“I didn’t touch anyone!” Jordan wailed, his hands desperately trying to break Kale’s hold on him.
“You did!” Kale bellowed, grasping Jordan’s collar with his other hand. “You hit Lane! She is only a little girl. She is only six, and you punched her in the head!”
Drew gasped at Kale’s announcement and held me to her, rubbing her hand up and down my back. I hated that it comforted me and helped slow my tears. I hated that I was holding onto her, and I hated that it made me feel better. I didn’t want to need Drew to help me, because Kale had said she was beautiful.
“Drew, what are you doing back – hey!” When the voice of an adult bellowed from behind us, I gasped and pressed my face against Drew’s shoulder.
I was frozen with fear as a grown man rushed past Drew and myself and shot over to Kale and Jordan. He pulled Kale off Jordan first and held him to one side, and then he reached down and pulled Jordan up to his feet. Jordan was crying, and so were his two friends who were still on the ground. Kale was the only boy not crying. He was just glaring hard at Jordan and had his hands balled into fists as his chest rose and fell swiftly.
Now that Kale stood up and faced me, I could see his face, and I didn’t like what I saw. He had a little cut over his eyebrow. A trickle of blood ran down from said eyebrow and stopped halfway down his cheek. Both of his eyes were red, a little swollen, and his lips were stained with the blood that was smeared across his mouth. I could see blood stained his teeth too, because he had his mouth open as he was breathing heavily.
Now that things weren’t as loud, my whimpers could be heard. Kale turned his head in my direction, and his entire demeanour changed.
“It’s okay, Lane,” he assured me, giving me a wink. “I’m okay, I promise.”
“Liar!” I cried. “You’re bleeding! Look at all the blood. You’re probably dying!”
The thought of that turned my stomach.
“What the hell happened here?” the man who was holding Kale and Jordan snapped.
I gasped. The man said a bad word too.
“He punched Lane in the back of the head!” Kale stated, throwing his accusation in Jordan’s face.
The man looked at me, then looked to Kale, Jordan and the two boys still crying on the ground. He shook his head and walked forward, pulling both Kale and Jordan with him.
“Everyone to the principal’s office,” he ordered. “Now!”
The fear that settled inside me was enough to make me want to pass out. Drew set me down on the ground and took my hand as we walked ahead of Kale, Jordan and the man who’d stopped the fight. He called for the other two boys to get up and follow or he’d come back for them.
“Yes, sir,” both of them rasped.
Sir.
The man was a teacher in the school, and he was bringing us to the principal’s office. We were in so much trouble.
The next while passed by in a blur. I had to sit in the waiting room to the principal’s office with Kale, Jordan and the two other boys as our parents were called. Drew was sent to class because she’d had no direct involvement in what had happened other than witnessing the fight. She told the teacher what happened and was sent on her way.
I kept my head down, even though the “sir” who stopped the fight told me that I had nothing to worry about and that I wasn’t in a bit of trouble. That made me feel better, but I still felt horrible that Kale was going to get in trouble because of me.
The waiting room to the principal’s office was quiet one minute and then loud the next as our parents arrived. I could hear my father and Kale’s arguing with multiple grown-up male voices from somewhere outside. I then heard our mothers’ voices trying to calm things down; other female voices did the same thing.
I ran to my mother when she entered the waiting room, and I sobbed as she lifted me up into the air and held me to her chest. I felt a hand press against my back, then lips brushing against the side of my head.
“Lane?” my father’s voice murmured.
I looked to him, my vision blurred from my tears.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
I shook my head. “Jordan punched my head, and it really hurts.”
My father’s jaw set as he looked over his shoulder. “Deal with your kid before I do.”
Arguing started again, and the teacher who had stopped the fight entered the waiting room and had to intervene to calm everyone down. Jordan’s mother was kneeling in front of him and pointing her finger at him as she told him off. His father stood next to them and glared down at Jordan, with his arms folded across his chest.
I swallowed when I spotted Kale’s parents. His daddy was next to him, checking his face; his mummy was worried as she fussed over him too, even though Kale tried to tell her he was fine. He didn’t look fine; his red and slightly swollen eyes were now blue as bruises formed on them. There was a dark bruise forming around the cut on his eyebrow and on his busted lip too. It had to hurt him, but he grinned and winked at me whenever he caught me staring.
I had to go into the principal’s office with my parents and tell him what happened. I did exactly that, and when I was finished, I had to sit in the waiting room with my parents as Kale, Jordan and Jordan’s two friends all went into the principal’s office with their parents. We waited for ages then, and sometimes there were raised voices, and sometimes there was crying. I knew neither came from Kale. He never cried. Ever. Not even when his grandmother died last year.
I was playing the game “I spy” with my daddy when Kale and his parents re-entered the waiting room. I jumped up and ran over to Kale at full speed, making him and our parents laugh. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my head against his stomach as I squeezed him. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gently rubbed the back of my head with the other.
“You okay?” he asked me.
Now I am, I silently said to myself.
I looked up at him and nodded.
“I love you,” I said, making our mothers sigh and our fathers chuckle.
Kale snickered. “I love you too, Laney Baby.”
I pressed my face into his stomach as I smiled. He was the best friend ever.
“What did the principal say?” my father asked Kale’s as we all exited the waiting room and headed out of the school.
My mum whispered that we were allowed to go home, and I thought it was really cool, because I didn’t want to go back to my class anyway.
“He understood Kale was upset and felt the need to defend Lane, but violence wasn’t the way to go about it. Kale is suspended for two days, but Jordan and his friends got a week.”
I frowned. “What’s ‘spended’ mean?” I asked, my head tilting to the side.
Kale laughed and slung his arm over my shoulder. He leaned down and whispered, “It means I get to stay in bed all day while you have to go to school.”
What?
I gasped. “No fair! I want to be spended too!”
Kale’s rich laughter filled the corridor we walked down, but he stopped when a door further down opened up and out stepped Drew with her stupid pretty red hair. Kale’s arm tensed around me, but he grinned when Drew’s gaze fell on him.
“Kale!” Drew squeaked when she spotted him, and she ran all the way down the corridor to reach him.
She really ran all the way.
I stepped to the side when she crashed into him and gave him a big hug. I glared hard at her and stepped back until my back pressed against my daddy’s legs. I looked up at him and noticed he was sharing a grin with Kale’s daddy and shaking his head. Our mummies were also smiling and shaking their heads as they observed Drew and Kale.
I don’t get it, I thought. Why are they happy?
“Hey, Drew,” Kale murmured into her hair as he inhaled.
I was disgusted. He sniffed her hair. I saw him sniff it!
Drew pulled back from the hug. “I’m so happy you’re okay, I was worried about you.”
“You were
worried about me?” Kale asked, his voice disbelieving.
“Of course,” Drew said, nodding. “Are you suspended?”
Kale shrugged, seemingly not caring. “Two days.”
I frowned. He was acting like it was no big deal.
Drew’s mouth formed into the shape of an O. “For defending your sister? That’s so stupid.”
“Tell me about it,” Kale chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.
Drew blushed then when she noticed my parents and Kale’s were watching the exchange. “Well, I’ll be in every day. I can get notes for you and mark chapters you will miss,” she said, and flushed so much her entire head turned the colour of a tomato. “I can bring them to you after school every day so you don’t fall behind.”
Kale’s face was red too, but he remained silent. I wanted to kick him and say no to Drew for him, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do a thing. I was so angry, but I had no idea why.
“That’d be great . . . Drew, is it?” Kale’s mummy said after Kale still hadn’t replied to her.
Drew looked at Kale’s mummy and nodded, smiling shyly. “Yes, my name is Drew.”
“Pretty name.” Kale’s mummy smiled.
Drew’s face flushed some more, and she murmured, “Thank you.”
She then cleared her throat and looked down to her hands. I only then noticed she was carrying a sheet of paper with a bunch of different words on it.
“I’ve got to get this photocopied for my teacher, so I better go, but I’ll keep one for you, Kale, and make extra notes. I’ll bring them to you today after school – is that okay?” Drew asked, her eyes hopeful.
“Yes,” Kale instantly replied, then cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah, sure, that’d be cool. Whatever.”
Kale’s daddy and mine began to snort, and it caused Kale to tense up.
“Okay, great. I know where you live, so I’ll see you later.” She leaned in and kissed Kale’s cheek.
She kissed it!
She flicked her eyes to me then and said, “I hope you’re okay too, Lane.”
She said bye to us all then and, walking around us, went on her way down the hallway. Kale didn’t move, so his daddy shoved him forward and laughed. “Smooth, son. Real smooth.”
Kale was still red in the face but playfully shoved his daddy back.
“Shut up,” he mumbled, a smile tugging at his lips.
I glowered at the exchange, and my mummy noticed. She nudged Kale’s mummy, and both of them looked at me and smiled. They were weird like that, always smiling at me when I was looking at Kale. It freaked me out, but I never said anything because they were old, and I wanted them to be happy.
“Kale,” Kale’s mummy murmured, and jerked her head in my direction.
Kale looked at me and blinked when he saw my expression.
“Why’re you angry?” he asked, frowning.
I didn’t know why I was angry other than that Drew annoyed me, but I didn’t want to tell him that.
“My head hurts,” I replied.
I wasn’t lying; it did hurt, just not as much as my chest suddenly did.
Kale walked over to me and slung his arm back around my shoulder. “We can watch films with our mums and eat ice cream when we go home. Will that help?”
I forgot about everything.
My sore head.
My aching chest.
Drew.
Kale calling her beautiful, smiling at her and acting so differently around her.
I focused on thoughts of playing with Kale and watching films for the rest of the day. I leaned into him and smiled, making everyone chuckle. He knew my response was a silent whopping yes.
“Come on then, let’s go.” He beamed and removed his arm from around my shoulder only to reach down and grasp my hand with his. “We have films to watch, Laney Baby.”
I held onto Kale’s hand tightly and smiled with delight as we left our school. I loved spending time with him, and I loved when he called me Laney Baby. I loved everything about Kale, and I knew that I always would.
He was my best friend, my best not-really big brother and my best protector. He was my best everything. He was mine.
CHAPTER THREE
Day one in York
My heart was pounding against my chest, and my hands got sticky with sweat.
He called me Laney Baby, my mind whispered. Kale Hunt is standing in front of me in the flesh, and he called me Laney Baby.
I felt like I was thrust back into my early years when things were okay with us, when things weren’t . . . arduous. I forced that knowledge to the very back of my mind and willed myself to calm down. I refused to appear as flustered and unprepared for this meeting as I truly was. I knew coming back here heightened the possibilities of running into Kale; I just hadn’t realised it would happen ten minutes after I stepped foot through my parents’ front door.
“How are you?” I asked after a long stretch of silence, my voice formal.
Kale’s lips thinned to a line. “I’m good, kid. You?”
Kid. I wanted to growl that I wasn’t a damn kid any more, but I didn’t. I somehow kept my composure.
“I’ve” – I glanced at my uncle’s coffin, then back to Kale – “been better.”
He frowned and nodded in understanding. “It’s good to have you home.”
Was it? a voice in my head taunted.
“Thanks,” I replied, then lied through my teeth. “It’s good to be back.”
It wasn’t good to be back.
It was absolute torture standing here and acting like I wasn’t hurting all over again. Like my heart didn’t kick into overdrive at the mere sight of him, like my palms didn’t itch as they ached to touch him, like my knees didn’t shake to keep from walking to him, like shivers didn’t dance up and down my spine upon hearing his husky voice, like my lips didn’t want to fucking devour his until there was nothing left in existence but the two of us.
It’s only for a few days, I quickly reminded myself. You can do this.
I remained mute as my family suggested we go into the sitting room so we could “talk”. I went with them because I needed to be away from my uncle for a few moments to gather my thoughts. I was devastated over him, and ripped apart at seeing Kale, and if I didn’t leave the room soon and refocus, I feared I would have a nervous breakdown.
I was the last to enter the sitting room, so I sat on the lounge chair across from everyone else on the huge L-shaped sofa where Lochlan already sat, scowling at me. I pretended not to notice him, even though I was hyper aware of his gaze on me.
My brothers, like my mum and uncle, were fraternal twins, and they had a similar close bond, though they were the polar opposites of one another. Lochlan was temperamental, whereas Layton was calm-headed; their differences balanced them out. I greatly appreciated Layton when Lochlan got angry with me because the thing about my brother was that I could never ignore him when he was mad with me, mainly because he never let me get away with anything, which apparently had followed us into adulthood.
Everyone sat on that sofa with my pissed-off brother except Layton. He slid onto the lounge chair next to me and put his arm around me. I smiled because he was big with muscle, and his sharing the chair with me just squashed my body into his. I didn’t complain, though, I loved the closeness. I had missed this. I had missed him.
Layton was the true peacekeeper in our family, and the only reason I didn’t see eye-to-eye with him was because he didn’t like me living abroad. He feared for my safety and thought it was cruel of me to disregard my family’s concern for me. He made it clear how much he would miss me when I was away and how much he flat-out hated that I chose to live so far away, but unlike Lochlan, he brooded in the comfort of his own mind after I made it clear I couldn’t come back home. Layton suffered in silence, and he took his silence seriously, which is why we never spoke after I left, unless I was wishing a family member a happy birthday or merry Christmas.
Things were rosy right now because I was ho
me, and my family were glad to see me, but it didn’t change the fact that we had problems. There was a reason I’d only spoken to my uncle. He was the only person who didn’t threaten me or guilt me into coming home; everyone else did with no remorse.
They didn’t understand that I needed to be away from home. They knew why I needed to be away – they just didn’t get why. My decision to leave abruptly ended day-to-day communications between us. It sucked not speaking to them. I missed them terribly, but I was just as stubborn as my family and fought their anger and hurt with my own. It resulted in a barrier of silence that only my uncle’s death had been able to break through.
I leaned my head back against Layton’s shoulder and hummed with content when he leaned his head on mine. “God,” I murmured, “I missed you, Lay.”
He kissed the crown of my head. “Missed you too, darling.”
I snuggled into him and listened to everyone as they spoke about mundane things. I made a point not to look at Kale, who was on the far end of the sofa, well away from me. I didn’t need to look at him to know he was there, though. I could feel his presence. I was always aware of when he was close by; it was like my body had a sixth sense designed specifically for him.
I glanced to the sitting room door when the blonde woman and her brunette friend I met upon entering my parents’ house walked by and out of the house, closing the door behind them.
“Who are they?” I inquired, finding it bizarre that two strangers were just walking around the house like it was nobody’s business.
Layton turned his head and said, “Samantha Wright is the brunette, and Ally Day is the blonde.”
I knew the second girl’s name – I was sure I did. I thought about it for a minute, and then like the snap of my fingers, the name clicked in my head. I blinked and stared around the room dumbly.
“Ally Day?” I quizzed. “The Ally Day who convinced me, along with her evil friend, that I was fat and ugly when I was younger . . . that Ally Day?”
Everyone froze as they looked at me.
“People change, Lane,” Layton murmured, making sure to keep his arm tightly around me, like he was afraid I would bolt. “She’s not the mean girl she was when she was a kid.”