or humiliate me.

I brushed dirt off the thigh area of my dark blue jeans. My oversized hoodie sagged over my body, concealing my curves and bumps.

"Here we go," I whispered as a self motivation speech.

It didn't work.

I stepped onto school ground, my hands sunk the holes of my hoodie. I twiddled with the soft material in a small form of comfort as I continued to feel stares, on top of the whispers. One rose above all of the others, though.

That feeling where someone is watching you. Everyone seemed to have it, even though others ignored it, I couldn't.

I glanced over my shoulder quick enough to catch eyes with Kade. I felt taken aback once I saw how his beautifully the midnight dark blue shirt hugged his body. He lifted a lit cigarette to his full lips, inhaling the smoke skillfully.

Smoking on school grounds. Shocking.

I swallowed the tight knot once I saw his eyes roam down my body. As naive as I was, I tried to believe that perhaps he would change today. Maybe he had a bad day yesterday. Though, I didn't consider that a good enough reason to place it on others.

Biting, chewing, and swallowing a huge lump of pride, my lips upturned in his direction. My smile was toothless, but it still was a smile nonetheless. It was trying to be considered a peace offering, but it was more of a 'quit acting like a fucking lunatic, and give me my diary back' smile.

His eyes widened slightly once he figured out I had smiled at him. He broke our locked eye connection, tilting his head to the ground. His eyebrows drew in close, mouth downturning into a frown. For a moment, it looked as if he were contemplating something.

Instead of returning to me, he continued to inhale the cigarette. His eyes never left the hard pavement underneath him. It was fascinating to watch the tick of his jaw harden under pressure by the passing second.

I frowned at his reaction. I tried to keep the acid from building in the bottom of my stomach at his hard judgment. It wasn't from fear of him, no.

It was fear of what he could do with my diary. My insecurities. My secrets.

My past.

Jerking back around, I hurried and walked into the school's main building. My heart began to ache at the thought of yet another day at this hell. I slowed down, watching my feet as I prepared myself.

"Are those big glasses of yours not working, or are you just blind?" a loud voice announced from behind me.

I turnt around to give the disembodied person a identity. His eyes looked as if they were created to resemble a dark river. They stared back at me with an unreasonable hatred in them. As he jerked his head to the side, the light reflected off of his golden hair. My eyes disappeared up the long arms that were littered in different tattoos.

The thing that caught my attention the most though, was the long, jagged scar that ran diagonally along his neck.

"Hello? Are you stupid?" he asked, only making himself look idiotic.

I shut my mouth for my own sake. I moved over to the side of the hallway, only glancing up to see if he had left. An arrogant smile sat on his pink, thick lips as he passed by me, purposefully bumping my side.

"Asshole," I murmured to myself in a defeated sigh.

All of my classes passed in an agonizing blur, and before I knew it, lunchtime had came. Without invitation, Carter decided to accompany me to the full room of teenagers. I didn't deny his presence since I knew I would need it.

"So, tell me some more about your life in the big I," Carter smiled, flicking his brown curls away from his forehead.

My eyebrow raised. "The big I?"

"Yeah, that's what I like to call Illinois," he chuckled. I'd forgotten I told him.

I chuckled, eyeing my shoes. "Well, there's nothing really to say—" My words were cut off by the sound of his ringtone.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Carter sighed, before looking at the caller ID.

I shrugged. "It's alright." I didn't want to speak about my hometown anyway, that place morphed me into the girl I was today. And, I hated myself for who I was. Who I am.

"I'll be right back, okay? Stay right here, and we can go get lunch," Carter instructed, before walking away.

Awkwardly, I stood outside the cafeteria doors. I glanced around at the orange chipped walls, attempting to be occupied. My eyes were widened as I noticed the explicit words graffitied on the old walls. I was far too enticed on the nasty art, to even notice the presence of someone behind me.

"Come on. You're sitting with me," I jumped at Kade's voice.

I snatched my arm away from his grasp as if I had been bitten by a poisonous snake. Although, I wouldn't be wrong to call him that.

"Absolutely not," I declined.

I felt my voice burn out under his intense stare. I swallowed as he raised his eyebrow to my rejection.

He reminded me of a child who had been getting things his way for far too long. His head tilted. "No?"

"No," I answered in a small voice.

Kade crossed his arms over his chest, his head ducking as he chuckled. "Sweetheart, I don't think you're in the position to argue."

As bad as I hated it, he was right. He had something I didn't, and that was my diary.

I shook my head, again. "You sound ridiculous. Why do you even want me next to you anyway? You hate me, remember?" I reminded him.

Kade's head shook. "Don't be silly. I don't hate you, I just strongly dislike you."

I rolled my eyes. "For no reason, I might add," I muttered.

He caught it, his lips pulling into a frown. "Come on," he demanded.

At my still stance, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy burst in flames. I could see the anger flash in his eyes, the tick in his jaw, the clench of his fists inside of his crossed arms.

"I will carry you, Kimberly," he growled, taking a step closer. "Don't fuck with me."

I wasn't daring. Actually, far from it. So what gave me this courage, I wouldn't know.

"You wouldn't," I glared back at him.

I felt my heartbeat in my bones, I could hear it in my ears. Like a drum, the sound enticed my fear by every passing second.

I jumped back as he craned to pick me up. I glared at his annoyed form, my fists tight. "What are you doing?"

I watched him shrug, as if he hadn't done anything. "I warned you."

There was no way out of this. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew of his new authority over my life since he had such things in his possession.

"Alright, just give me a second," I sighed, palming my forehead. The skin was burning.

"Second's up," I heard him mutter.

Before I could protest, Kade's hand shot out to take hold of my arm. His grip wasn't painful, but it held such strength that I failed to detach.

"Kade, let me—" my words were cut short as he walked through the doors of hell.

Curiosity, and future gossip left a bad stench in the large room for me. I could already imagine the rumors, and the insults I would hear.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I couldn't decide what to do. I froze under the circumstances, my eyes wide with frank shock and fear.

Kade dropped down into one of the multicolored seats. He nodded at the chair next to him. "Don't be shy. Sit."

All of the 'populars' eyes were on me. Never had they, or even myself expected this from a guy like Kade. Like Natasha said, people as myself, were never welcome here. I had a target on my back as soon as they noticed they could aim and shoot without consequence.

My skin flushed as I heard Kade speak again, "All of you get five seconds to look the fuck away." At first, I thought he was speaking to me, but instead I realized that he was speaking to his friends, as including the rest of the school.

Immediately, their eyes shifted back to their plates, except the popular kids. I squirmed in my seat as I felt their eyes weigh me down in heavy, heavy judgement.

It looked as if Judgement Day had finally come for me.

By the time lunch was halfway finished, I was fuming. As I thought it over more, I realized how ridiculous I looked. I wasn't a slave, I wasn't his property, or his possession to be dragged about just because of the information he had. This was high school, for fucks sake. It never lasted forever.

Now just say that to him.

"I'm leaving," I declared for only him to hear.

On shaky legs, I stood up. I retrieved my bag as I prayed for him to let me be.

Kade stared straight ahead, leaning back into the chair. "You know, I find it so funny that you're still a virgin at your age." His voice was low, so that the conversation would be shared between us.

I froze.

"Where should I start? The first page, or in the middle? I find it all so interesting...how hard you must have had it, poor baby," he taunted.

"Shut up, Kade," I hissed through gritted teeth.

I watched him shrug, a tiny smile crossing his face. "You know, you're going to be a virgin for a while, right? I think you should just let that Carter kid—"

My hand covered his mouth in a quick motion. I lowered myself back into my seat as his head tilted back, his Adam's apple bouncing with his wild laughter.

A half-grin curled across his lips. "Good girl," he winked at me.

With that, he turned back toward his friends. He pretended my presence was no longer there, but my anger was loud and clear.

I sat in a silent commotion. I tried to ignore the constant looks I received from the people who passed.

"Kimberly?"

My eyes flickered over to Carter. Not right now, god not right now.

"Damn, I've been looking everywhere for you," he completely disregarded Kade, and offered a hand to me. "Come on."

In many situations, I'd experienced humiliation. Right now though, was in for the win.

"I can't," I mumbled.

Without even looking, I just knew that Kade was there with a huge grin on his face. I glanced up at Carter, just to see the roar of anger flash through his eyes.

I couldn't figure out if he was angry with me, or Kade.

His gaze fell back to me. "Cool, well we can have lunch here, then," he declared, his lips uplifting. 

I watched as he scooted a chair to the table. "You don't have to..." I trailed off for both of us, since the stares increased when he grew closer.

"What's up, bro!" someone shouted from the end of table.

Carter grinned at them. "What's up, dude." His grey eyes traveled to mine, the warming sense in them addicting. "See? I sit here every day, but now, I have the company of a beautiful girl as yourself here."

"You must not be talking about Kimberly, then," Kade chuckled.

Out loud.

My face flushed in embarrassment as the entire table chuckled. I felt their curious glances turn into mocking ones as they realized this wasn't a nice act performed by Kade.

I looked to Carter as I noticed his hand clench around his fork. "Hey, don't talk about her like that," he warned.

It was scary. Kades' eyes. It was like one minute they were alright, then if you were quick enough, you could see the glint of excitement within them. It looked as if he had planned this upcoming argument.

"I think I can speak to her however I like," Kade took a shot at Carter, craning his neck past me to look at him. "Unless someone wants to stop me?"

I gulped as Carter dropped his fork, tightening his fists. It brought a feeling of dread in me. I didn't want this to happen, in fact I wanted the opposite.

"You wanna know something?" Carter spat at him. "Just because you're already too fucked up doesn't mean that you have to put it on her."

"Hey dude, chill out with that," one guy with a muscular build, dark brown hair, and green eyes told him.

"Yeah, I'm tired of hearing you talk, Walson," the guy who had been rude to me in the hallway warned him from the middle of the table.

With all of the bravery I could muster, I spoke up, "It's not that serious..." I trailed off as I couldn't think of anything else.

"Not that serious?" I bit my lip as Carter chucked. "He's only upset because he couldn't get you in his bed so easily."

My eyes widened briefly as Kades' fingers began to whiten. They tightened around the edges of our table, and the anticipation only grew minute by minute.

I felt my mouth dry up as I thought of something. I knew my next action would be both ruthless, and stupid at the same time. But, maybe that would prevent a fight from happening.

I grabbed his hand in mine.

Shit.

I thought it was Carter.

Kade's body grew rigid. His brown eyes flickered over to mine, the surprise evident. My own followed.

Warmth seeped through my hand as our skin made contact with one anothers. I told myself to let go, but I couldn't. Something in me wouldn't let his hand go so quickly.

"Well, tell your friend to quit being a bitch," Carter insulted in a loud voice.

Like that, the spark was gone. Kade lost touch with me, his eyes transitioning to Carter's form. My hand grew cold as Kade released it to jerk up. His chair was knocked over from behind him, the loud clatter silencing the cafeteria.

Carter stood up as well, meeting paths with Kade.

"You wanna say that a bit louder for me, Walson?" Kades' words held unvoiced warning, but loud threats underneath them.

Carter stepped up to him, a cocky grin following. "I said that you're a little bitch."

As if his words weren't already triggering, his actions were prone for disaster. He shoved him back, causing Kade's backside to hit the table.

Ah, fuck.

In a matter of seconds, Kade had Carter against the wall. A loud slap sounded out from the impact of Kade's shove. My eyes widened at the sight of Carter against the brick wall.

Kade's arm pressed against Carter's throat so tightly, that Carter's natural skin color was began to darken.

"Kade!" I yelled at the sight of Carters' unusually shaded face.

Finally, our principal came to aid. "Mr. Ryder, you drop that young man right now!" he rushed in as he attempted to separate the two.

It took Kade a minute before he surprisingly reacted to the principal. Slamming Carter's body against the brick wall once more, he released him to a slump. I blinked after it.

What in the hell just happened?

Before I could get my answers, Kade was walking out of the cafeteria.

I stood in a hurry. I needed answers, and I was going to get them now.

Carter clenched his throat tightly, trying to suck in as much oxygen as possible. My legs didn't follow what my brain had demanded, and instead took me to Kade after I grabbed my bag.

"Kade!" I called to him.

"Can you stop, and listen to me?" I attempted. "What was that?!" I yelled at his back.

Finally, he turned to face me. A violent mirror of rage was sketched across his face. My fear only increased as I watched his nostrils flare.

"What was that?" He repeated with a dark chuckle. "That was me, Kimberly! Okay? That was fucking me."

My words were tangled up. "I know that, but for a minute, you were just—"

"A monster?" Kade assumed, his disgust evident.

I looked at him, my surprise evident at his assumption. "No, I was just going to say that for a minute...you were just really angry."

Kades' eyes slightly glazed over, his jaw clenching so hard, I had trouble understanding how his teeth didn't snap in two. With a huff, he continued to walk over to his car.

My steps closed in on him. "Where are you going?" I asked.

His eyes were directed straight ahead. "Home."

"In the middle of a school day?"

His sigh came out heavy. "Why the fuck do you even care? You hate me, remember? So, just leave me the hell alone," he snapped.

This little bitch. "Trust me, I could care less care about you! I just need answers." I argued back before adding, "Why can't you just give me that?"

"Because you don't deserve them, Kimberly. Not at all." My