Jade Shepard did her best to stay out of the feud that had developed between her brother Harlan and the resident bad boy Kieran Black. She just wanted to get through her senior year and not have to be dragged into the drama.
But somehow no matter h...
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Kieran's pov:
I looked down at Jade's sleeping body. I was happy that she was actually sleeping. She had been fighting with nightmares ever since that day after school. I couldn't help but beat myself up over the fact I wasn't there. I was supposed to be by her side making sure nothing like this happened.
I knew I wasn't the only one beating themselves up. I could tell Harlan was too and even Ava seemed to be blaming herself.
I slipped out of her room and into the hall. I had been basically staying at her house nonstop for the past few days. I didn't want to leave her again. It was a miracle that Harlan seemed to be ok with having me around. He chose to stay civil with me and I wasn't going to do anything to upset him. Jade wanted us to be able to get along so I'd try for her.
"How is she?" I looked over to see Harlan standing in the hall.
"Sleeping." I answered.
"You going into school today?" Harlan asked.
It definitely was weird to be talking to Harlan but we both cared for Jade and we'd work on not fighting for her.
"My mom would kill me if I missed another day. I don't think Jade will be going, I'd be surprised if she gets out of bed." I said truthfully.
I didn't want to leave her here alone but after being suspended twice already I don't think I could get away with skipping. My mom was already ready to have my head and the school was giving me one last chance. I couldn't blow it.
"Ava said she'd come over and spend the day with Jade. I was planning on stopping into school. I wanted to grab some of the work Jade was missing from her teachers."
"You know I can do that." I offered.
It really wasn't necessary for us both to go to school and leave Jade here but I had a feeling Harlan wanted to go for more than just to pick up Jade's school work. I knew that the second I saw Elliot's face I'd have a hard time walking away.
"It's alright." He waved me off and walked downstairs.
Harlan and I probably would never be friends but putting aside our differences for the sake of Jade was definitely something we could do.
—
I looked around for Nate as I got to school. I was pretty sure he was avoiding me. I had tried to text him but all of them went unanswered. I called him yesterday only to have it sent straight to voicemail.
It didn't take long to find him. He was walking towards the front door his head down as he texted on his phone. At least I knew he couldn't use the he lost his phone excuse as to why he was avoiding me.
"Nate!" I called out racing towards him.
He looked up right at me before turning and trying to sneak away. He was definitely avoiding me.
"What is your issue?" I asked grabbing him by the shoulder to stop him.
When he turned to face me I stepped back surprised slightly. He had a fading bruise under his eye and when I looked down at his hands I saw his raw knuckles. While Nate was probably better in a fight than I was he rarely ever fought anyone. Nate could have an explosive temper but he worked hard to keep himself calm. And for all the time I knew him he rarely got violent.
Once Nate got angry it was hard to calm him back down so he always decided it was better to stay out of fights. So it was surprising that he looked like he beat the crap out of someone.
"Just leave me alone Kieran." He shrugged me off and stormed away.
I didn't have time to deal with Nates mood swings at the moment. If he wanted to ignore me and be all weird that was on him.
The sound of shouting moved my attention to the other side of the lot. It was hard to miss Harlan's blond hair even in this crowd.
Of course he was starting a fight. If it went anything like the last time he was going to be back home icing his face.
I made my way closer to the scene to find nothing of surprise. Elliot was a coward and needed back up in all his fights. I looked around to see no one going to help Harlan as he was being held back yet again as Elliot went to punch him.
I guess if no one else was going to do anything about it.
I stepped right in front of Harlan taking the punch that was meant for him. My head snapped back as Elliot's fist slammed into my face.
Damn that hurt.
"Why don't you actually learn to fight fair for once Elliot?" I snapped.
Elliot's face was heavily bruised and swollen. I was surprised he was even here trying to start fights. It made sense that he needed help, a few hits to that face and he'd be down.
I didn't hold back I let my fist fly forward and slam into his already broken face.
He stumbled back. The guy couldn't take another fight he had to have been in a good amount of pain. Usually I would feel bad, I wouldn't fight a guy this beat up. It would be like kicking someone when they were already down. But with Elliot I didn't care how he felt, not after what he did to Jade.
"Get the fuck out of here Elliot. I don't know where you came from but go back there. If you stay around here I'll kill you myself. I'm not scared of going to jail." I threatened.
Elliot turned and walked off. He knew what would happen if he stayed around. I was giving him the chance to leave for good. Go back to his dads and if he stayed I would make it hell for him. The first priority was making sure Jade was safe.
"You didn't have to that." Harlan said pushing past me.
"You're welcome." I shouted after him.
The idiot didn't know how to say thank you. Especially not to me.
A/n:
This book is coming to an end. There is only four chapters left. But before you get sad, there will be a sequel. Sort of. It's going to follow Ava, but all your favorite characters will still be in it.
Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did don't forget to comment and vote!
