He laughed. Actually I’ve never heard him laugh like this. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t think of Haley that way. She’s just a friend. I’ve tried to like her that way, but the feelings just aren’t there for me. I don’t want to hurt her, but there’s really no way around it.”
“Oh.”
He was still giggling to himself when we stopped at my door. I expected the usual peck on the cheek, but he surprised me when he pressed his lips to mine in a soft, sweet kiss. It didn’t end there. He peered into my eyes, as if asking permission, and then kissed me again, this time more passionately. I put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer still. He was so much taller than me that he actually pulled me off my feet, though I just barely noticed as the heat building threatened my senses. The kiss turned hot, setting my lips on fire, until I pulled away and squirmed out of his grasp.
I paced nervously, touching my fingers to my tingling lips. “Oh boy. Reed, we can’t do this.” I shook my head. “No—no, we can’t do this.”
“What’s wrong with this? Why can’t we?” he asked, stopping me and turning me to face him. “I like you, Kitty. Why won’t you allow yourself to be happy?”
“I-I like you too, but you don’t understand.”
“Help me to understand.” His eyes were pleading.
“No! I can’t. I’m sorry.” Without any further explanation, I got in my car and drove out of the parking lot with Reed looking on in confusion.
Chapter Thirteen
Reed
I watched as she drove out of the parking lot, not sure of what had just happened. One minute we were locked in the hottest kiss I’ve ever experienced in my life, and the next minute she was gone. What was she running from anyway? I felt like I knew, but I couldn’t be sure. When she told me we couldn’t be in a relationship, I got the feeling that she felt she didn’t deserve happiness. Her expression was serious but also sad. I struggled all day with how to make her see that she did deserve it, and that it was worth taking a risk. I thought I had made her see with the kiss, until she ran off. Now all I needed to do was figure out my next move.
When I arrived in the parking lot the next morning, preparing to wait for her to get to school, I was surprised to see her car already parked. She wasn’t waiting for me. I looked all around for her, but she was nowhere in sight.
“She got here early,” Haley said, stepping up from behind me. “She went straight into the building. Did you two have a fight?”
“No, not really.” I shrugged. “She just doesn’t want me to get hurt, that’s all.” It was the first thing that popped out of my mouth. It was sort of true. Although, whether she still felt that way was anyone’s guess.
“Well, she’s the one who’s gonna get hurt. I wish you’d stay away from her, but I know you won’t.” She turned to walk off.
I grabbed her and spun her to face me. “What have you heard, Haley?” I demanded.
“Nothing, but I can feel it. People are looking for an opportunity to hurt her. You’d better not leave her alone for very long.”
I stared down at her for a moment, thinking of Kitty somewhere in the school without me to protect her. With that thought, I darted up the stairs, through the double doors, and down the hall, desperate to locate her. I ran down every hall, looked into every class, until at last I found her in the library, studying.
“There you are!” I said, breathless, plopping down in the seat next to her.
“Yeah, well I really need to be studying for my history exam. Are you all right? You seem out of breath.”
“I was running. Next time shoot me a text, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.”
I turned to see Haley approaching. This was definitely becoming a problem. “Um, Reed, can I talk to you a minute?” Haley asked.
“Sure, I guess. Sorry, Kitty. I’ll just be a minute.”
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
I got up and followed her to the back of the library, behind the science fiction shelves. “What’s up?” I tried to act nonchalant, but the truth is she was beginning to bug me.
“Listen, Reed, I know I’m being a pain, and I’m sorry. I’ll make you a deal. If you make good on that kiss that you were supposed to give me at the dance then I’ll get over the two of you and let you be. Got it?”
I thought about that for a minute. It seemed too easy. “Do you promise?”
“You have my word.” She smiled, realizing I was gonna say yes.
“O-okay. I guess one kiss can’t hurt.” I felt awkward as I stepped closer, leaning my head down to hers. My eyes went wide when she threw her arms around my neck and pulled me close as her lips covered mine in a forced and desperate kiss. I began to pull back, but she held me for a moment longer.
“Are you ready to go to—?”
I jerked away to see Kitty standing there looking shocked.
“Kitty.” I stood frozen in place.
Her expression shifted to anger as her gaze swept from me to Haley then to me again. “I’m sorry I interrupted.” She spun on her heels and stomped off through the library.
I ran after her. “No wait. Kitty wait.”
“Leave me alone, Reed.”
“No, wait. It’s not what it looked like.”
When we reached the hallway she spun to face me. I froze. “I’m sorry, because it looked like a kiss to me. Are you saying it wasn’t a kiss, Reed?”
“No, I mean yes, it was a kiss, but—”
“That’s what I thought.” She turned and began walking again.
“Wait. Kitty, wait!”
She stopped again, turning to face me. “I’m such a fool, because I truly thought you liked me and wanted to help me, but this was some kind of joke. What was it, Reed? Huh?” She was tearing up.
“What?! No!” What was she saying?
“Was it to get me to trust you so you could humiliate me when you revealed that you and Haley were together? Was it your plan to hurt me all along? Well, congratulations, you succeeded.” She spun and ran down the hallway and out of sight.
I stood there in shock. What just happened? I bolted down the hallway after her but she was already gone.
Chapter Fourteen
Kitty
I couldn’t believe what a fool I was. I thought Reed was trying to be my friend. I thought he liked me, but he was just like the rest of them. I wanted to cry, to run to my car and go home, but people were watching me. I had to be strong until I could find privacy, then I could cry in peace. With a heavy heart I went into my first class.
I had actually brought my lunch from home and decided to eat at my car again. When I approached, I recognized Trent leaning against my car door. My heart sank. I really just wanted to be alone with my humiliation. On top of that, I really didn’t trust Trent at all.
“Hey, Trent,” I managed to say in a nice voice.
“Hey, Kitty. I didn’t see you with Reed today, so I thought I’d take a chance and see if you might like some company for lunch. I thought we could talk some.”
I noticed he had his lunch in a bag too. Had he planned this ahead of time? “Um, I guess we can do that.” I unlocked my door and he went around to the other side and climbed in.
“So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked as I pulled out my sandwich and took a bite.
He did the same, talking to me with his mouth full. “Well, I wanted to know how serious you and this Reed guy are. I thought maybe you might let me take you out sometime.”
I sighed. “Listen, Trent, if this is all because you feel like you need to make it up to me—”
“No, it’s not that. I mean part of it is, but I really like you. I think you’re beautiful, and I’d like to get to know you better.” His gaze traveled up and down my body when he said that, and I suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable.
“Well, I—”
“Kitty,” Reed said, opening my car door. His gaze darted to Trent, sending him an unspoken death threat. I almost shivered.
“Can I please talk to you?”
“Honestly, Reed, I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Kitty, I need to explain what happened.”
“I don’t want to know what happened!” I snapped. “I want you to leave me alone!”
“But what about walking you to your classes?”
I didn’t think before I spoke. All I knew was that I was angry. “Trent will be walking me to my classes from now on!” Just then Trent leaned over, taking advantage of the situation, and put his arm around me.
Reed’s expression turned pained and then angry as he stepped away and walked back through the parking lot, but not before he sent Trent another death glare, clearly sending some kind of warning.
I let out a breath, slumping in my seat.
“Wow. What was that about?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just say we aren’t together anymore.”
“Well, that’s good for me then.”
I would’ve responded but rolled my eyes instead.
Chapter Fifteen
Reed
I stalked through the parking lot heading toward the school building. Haley was approaching cautiously. “Go away, Haley! You’ve caused enough trouble!”
“Listen, Reed. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mess things up with you guys. How was I supposed to know she’d come around the corner when she did?”
I let out a deep breath in frustration. “I know.”
“Really? You’re not mad at me?”
“No, I guess not. I mean you had no way of knowing she would catch us. It’s no one’s fault. I just need to make her see the truth before she gets hurt.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Look for yourself,” I said, motioning toward her car.
Haley turned to see what I was seeing. “Wow. He didn’t waste any time, huh? What are you gonna do?”
“What can I do? I’m just gonna watch every move that loser makes. I’m not giving him another chance to hurt her.”
“You know she doesn’t like him. She’s just trying to get back at you.”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
“You really like her, don’t you?”
I let out another deep breath, turning to peer down at her. “Yeah, I think I do.”
I spent the next two days watching Trent hang all over Kitty. He was at her locker helping her with her books. He walked her to every class. He ate lunch with her at her car, and walked her back to her car at the end of the day. Any idiot could see she was trying to make me jealous. And it was working. It took all my strength to leave him in one piece. When they would walk toward me in the hall, she made sure to loop her arm through his. Of course this pleased him, and he would smirk at me as they passed. As if this didn’t bother me enough, I watched in annoyance as twice he tried to steal a kiss, but she turned her head both times causing him to kiss her cheek. This guy was seriously pushing his luck.
I wasn’t the only one who noticed. I caught sight of Bunnie watching them closely. The look of anger on her face was unmistakable. Rumor was that she had a crush on Trent. I had to get this guy away from Kitty—and soon.
By the third day, I had had all I could take. They were together at her locker and she was pretending to laugh at something he said. I knew she was faking because she rarely ever laughed. That was it! I was about to approach them until Haley stopped me.
“Reed, I need to tell you something.”
That caught my attention. I followed her around the corner and out the door. Once we were outside she began. “I talked to Kitty this morning.”
I froze. “You what?”
“I followed her into the bathroom this morning, and I told her everything. I told her about the bet you lost and how you were supposed to kiss me at the dance because you lost that bet. I explained that that was why you kissed me in the library, because I made a deal to leave you two alone if you fulfilled your bargain. I think she believed me.”
This was the best news I had all day. “Ah man, thanks, Haley. I really appreciate that. So you really think she believed you?”
“Yeah, and that’s not all. I think she’s getting really tired of Trent following her around everywhere.”
“Really? Why do you say that?”
“Well, she seemed annoyed that he was waiting when we came out of the bathroom. I can just sense it. You know, women are good that way.”
“Well, this is good news. Now all I have to do is get her to talk to me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kitty
I was staying after school, and not because I was in trouble but because I was getting really tired of Trent trying to make passes at me. I couldn’t figure out if his intentions were harmless or not, but I didn’t want to find out. I had told my history teacher, Mr. James, that I needed a quiet place to study, and he said I could stay as long as I needed.
It was taking too much out of me to keep pretending to be happy without Reed. Making him jealous was exhausting. And yet, somehow I couldn’t let him know how much his kiss with Haley had hurt me. I saw the hurt in his eyes when I was with Trent, and it confused me. When Haley explained everything about the kiss, I had allowed myself to hope. What if what she said was true?
My phone vibrated alerting me to a text message. It was Reed. He was worried because I didn’t show up at my car. He begged me to message him, letting him know where I was and that I was okay. So I did.
“There you are!” I looked up in time to see Trent stepping into the classroom and shutting the door behind him. “When you didn’t come to your car I wondered if you had gotten held up in your last class. And I was right. What are you doing in here?”
I tapped my pencil nervously. My senses told me this wasn’t good. “Oh, well, I needed to do some studying, and it’s quiet in here.”
“Well, you should’ve let me know. I spotted that Reed looking for you. Lucky for him he left. I’m getting really sick of him watching every move I make.”
He was getting agitated as he talked about Reed, and I was becoming more nervous by the second. “You know, since we’re in here alone.” He smirked as he came up beside me, taking my hand and ushering me to my feet.
“Um, Trent, I don’t—” His lips silenced mine as they pressed in hard and eager. I tried to push him off, but the harder I resisted the more forceful he became. He pulled me to the floor, covering my body with the full weight of his. “Trent, stop!”
“Shh, it’s okay. No one will know.”
“Trent, stop! I don’t want this! Stop!” When he didn’t I began fighting him with all my strength realizing it was too late for words. “Get off me!” I yelled, struggling and pushing.
I heard the door swing open. “Get off of her!!” Reed tackled him and they both went flying into the nearby desks, sending them scattering. Reed was on his feet and swung—first left then right. Trent fell backwards but regained his footing. “Get out of here!” Reed yelled down to me. Trent took advantage of his distraction, punching him in the face. He went flying back on a desk and flipped over it, landing hard on the floor below.
“Reed!”
Trent was moving toward me, but Reed was up so fast, tackling him again. They flew into a desk, knocking it over and struggled, both throwing punches. Reed hovered over him and punched him hard one last time. Trent stopped struggling and went still, all but a slight moaning.
Reed ran to me, helping me up and taking me in his arms, wrapping me tightly. “Are you okay, Kitty?” He pulled back to study me.
I was shaking but I wasn’t crying. “Yes, I think I’m okay. Help me straighten this mess so no one knows what happened here.”
“Kitty, we need to call the police. He attacked you.”
“It’s okay, Reed. He just got carried away. I don’t want anyone to know. Please Reed. No one can know. I’ve been through so much. Please.”
His expression softened as he stroked my cheek. “Okay, calm down. If you’re sure that’s what you want, b
ut if he comes near you again we’re calling the police, got it?”
“Okay, I promise.”
Together we straightened the desks, grabbed my things, and scurried from the room, leaving Trent where he lay, still groggy and weak.
When I got home I went straight to my room, fell across the bed, and cried. I’d been holding it in until I could get home to let it out in the safety of my room. I didn’t want Reed to know how upset I was. He already wanted to call the police. I just couldn’t put my parents through that. I didn’t want to go through that. So I held it in. But now all I could do was remember Trent’s hands all over me and his mouth on mine. It wasn’t just that though, it was all the drama of my life. It was all too much. Maybe I should’ve let Reed call the police after all. At least one threat would be gone. One thing was for sure, Reed would never let him near me again. That thought alone brought a small smile.
I sent a reassuring text to Reed and went to bed. Surprisingly, I slept like a baby.
Chapter Seventeen
Reed
She was downplaying her emotions for my benefit, but I knew she was upset about the attack. Every time I thought about it I got so mad I wanted to find that Trent and kill him. The memory of his hands on her had me biting my lip so hard it bled. I was just glad I got there in time. I couldn’t think about what might’ve happened had I not. I had become increasingly protective of her and it was beginning to alarm me.
I met her at her car first thing. She looked beautiful as always, no sign of the struggle from the day before. “Are we okay?” I asked as she exited.
She smiled, reaching up to hug me. “Yeah, we’re okay. I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to explain. Haley told me everything, and I understand now. So we’re good.” She pulled out of the embrace and we made our way toward the building.
“Whew!! Thanks. I sort of missed you a little.” I teased, bumping her shoulder with my side.
Exposing Kitty Langley Page 5
