Broken Girls And Broken Boys

Chapter Nineteen: Damn me and my addiction to food.

"Caleb! Stop running away from me you little-" I pause, out of breath only to see some old hag shoot me a dirty look. Rolling my eyes, I watch my brother slip from my grasp once more and run into the soft play area. Maria sighs next to me, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

"Why did you agree to babysit Caleb?" she asks, raising a plucked eyebrow in my direction. I shove her playfully and we begin to search for a seat.

"He's my brother," I mutter as Maria shoots me a blank look. "Fine," I sigh, "Mum bribed me." Her booming laugh echoes through the empty building and I hunch my shoulders in defeat.

All it took was some Oreo chocolate and I was sold.

Damn me and my addiction to food.

I slide onto a sofa and slip my legs under myself; Maria turns to face me with a frown.  "I'm annoyed Kent couldn't come," she mutters, her eyes glancing to Caleb for a fraction of a second. The little boy jumps up and down throwing plastic balls around before running off towards the slide with a sly grin on his adorable face.

"Yeah, such a shame," I mumble under my breath, thinking back to how Kent launched himself on me like a leech. A pang of guilt hits me like a wave and I bite it back with a smile. 

"Why couldn't he come?" Maria asks, fiddling with the end of her cardigan. I sigh, trying to think of the words to explain what happened. My eyes race around the place centre, never wandering from Caleb who's seemed to have made a friend in a rocking horse. My hand falls from my lap, slipping onto the grimy leather couch and into some green slime left by a previous customer; I cringe and retract my hand as quickly as possible. Maria covers her mouth with her hand and gags. 

I shake my hand violently in attempt to get the sticky substance from it. "Uh, he had to help his mum with something."

Maria raises her eyebrows at me dubiously. "Help with what?"

Clenching my fists, I turn to face her with a scowl. "I don't know Maria!" My voice echoes through the building and I shut my mouth as quickly as possible. The old hag throws another dirty look my way and when I turn back around to Maria, she's shooting me a look that can only be described as pissed off. 

"Don't bite my head off Kendall!" she bites back. The words hit me like a slap and I recoil away from her with a sharp intake of breath.

"I'm going to grab a coffee," I mutter, standing up from the dirty leather couch. My head is pounding heavily- I just need some coffee to make this OK again.

"Kendall I-"

I don't bother to respond to Maria and instead I make my way to the coffee shack dumped in the corner of the play room. My phone buzzes loudly in my pocket but I ignore it, not in the mood to talk to anyone any more. 

I've been staying away from Kent- not that I need much help with that, he's been avoiding me like the plague for the past three weeks. I've rarely spoken to Maria in fear she'll mention something about whatever happened between me and her new friend. 

The only person I speak to on a daily basis is Grant. and its not because I want to either. He's always there, stuck to my side whether I want him to be or not. He's over bubbly for some reason, always chatting away to me about something or other (mainly football- that boy is obsessed with Saints). I usually roll my eyes, shove him out of my way and try to get on with my life. But there's something so infectious about his smile, his laugh, his happiness.

It kind of makes me forget who I am for a little while.

I return to the table with two coffee's and an orange juice for Caleb. He runs over to us with a large smile on his face the moment I set the tray down on the dirty plastic table. Maria mutters a courteous 'thank you' before returning to her phone with a scowl. I grip the chipped china mug in my hand and let the warmth seep into my skin.

"Kee Kee, when is Father Christmas going to come to our house?" Caleb cocks his head to the side and I smile at the adorable gesture. He takes a large gulp of his drink before sliding along the sofa towards me.

"We have two weeks," I say, running my fingers through his dark curls. He giggles, wrapping his little arms around my torso. 

"Do you think he'll get me Cuddles the bear?"

"Of course he will, go and play," I gesture towards to small boy who's watching Caleb expectantly. "Your friend is waiting for you." My brother moves away from me and bounds towards the young boy, shouting and giggling to him; they run away into the soft play area without looking back. I turn back to Maria, not making eye contact with her.

"I'm sorry for getting shitty with you," I mutter, finding it hard to admit that I'm in the wrong. A blush begins to rise up my cheeks but I push it back down. Maria merely mumbles an OK and continues to lose herself in her mobile. Pulling my knees to my chest, I try not to let a scowl rest upon my face.

"The reason I didn't want Kent to come is because he kissed me," the words slip out from my mouth in a murmur but Maria catches it perfectly and gasps loudly, almost dropping her phone on the lineal flooring. "We went for coffee-rather innocently- and then he walked me home and kissed me."

"Did you kiss him back," Maria leans forward, forgetting about her phone momentarily to stare expectantly at me. I give her an incredulous look and cross my arms over my chest in a huff.

"No I did not!" The words come out too quickly causing  Maria to raise her eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. I roll my eyes. "I didn't," my voice softens and I cast my eyes down to my knees.

"Why not?" she sounds so confused that I finally let my eyes rest on hers.

"Because I date someone! I'm not a cheater- it happened to me with Brett and I'm not putting someone through that."

"Kendall its completely different. It was only a kiss," she reasons, trying to reach out for my hand. I pull it back angrily.

"Was it only a kiss when Brett latched onto that girl? He broke my heart and I don't want to do that to Grant."

Maria rolls her eyes like a druggie. "Kendall, Grant is not in love with you.  You're not official in anyway. And just to remind you- you're destroying the player not falling in love with him."

I can't help but be stung by her words. I can't but hate that she's making this less of a deal. 

Why doesn't she understand?

Standing up from the sofa, I call over to my brother. "C'mon Caleb. We're leaving!" He runs over to me with a confused look. I grab his chubby hand and reach for my bag.

Maria looks up from her seat in shock. "Kendall what are you-"

I turn to her with a glare and push my bag onto my shoulder. Caleb slips on his shoes and faces me expectantly. 

"Fuck you Maria."

*-*

Bit of a tense one.....

Hello my dear little readers!

How is everything going? I really hope you enjoyed this chapter- I know it was short but I hope it was incredibly sweet...or in Kendall's case, salty.

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Love,

Amber Rose x