CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Dane
MY CHEST GLISTENED with sweat, and my knee ached as I pushed myself on the treadmill. I pushed past the pain, hoping to silence my mind and focus on nothing but my body. I desperately needed the escape, and attending classes and football practices was no longer enough. My birthday was only a few days away, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t outrun the dread, and despair that came along with it. My mother wanted to do something this year, and after several heated discussions that always ended up in tears, she finally accepted that it wasn’t going to happen.
I was exhausted, and I knew I wouldn’t be good company anyway. It was just better for me to act like it was just another day.
Reid jumped onto the treadmill beside me, and quickly fell into an easy, wordless rhythm. The school gym was quiet, and I welcomed the silence. There was no need for me to act like everything was okay when no one was around.
For thirty minutes, we ran side-by-side, and when my body was spent, I slowed to a walk, and eventually stopped.
“You want to grab pizza on our way home?” Asked Reid. He stepped off the treadmill, and wiped the sweat from his face.
“Yeah, sounds good. I could do with an early night.”
I walked into the locker room with Reid behind me, and started grabbing my things from the locker.
Reid was about to say something when his phone rang, and he frowned at the screen.
“Hey, Jade. What’s up?”
I stiffened, my thoughts immediately going to Kennedy. She was one of many things in my mind that I’d been trying hard to avoid by staying busy, but more often than not, she was still there. I shook my head, and stood, waiting for Reid.
“Wait, I can’t understand you, Jade. I need you to calm down, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”
He listened intently, and I watched his face for some kind of indication of what was going on. His frown deepened. “Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Sit tight.”
He ended the call, and with hurried movements retrieved his bag from his locker. He wouldn’t look at me, but I could feel the worry, and panic, coming off of him in waves.
“Reid, what’s wrong?”
He pulled his hands through his sweaty hair, and blew out a breath. When he looked at me I could see the struggle in his eyes. He was deciding whether or not to tell me.
“Nothing. I have to go. You should just…stay here.”
He left, and I followed behind him. “What the hell? What’s going on?”
“I’m going to handle it,” he pushed through the gym doors. “It’s best of you don’t come.”
He tried to brush me off, but I wasn’t having it. “Reid,” I growled his name. “Tell me!”
“No! Let me handle this. You’ll only make it worse if you come with me.”
There was only one reason he’d tell me to stay if there was something wrong with Jade – her phone call obviously had something to do with Kennedy.
“It’s Kennedy, isn’t it?”
He hesitated, and then proceeded to walk over to his Range Rover.
“Goddammit, Reid!” I yelled. “Just fucking tell me!”
His shoulders sagged, and he gave up on fighting me. He knew as well as I did that I’d find out eventually, and he might as well have been from him.
“Jade called. She said something happened to Kennedy, and she can’t get her to calm down. Said she’s hysterical, covered in blood, but she won’t let Jade anywhere near her.”
He was right to tell me to stay. Going over there was the worst idea, but I couldn’t help my sudden need to go. The thought of Kennedy being hurt riled me up something fierce, and I squelched the surprise that came along with those feelings. I didn’t have time to think about why they were there.
“Where are they?” I asked, my voice betraying my concern.
Reid sighed. “Dane, I don’t think - ”
“Just fucking tell me!”
“At their apartment.”
I turned, and started running through the lot, the sound of Reid yelling my name falling away. We were less than a block from our building, and I fought through my fatigue as my legs pushed forward. I cut through the quad, and took a shortcut through the campus.
Our building appeared in front of me, and I reached the double glass doors just as Reid’s tires skid to a stop behind me. I didn’t wait for him. I sprinted up the stairs, not faltering in my stride until I grasped Jade and Kennedy’s door and flung it open.
Jade was standing in the living room, her face red, and blotchy. Her eyes were wide, and she looked downright terrified.
“Where is she?” I asked.
She pointed in the direction of Kennedy’s bedroom with a shaky finger, and I headed that way. Kennedy shrieked, and a loud crash echoed through the apartment. Her room was a mess, the floor strewn with broken glass from her mirror, and the light bulb from her lamp. I crossed the floor, and immediately wrapped my arms around her small frame. In my peripheral, I saw Reid and Jade in the doorway.