Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
That faded from her face when she saw him.
Her clique stopped, all of those feminine eyes judging him. Even Tasha seemed to have chosen her side. Which he got.
“Dude, I’m scared for you right now,” TJ said quietly. “I’m going to like take a step back. Maybe you should run.”
Coward. He wasn’t about to run. He’d been waiting for this for over a week.
For a moment he thought she’d turn and walk away, but she murmured something to her sisters and then started walking toward him, her chin up and face in a stubborn expression. Her sisters followed, watching her warily.
Lou had her tote bag open as she approached. “Hey, TJ. Mom made blueberry today. Want one?”
TJ was a walking gut. He had that big blueberry muffin in his hands very quickly, moving in closer to Lou. “You’re the best, Lou. Mom told me to eat yogurt this morning. I hate yogurt. Dad’s on a job so no French toast for me.”
“Hello, Cooper.” Kala stopped in front of him and then looked back. “I’m fine, guys.”
Tasha sighed. “All right. I have a student council meeting after school, so I need you guys to hang in the library for a while.”
Kala’s strawberry blonde ponytail swayed when she shook her head. “Dad’s picking me up. I’ve got a session.”
“Which I’m going to,” Kenzie insisted even as they started to make their way toward the main building. “I know I didn’t get kidnapped, but I’m not falling behind, and Dad can deal with it.”
“Come on,” TJ said around a mouthful of muffin. “Walk me to class. On the way, can you explain the whole War of 1812 thing? I have a quiz.”
Lou followed him.
And Cooper was left alone with Kala.
She looked so damn pretty in the early morning light.
“Hey.” A stupid thing to say, but it was all he could think of. He’d planned out this whole speech. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
Her lips turned up faintly. “Me, too.”
“Kala, I…” he began.
She held up a hand. “No. I don’t need to hear apologies. It’s fine. You need to understand that I don’t hold you responsible for me getting my ass kidnapped.” Her eyes rolled. “I’m supposed to say a bunch of stuff about how it wasn’t my fault either. Dad’s making me talk to Kai. How am I supposed to take a dude with a man bun seriously? Anyway, it wasn’t your fault, and we would have had that fight eventually one way or another. It’s cool. What I’m trying to say is you and I are fine.”
Oh, this did not feel fine. “The fight was absolutely my fault.”
“Not really.” She seemed way calmer than he would have expected. He wasn’t sure he understood this Kala. His Kala would punch him and tell him to be better, and then they would catch up to Lou and TJ and hang out before class. “I’m the one who should apologize, Cooper. I was too aggressive, and I didn’t want to see the signs that I was pushing you. I was trying to take a perceived friendship and turn it into something else. I won’t do it again.”
He was starting to panic. What was Kai putting in her brain? Kai Ferguson was the head of the Ferguson Clinic, a group of therapists who specialized in PTSD. He thought they would send her to a family center for a couple of checkup sessions. If they sent her to Kai… “What happened?”
A brow rose over her eyes. “I got kidnapped. I had to sit in a cell with Kyle, and he’s a chatty motherfucker. Then I had to walk through a dusty tunnel with Mom and Uncle Ten, and I’m kind of half grounded, but Dad freaked enough that he lets me out if I’m serious about school and his lessons. He’s training me, and Kenzie is along for the ride. She didn’t even have to get kidnapped.”
“Come on, Kala,” he urged, “this is me. You can tell me. You have no idea how worried I’ve been. You have to unblock me. We need to work this out.”
She shook her head again and took a step back. “No. I’m not saying I’ll never talk to you again. We were friendly once. We’ll be okay one day, but you have to give me space.”
“What do you mean friendly? We’re friends. You’ve been my best friend. That’s what I figured out.”
“That’s the guilt talking, and that’s why it’s best we don’t spend time together for a while.” She held a hand up as though to tell him to stay where he was. “Not forever, of course. I’ll see you at parties. Well, the family ones. You can let your friends know I won’t be crashing again. I can see where that would be annoying, and I’m sorry about it.”
He didn’t know how to process what she was saying. “They aren’t my friends. They’re people I hang out with. You were right about that. Come on, Kala. Let’s go and sit and talk.”