Protect My Heart

two

[ 02 ]

"Seriously, J. What's going on?" Kaden asked, concern seeping into his voice. I would've been touched, but this was the bloody sixth time he'd asked me that.

"Nothing's going on, I'm fine," I repeated, feeling as though I might as well have recorded my response so I could play it to Kaden again and again.

"You don't do graffiti unless you're really sad."

"Or really happy," I added, because it was true. Some people turned to alcohol, I turned to my spray cans.

Kaden's brows rose. "Spit it out. What's going on?" Seven.

"Kade, I-" My voice broke off as I struggled to explain what was going on in my mind. "I can't explain it."

He stared at me with those calculative eyes of his and I tried not to wither under his gaze. Honestly, security training should have included a segment with Kaden just staring down at you. Maybe then I wouldn't have passed the test and I wouldn't be here now.

"Fine," he said finally, taking pity on me. "You don't want to talk about it, you don't have to talk about it. You owe me nothing."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you," I said after a beat of silence. I wasn't sure if I was thanking him for not pushing the matter or for bailing me out.

Kaden's shoulders lifted up in a shrug and he smiled slightly. "What are friends for?"

We were sitting in a small cafe sipping smoothies. Kaden had brought me here after bailing me out, claiming that he was hungry and that it was my obligation to eat with him after dragging him out of bed at four-thirty in the morning.

"Who was that guy?" he asked suddenly.

My eyes lifted to his. "What guy?"

"The guy at the station with you."

"Oh. I don't know." It struck me then that I didn't know his name, or anything about him, really.

"Then why were you arrested with a man you don't know?"

I rolled my eyes. "Calm down, tiger. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw me painting, wanted to do it too, and bam! The cops came."

"So it was your fault," Kaden deadpanned.

"No!" I exclaimed immediately. "It was our fault. Both of us."