Count On Me(17)

My mom would have an easier time because it would be her and Tristan and he’s normal. She’d be able to get out and enjoy herself more, instead of always worrying about what I need. She wouldn’t have to run to my rescue. Hell, she’d be able to date again and finally move on from my dad. I know she wants that, but her support of me stops her every time.

If I was gone, Eric would still be floating under the radar. They didn’t pick on the special needs kids. It’s only since what happened with me that they’ve started. I could save the world a whole lot of trouble if I just went home, took a bunch of pills and went to sleep forever.

Just as I see the bus rounding the corner, I hear my name being called. Turning from side to side slowly, I see where the voice is coming from and just who it belongs to.

It’s Kayden and he’s jogging toward me. I hate that I have nowhere to run. That I have to stand here and wait for him to reach me because even though the bus is here and it’s super close, it’s not close enough. I really don’t want anything to do with him, so what he’s doing running toward me makes no sense.

“I need to talk to you…” he says, his voice winded as he finally reaches me.

I shake my head. I don’t need words to let him know just how much I don’t want to talk to him right now. I’m sure I can get my point across loud and clear with the look on my face and the slight movement of my head. Even if I didn’t have troubles speaking, I still wouldn’t want to say a word to him.

“Please?” he pleads and there’s this part of me, my heart maybe that seems taken by the way his voice sounds but my mind won’t let me fall for it.

I shake my head again and he lowers his eyes away from mine, hurt by my response. It’s confusing to me. I’ve read books about guys that act the way Kayden is. He’s like Jekyll and Hyde and I wasn’t a big fan when I read it. I’m definitely not liking the up and down of it in real life.

“Let me drive you home Isabelle,” he states rather than asks, which just bothers me even more. “Please? I’ll take you right there, no stops.”

I want to ask him why he wants to drive me home. What he could possibly have to say to me that he hasn’t already said. I want to ask why he sounds so sad every time he says please, but before I can even make an attempt at it, the bus pulls up and Eric is running up behind us.

Saying yes to Kayden is easy and I don’t want it to be. I can’t figure out why he gets to me when I know deep inside I’m upset with him. Why do I have to keep seeing him as the boy I used to play with instead of the mean guy he really is?

Eric makes his way around us and up onto the bus without even so much as a look back in my direction and that’s when I make my decision. I’m pretty sure it’s wrong, but since it’s already like I’ve lost the only friend I ever had, I’ve got nothing left to lose.

I look between him and the door of the bus one final time before stepping back and motioning at Ronnie, my regular bus driver. I point toward Kayden. He nods his head and I turn, waiting for what comes next.

“You’re going to come with me?”

I nod and the strangest thing happens. He smiles at me and it’s even brighter than the ones he did the day before. It’s like he’s relieved, as his shoulders, which had been sagging only seconds before lift up again. There’s a fluttering in my stomach noticing it and I have no idea what it means. Why does his happiness seem so important to me?

“Thank you.” He says and waits for me to start walking before following closely behind. I stop as soon as we reach his car and before I know it, he’s running into the back of me. I stumble and end up flat across the hood. He reaches out to catch me and again he’s right behind me, but before either one of us can move, we hear the voices from the other side of the parking lot.

“Tap it hard, Kayden!”

“I knew she was easy!”

“Make her scream like earlier.”

I didn’t recognize the first two, but Dillon’s came through loud and clear. My heart begins to race and I can feel my head getting fuzzy. I don’t like the sound of his voice, especially when it’s raised the way it is now. People think I’m stupid, but I know exactly what they’re hinting at with their words and it makes me sick inside.

Kayden slides his arms around my stomach and lifts me back off the hood and before I can pull away from him, I feel his breath against the back of my neck.

“Ignore them.”

That’s easy for him to say. Tomorrow he’ll have jokes thrown at him, but he won’t have sick things said about the way we just were. That’s all for me. I knew going with him was the wrong move but it’s even worse now. I almost wish he’d never helped me out yesterday.