The Heavier the Chains...

Chapter 7

The hidden steel in our spines.

Kenzlee~

I wasn't in the mood today.

After getting off the phone with Julie, I had laid awake, doing the worst thing that a person could do; I'd thought nonstop about the past four years and everything that I couldn't change.

Funny thing, that.

The things that kept us up at night should be the things that we could change. We should stay up thinking of all the ways that we could change our unfortunate circumstances for the better. Instead, we stayed up thinking about things that were beyond our control and that made no damn sense. What was the point? Where was the purpose in worrying over things that you couldn't do anything about?

My brother was dead. No amount of wishing that I had gone to our parents mattered. My parents were broke. No amount of wishing that they had made better choices mattered.

None of those torturous wishes mattered.

I had stayed up last night thinking about Kaden, my parents, Madison Prep, Julie, hell, even Cameron. I had thought about everything that wasn't anymore. Then all that did was lead me to start thinking about what was, and that had sent me down another spiraling rabbit hole. It had made me start thinking about Talon Draven, and what the hell I was going to do about him.

Again, I knew that I needed to stay away from him, but what if he didn't stay away from me? Then what? I couldn't lie and say that I was strong enough to fight him off, because I wasn't sure that I was. Even if I wasn't an emotional, psychological, and physical wreck, there was no denying that the guy was hot as all get out. Those damn eyes of his alone were enough to make you forget that he was a jerk. He was tall, broad, strong, and if Alex's rumors were true, the boy could fight. He was the epitome of male dominance. Plus, he adored his sister. Alex had said that the rumor was that he absolutely adored his sister, and that was worse than thinking he was a jerk. A jerk with no redeeming qualities was just an asshole. However, a jerk who loved his sister was plain dangerous.

"I'm thinking we can ask if we can switch your locker closer to mine," Alex piped up beside me. "It'll be so much easier since we have first period together, don't you think?"

I shrugged a shoulder. "That's not a bad idea," I agreed. "But I wouldn't hold our breaths."

"Well, we can-" A shadow loomed over the right side of my locker, shutting Alex up.

I shut my locker door to see Talon Draven standing right next to me, and like I'd said earlier, I was not in the mood. It was amazing what lack of sleep did to a person. "I'm not in the mood, Talon," I growled and ignored Alex's gasp behind me.

His left shoulder was leaning up against the lockers, a book hanging from his right hand by his thigh, and he looked damn good. "You say that like I give a fuck, White," he replied, not at all concerned that Alexandria could hear our exchange.

I stared up at those unrealistic blue eyes of his, and I couldn't believe how much I wanted to stab them out of his head. "Quit calling me that," I spat. "My name is Kenzlee."

"Oh, baby, believe me, I know your name," he guffawed.

This jerk.

"Don't call me baby, either," I hissed. "I am not your baby."

One step was all it took to have Talon Draven looming over me, shrinking me. "That's where you're wrong, White," he said, his voice a deep rumble of male need. "You are very much whatever I say you are to me."

My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. Who in the hell says crap like that? "Are you insane?" I screeched. "You can't just...that's not how things work."