Count On Me(38)

I can’t respond to him, at least not in a way he’ll understand. It’s one thing for me to nod my head at Kayden or even the teachers and have them understand because they’re used to it, but with Dillon, he won’t get it.

“I know you called him since I see him running, but I really hope sometime we can sit down and talk. I want to make things right.”

He turns his back to me and I’m finally able to breathe again. Sucking in as much air as I possibly can, I turn and run straight into the very guy I’d been waiting on seconds before.

“I got you. Are you okay?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper, so only I can hear him, his eyes leveled in the opposite direction. They’re full of the anger I’ve come to see is second nature in him and it’s all directed at his best friend.

I nod my head and he tightens his hold on me.

“Let’s go then. You can tell me about this in the car.”

He turns his body, fully prepared to pull me along with him, but before we can take the few steps it would take to make it outside, Dillon speaks again.

“I’m gonna make this shit right, K, even if you don’t want me to.”



Kayden



Two weeks ago if you asked me if I would’ve run to the rescue of a girl when she texted me the word help, I would have laughed at you. Hell, it didn’t even have to be Isabelle. I’m just not the guy that drops whatever he’s doing and runs like a knight in shining armor, but the minute I got her text that’s exactly what I did.

If I moved half as fast on the football field, I know for a fact that Dillon wouldn’t be the QB. I would have kicked him out of the spot ages ago. It amazed me how fast I jumped out of my car, not giving a shit that the keys were still inside and booked it across the front lawn.

I knew there was something wrong the minute I saw her appear at the front of the school yet she made no move to come outside. Add that she texted me the short form of please, which she never does and there is nowhere else I needed to be. Screw the car; let someone steal it for all I cared. I just had to get to her.

Dillon being that close to her tore me apart. I’ve been doing everything in my power to keep them all away from her. The last thing she needs after being tortured and burned by these people is another go round. Sure, Amy and the others were suspended, but it all came back to Dillon. I have no doubt that they want another shot at her for getting caught and I wasn’t willing to give it to them.

He needs to stay far away from her or what happened in the parking lot a little over a week ago would look tame. He already deserves so much more.

What he said before I got her out of there makes me sick. Him making things right is bullshit. I don’t know what his game is, but I swear I’ll find out before he gets to accomplish it. He will not get within a foot of Isabelle while I still have breath in my lungs. He never does anything without an ulterior motive and I’m damn sure this time is no different.

The problem is, I think she believes him. She hasn’t said a whole lot since we got in the car, but I can tell something’s off. She didn’t look as afraid of him when I got there as I expected, which meant that whatever he said got through to her.

I want her to tell me. Hell, I want her to open her mouth and say anything right now, but I know that’s impossible. I know she can talk, she told me that much one night when we were texting. There’s just something that prevents her from doing it at school and especially around me. I want to find out what it is though because I want to fix it.

I’ve only heard her say three things but every single time, I liked the sound of it. When she yelled at us when we had Eric strung up, I didn’t like the tone because it didn’t seem right coming from her, but I did like the sound. My favorite might be when she said my name that first day though. I just can’t tell her that. She’s already under enough pressure to talk to me. I don’t need to make it worse.

What did you want to show me?

The minute she puts the notebook down, I see her familiar scrawl and smile. Isabelle does a lot of different things I can’t entirely figure out or understand, but this is one thing I did get. She didn’t waste time with small talk when she wanted answers. She got right to the point.

“I wanted to take you off campus for lunch.” I answer knowing it’s not the answer she’s looking for, but not wanting to give too much away. “I even cleared it with the office and everything.”

Isabelle and some of the others in her class; they aren’t allowed to go off campus for lunch. At least not without having it cleared through a million different channels first. I know about it because I’ve seen it happen before. My memory might not be the best, but I’m glad in this instance it didn’t fail me because the minute I dropped her off this morning, I started the channel ball rolling.