Running Back To Him (4 page)

I wipe the sticky, lemon-y, orange syrup out of my eyes. I can’t scream I’m so mortified. I look to my right and I see the punk kid sprinting down the hall.

I’m a glazed mess. I sit up to see Kellen hovering over me and it snatches the life out of my lungs. Before I can find a shovel to dig myself into a hole to hide myself from shame I’m enduring, Kellen asks, “You okay?” His stark-blue eyes sparkling temporarily take the icky feeling of embarrassment off my mind, but it’s a fleeting moment. He extends his hand, I grab it and stand up. “That was a pretty nasty fall. You sure you’re alright?”

Before I can answer him I run like lightning towards the nearest exit sign.

Chapter 5

@ItsMags I hear orange chicken sauce is what all the trendy spas are using for facials these days #facepalm. #mallfall

That was the Tweet that Ashley tagged me in. At seven this morning; probably over a tall mocha latte and an iced sugar cookie at Starbucks. I should’ve known better than to check Twitter. Justine was right. It’s a cesspool.

My phone buzzes again and I get another notification that I’ve been tagged in a Tweet.

Sux to be @ItsMags guess she wasn’t cut out to sit at the big girlz table. #LOL

Okay. It’s really time to delete my Twitter profile. Every limb of my body cringes. That snipe was from Mackenzie Jacobs. Kellen’s ex-girlfriend.

I expected Ashley to kick me while I was down. But not Mackenzie. She just had to throw her two pretty pennies in. She’s got a lot of nerve. I’ve never had a bad word to say about her. Until now. I guess the bleach she uses on her hair has finally seeped into her scalp and singed a few brain cells.

I power my phone off and stuff it inside my purse. It’s bad enough Ashley stopped being my friend and my ex broke up with me for her, now she has to stick the dagger in my back even deeper.

Now I have four people to avoid: Kellen, Mackenzie, Ashley, and Lucas.

I slide down in my seat a little further as the shame continues to saturate my skin.

The bell signaling the end of homeroom rings, snapping me out of the haze of misery that’s swept me up for fifty minutes.

I step out in the sea of students ripping down the hall and I can’t help but feel the sting of paranoia looking at the bunches of people giving me sharp looks and yielding whispers at me. They can’t be
all
talking about me? There are million other things in the world to be talking about. World hunger. The new Kanye West album. Global Warming. The water crisis that’s overtaken the city.
Anything
but me and my latest mishaps.

I grin and bear it and stalk down the hall despite my legs shaking to the point where they’re about to crumple at any moment.

I hear my name squawked above the hallway fracas, but I pay it no mind. It’s probably someone I have fourth period Civics class with, who never speaks to me at all, wanting to get the lowdown on if I have a voodoo doll made of Lucas and if I stick pins in at night. I pay it no mind and keep trotting.

I feel the pinch of strong fingers on my elbow. I swing around defiantly ready to lash out at the oncoming foolishness. The claws are out!

“What!” I scream. My body hitches, breath being abducted from my lungs.

It’s Kellen.

I brush a curl behind my ear, trying my best to conceal my surely terror-stricken countenance. I clear my throat and straighten my spine. “Sorry,” I say. My heart is banging in my throat. I let out a breathy little laugh to soothe my embarrassment. I pray it works.

“It’s okay,” he says. A slight grin curls his mouth. He’s looking a lot better than the warmed-over corpse thing he’s had over the last few days. He’s finally shaved his emerging five o’clock shadow. His face is smooth, displaying his angular, masculine jaw line. I want to trace my fingers down the side of it. My chest becomes tight. He laughs timidly breaking up the nervous pause between us. “I just wanted to see how you were doing…after last night…at the mall.” His voice is soft, complementing his tender indigo eyes that skim my face. He always looked you straight in the eye when he spoke to you. I curl my toes, trying to not get lost in them.

“I’m doing fine.”

“You ran outta there so fast I didn’t even get a chance to see how you were doing. It was a pretty nasty fall. You’re lucky you didn’t break a wrist or something.”

“Yeah. Punk kids will be punk kids, I guess. I guess I caught a lucky break. So…” I purse my lips together. I can’t control my heartbeat. I’m shocked at how awkward this feels. I had braces the last time we spoke. He scratches the back of his neck through the buzzing silence.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” his voice thunders, jolting my body. He darts over to his locker. “Come here,” he says. I walk over and he pulls out the two records I bought last night. I escaped the crime scene so fast that I forgot to grab them.

My face lights up. Good old vinyl always makes me smile. “My babies!” I squeak. I clear my throat and straighten the hem of my shirt. “I mean…my records. Thanks. I sooo forgot about these. You’re a lifesaver.” I plaster my palm onto my forehead. “I was so mortified that I didn’t even realize it.”

“Yeah, I know how much you love your vinyl,” he says. If I wasn’t trying to make an impression, I’d let my jaw drop to the floor. I couldn’t believe he remembered.

“Yeah, it’s bordering on obsession.” I fold my arms and bite my lip, I feel the twinkle of nostalgia sprinkle my memory banks. Kellen was at my thirteenth birthday party when Uncle Keith bought me a vintage record player he found at a flea market. And he bought me one record: Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die. Why my Uncle would give his starry-eyed teenage niece a vulgar gangster rap record from and something sugary and pop like a Demi Lovato record is beyond me. But nineties hip-hop was his favorite and he said since I was an official teenager, it was time for me to expand my musical palette beyond The Doodlebops. And once I dropped the needle on that Biggie record, my vinyl addiction began; and so did my obsession with nineties hip-hop. Since then, nothing has been able to top that birthday gift.

Kellen and I stand there, gazing into each other’s eyes. Well, more like I’m gazing into his, searching, wondering, marveling at how he’s grown from a wimpy kid, to this…Greek God that towers before me. And I’m sure he’s wondering why there are stars in this weird girl’s eyes.

I almost lunge forward to wrap my arms around him. But that would be too much. Especially since Mackenzie creeps up behind us. I ball my fists up. She just has to spoil our little makeshift reunion.

Their lockers are practically right next to each other. How uncomfortable can you get? I thought my situation was bad. His just might be worse. She dumped him because he lost the game for us. What a shallow dirtbag!

Mackenzie Jacobs is seventy-two inches of blonde fury; and with her towering stature, it seems like sixty of those inches are her legs.

I feel the heat of Mackenzie’s gray eyes lasering though us. It’s like climbing a tree knowing there’s a beehive on the branch above you.

Time for a little payback from Mackenzie’s evil Tweet from earlier this morning.

“You know, you should have just brought them over to my place last night,” I say, my voice at its flirtiest. I tilt my head up and pout my chest out at him; so nonchalantly that he probably doesn’t even notice it. I guess it turns out, befriending Ashley wasn’t so much of a bad thing after all—I’ve learned a few things.

Kellen smirks, as if he’s in on my joke.

Mackenzie’s neck swivels over to my direction so hard I’m sure she pulled a muscle. I eschew her eyes but I guarantee they could slice iron.

“You know to be honest. I
was
in your neighborhood last night. Me and Roosevelt were going over some new plays for this Friday.”

My face perks up even more. “You definitely should have swung by.” Mackenzie slams a textbook into her locker. I can see the steam shooting out of her ears. Kellen turns around, pauses then faces me again. A bewildered look colors his face.

I grin slightly, finding joy in making her blood pressure rise. There’s another long, awkward pause between Kellen and I. “Maybe I should give you these,” he says handing me the records.

As I grab them, our hands touch slightly and a breath hitches in my lungs. His fingertips are so soft. For someone who runs through angry two hundred and fifty pound defensive linemen like they’re made of wet tissue paper, his hands are softer than silk. The thought of his fingers running through my hair dances through my mind.

I snap back into reality and realize that I’m supposed to be taking care of the matter at hand—the fake relationship.

“Thanks,” I say sticking the records underneath my arm. Time to get even bolder. “You know, I didn’t get a chance to say you look better clean shaven than you do with a little scruff.” He laughs. Mackenzie grunts and hurls another book into her locker. I hope she strains her wrist.

The bell rings and Mackenzie pounces her Amazonian frame next to Kellen.

“Okay, that’s enough,” she says, twisting her neck around in a fit of attitude. “How dare you stand here and let
her
of all people flirt with you like that.” Her prim, but squeaky voice slices my ear drums in half.

Shocked, I part my lips to respond, but Kellen does before I do.

“It’s a free country Mackenzie,” he says with a frown. “And remember you broke up with me.”

She slings her purse around her shoulder and flicks her corn-colored mane behind her right shoulder. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I’ve texted you. You haven’t responded to any of them.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” he says with a jarring voice looking down the hall. The wound of being heartbroken is still fresh—I know the feeling.

She leans in closer to him “I just want to talk to you. About us.”

“We’re done remember? That’s your doing.”

She puckers her lips, slathered in fire engine red lipstick. “About that. You ever heard of breakups to makeups? It’s only a matter of time before we get back together anyways. I just needed a little break that’s all. You know how emotional I can be.” She coils her arm around his bicep but he yanks away.

“Look,” he says sternly. “We’re done. You made that crystal clear.”

A quizzical look parts her face. “But C’mon…you know we’re perfect together.”

I wish I could protect him. I wish I could be that lioness who scratches her eyes out at the threat of another lioness, intruding on our territory. But Kellen is strong. He clearly can handle himself.

“I never wanted to break up with you,” he sighs. “It’s clear to everyone that I’m not taking it well. And you just wanted to move on. At the worst time of my life. Who does that? I needed you that night. The entire city wanted to hunt me down and burn me at the stake. I had the worst night of my life. I had to sleep at a hotel. The night I needed you the most…and you broke up with me.” This would be the time where tears would flow, but he looks all cried out. His demeanor right here is pure indifference. He’s not mad, he’s not happy. He just is over it all. His blue eyes pierce through her, as if he’s looking through her. Which is easy if you ask me; Mackenzie’s never had a soul to begin with.

“Kellen,” she says, “people make mistakes in judgment. I made a really bad decision and—”

He plants his hands on his waist and the veins in his neck protrude. “You told me you only wanted to date a winner.” His voice tautens. “You said that. You really said that. I might have cost this team a state championship and you broke up with me when I needed you most…to be there for me. My own girlfriend—you’re supposed to have my back and you show your true colors.” He scratches the back of his head and a shaky laugh flies from his mouth. “Mackenzie, I want to thank you actually. I feel stupid it took me this long to see how superficial and shallow you really are.” I hear a small grunt of discomfort in the back of her throat. But it doesn’t stop Kellen from striking the dagger in further.

“You’re the emptiest person I’ve ever known. There’s nothing you can say to me to get me back. Not now. Not two weeks from now. Not ever.”

I practically just see Mackenzie pick her tanned, heavily made up face off the ground. She adjusts her posture and does her best to stop her chin from trembling. I see her gray eyes turn misty. I doubt anyone has ever spoken to her like that before. I don’t believe she’s ever heard the raw truth about herself fill her diamond-studded ears. A part of me feels bad for her to see her reduced to this level. A tiny part. The rest of me is reveling in this.

She pulls a curl behind her ear and lifts her dimple-dotted chin up. I had to give it to this girl, she knows how to stand tall in defeat. “Well then. It sounds like you’ve moved on…already that fast,” she says.

“I have. I’ve moved onto better things.”

“Better things? Like what?”

Kellen flinches then suddenly grabs my hand and turns to me, his ocean blues searching my face. “Like…Mags.” My hand instantly turns frigid and starts to shake. I lock eyes with him and he squeezes my hand tighter.

“Yeah, we’re going out after the game this Friday,” I say matter of factly. “After they smash Central, we’re going out to celebrate.” Mackenzie’s jaw drops and it eggs me to pile it on even more.

“We ran into each other at the mall last night,” I say, “and since we’re both recently single—” I clasp his hand tighter, “—it’s as good a time as any. I think we’d make a scorching hot couple. What do you think?”

Her jaws clench like she’s grinding her teeth to complete dust. “I think I’m going to throw up,” she says. She turns away defiantly and stomps her six-inch heels into the ground so hard she’ll probably break the heel by the time she gets to the end of the hallway. Kellen and I look at each other and roar into a fireball of laughter.

It’s a laugh that feels like old times between us.

“What’s her deal?” I ask. I can’t hide the smirk on her face.