The Heavier The Chains...

by M. E. Clayton

And, now, two years later, my father has lost everything, and I start my new school tomorrow because they can’t be bothered. But, hell, if they couldn’t be bothered when their only son died, I can’t expect them to bother now.

  The thing is, I stopped caring about money, status, and power when I was old enough to see how horrible my parents were because of those things. Yeah, I enjoyed having the finer things, but I worked on trying to be a good person despite the culture around me. It’s a good thing, too. Now that I no longer had any of those things, I knew college was now a probability, rather than a possibility.

  I knew I was going to have to get a regular job and look towards a different life than the one I had originally planned on living.

  And that was okay.

  I could do this.

  If I could survive the loss of the only person who ever truly loved me, I could survive this. This was just a new home. This was just a new school. This was just new friends. This was just a new life. But it was a new life I was alive to live.

  There were worse things.

  Like losing the only person who’s ever loved and protected you.

  Chapter 3

  The moments that impact us.

  Kenzlee~

  Lakeside High looked like all high school campuses across the nation. There was nothing special about it, unless you counted the upside-down mascot that decorated one of the reserved parking spots in the schools parking lot.

  The only thing that I was able to take with me, after the banks had seized everything we owned, was my personals. Since my car had been in my parents’ names, that had been taken. So, Alexandria and I had pulled into the parking lot in her used Nissan Maxima that her parents had gotten for her when she had turned sixteen. Oh, they could afford brand new, but they were not about spoiling their only child. Uncle Allen and Aunt Sheri were all about humility and responsibility. It was a cute car, nonetheless.

  “Okay, since we got everything last week, we just need to locate your locker before heading to first period,” Alex said as she came around the hood of her car to start walking with me towards the building. Lakeside High was an enclosed high school, but that was about the only thing it had in common with Madison Prep; the lack of uniforms being the biggest difference.

  I had agonized all night long about what to wear until Alex had threatened me with bodily harm if I tried on one more outfit. I ended up choosing a simple white button-up men’s shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a matching pair of black ankle boots. It was already October, and the mornings were beginning to feel chilly. I nix a jacket, though, knowing it’d warm up in the afternoon.

  And, because I didn’t want to embarrass Alexandria, I threw my black hair up in a messy bun and played my features down with minimal makeup. A little bit of shimmer powder, black eyeliner, and mascara, and a brush of soft pink lipstick.

  I nodded in agreement and followed Alex since she knew where she was going. We entered the building and, handing her my locker information from my printed schedule, she led me to my locker. Alex grumbled how our lockers weren’t together, but I didn’t mind. I knew how blessed I was to have one person who I could hang out with; I didn’t want to appear greedy.

  After putting all my books in my locker, and only keeping the Econ book and my supplies in my backpack, we headed towards Alex’s locker so she could get her Econ book. Our journey to first period was pretty much how I expected it to be. People passed and greeted or ignored Alex, but the ones who did greet her, gave me a curious look. Alex hadn’t introduced me since they had all been passing greetings, but I knew she’d get around to it during break and lunch.

  First period went smoothly with a quick introduction by our homeroom class teacher, and there was an empty desk up front, but close enough to Alex that I didn’t feel like a complete loser. I was on the receiving end of more curious glances, but so far, everyone was cool.

  As soon as the bell rang, and we started filing out, Alex grabbed my schedule, and said, “Your next class is just two classes down, but you’ll have to go to your locker for your History book.” She shook her head. “We should have mapped this out better,” she mumbled. “Oh, well. We can get a better feel for your routine later.” She narrowed her eyes at me, all concerned parent like. “Don’t forget, there’s a map on the back in case you get lost.”

  I smiled at her pretty face. “I’ll be fine, Alex,” I promised her. “I’ll text you if I start freaking out.”

  Alex laughed. “I’ll meet you by your locker for lunch, yeah?”

  I nodded and smiled. “I better get going if I have to make it back to my locker, then back here again before the bell rings.”

  “Okay,” she replied as she started to head towards her next class. “I’ll see you at lunch!”

  I was doing so well, and that should have been my first sign.

  I had made it to my locker without getting lost, but when the first warning bell rang, I took off without situating my stuff in my backpack first, and that was the reason why I wasn’t looking where I was going and slammed into a brick wall.

  A brick wall dressed in a blue, soft cotton Henley shirt.

  My bag fell out my hand, and a couple of pens rolled onto the tile floor. I dropped down to gather my stuff, all the while apologizing to the wall. “Oh, my God,” I gasped. “I’m so sorry. I…my fault…” After gathering my runaway pens, my eyes took in white sneakers, a pair of dark blue jeans, the Henley shirt, and they kept rising so I could apologize face to face. They landed on a face I didn’t think existed outside airbrushed GQ covers.

  Holy Mary, Mother of God.

  I wasn’t too ashamed to admit my knees wobbled a bit as I stood to stand face to face with him for my apology. Well, face to chest, but still…

  Before me stood a guy who was well over six-foot, and what a six-foot package it was. He had thick, dark brown hair that looked like the most expensive comb in the world wouldn’t be able to tame it. He had a set of matching brown brows that sat over the most startling blue eyes I have ever seen. They were so bright they looked like they glowed. His nose was straight in the middle of two prominent cheekbones, and his jaw was chiseled to manly perfection. His lips looked soft and dangerous. I couldn’t make much of his body underneath his clothing, but if the impact of which I bumped into him was any indication, the boy was solid muscle. The butterfly bandage over his left eye and the bluish-purplish hue of bruising around that same eye did nothing to distract from how good-looking this boy was. It actually stood out because it made him look sexier than he already was.

  But what I couldn’t help but really take notice of?

  It wasn’t the boy I ran into and who deserved an apology. It was how my palms started sweating, and my lungs struggled to function. I stood staring up at the beautiful boy, and I felt powerless at how hyperaware I felt just standing so close to him. It was how his penetrating blue gaze held me transfixed where I stood. I felt…hypnotized.

  Absorbed.

  Cameron hadn’t even made me feel this…breathless the entire two years we were dating. Even when I had given him my virginity, I hadn’t felt this kind of…pull; yearning. We’d only been having sex for the last six months of our relationship, but even believing I was in love with him, he had never pulled this feeling of anxiousness from me. There had been butterflies, but not the punch of shock like now. And I felt even less when he broke up with me because I couldn’t get past Kaden’s death fast enough for him.

  Several agonizing seconds later, my motor functions resumed working. “I...I’m sorry,” I sputtered. “I sh…should have been paying attention to where I was going.” Whatever I had been expecting, it wasn’t the words that came out of his mouth.

  “You fucking should be,” he barked.

  ∞∞∞

  Talon~

  I was heading to second period when I had been blindsided by a force that fit perfectly wrapped up in my body, protecting it from the outside world.

  I watched as she dropped on her haunches to gather h
er pens and situate her backpack, and normally, I would have knelt down next to her and helped her pick up her stuff because my mother did raise me right contrary to popular belief, but I didn’t.

  I didn’t because I couldn’t.

  The second this girl ran into me, a buzz sizzled in my veins and I had been shocked at the sensation. I hadn’t knelt down to help because I was trying to understand what the feeling was that was rushing throughout my body. And when she looked up at me, apologizing, I’d lost all ability to function normally. I watched transfixed as the girl stood up on wobbly legs and stared at me.

  She looked like motherfucking Snow White.

  This girl only stood as tall as my chest, not even reaching my shoulders, but her petite body was rocking some serious curves if that fucking white button-up wasn’t an illusion.

  Why do girls do that? Why do they wear men’s shirts or their boyfriend’s jerseys? Have they really no clue what that shit does to us? Or, at least, to me? A girl in my shirt, jersey, or jacket is like a brand, and while I’ve never done it, I’m all about branding the girl who belongs to me.

  But her impressive rack wasn’t the only thing I noticed on her. Nope. I noticed how black her hair was, knotted up on the top of her head. I noticed perfectly plucked black brows arched over a pair of amber-colored eyes I’ve never seen before in my life. I noticed her straight dainty nose, her rosy apple cheeks, her full, plumped lips, and how her skin was alabaster perfection. She wore just a hint of makeup and I knew her face looked pretty much exactly how it did now when she woke up in the morning. No surprises once the makeup came off.

  And, like I said, she was a petite little thing, and that fucking shirt she was wearing tapered off to emphasize her waistline, while she had the first four top buttons unbuttoned. You could see the hint of her cleavage and I wanted to grab the lapels and rip that fucker wide open. The rest of her was dressed in a pair of black jeans and black boots that only went up to her ankle.

  She was easily the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.

  I’m not talking sexy, hot, cool, bangin’, pretty, or any of those other adjectives that we used to describe a girl who has snagged our attention.

  I’m talking this girl was beautiful.

  She was all those other descriptions rolled into one. She stopped you with her beauty, but she fucking paralyzed you with those goddamn eyes of hers.

  And what’s worse?

  Not only was I noticing how stunning she was, and the physical reaction I was having to her, I was noticing the physical reaction she was having towards me. Those fucking unbelievable eyes of hers were rounded. Her chest was heaving. Her voice a stuttering mess. And her face a pretty hue of blush.

  It wasn’t just me.

  It wasn’t just me and that wasn’t good. I couldn’t afford any distractions at this point in my life. My sole focus was Edie. The foundation of my life’s plan revolved around my mother and sister. I didn’t need a girl…creating emotions in me.

  I didn’t need a girl I couldn’t walk away from.

  So, I did the only thing I could when she apologized. I let her know it wasn’t welcomed-she wasn’t welcomed. It hadn’t helped that her clothes, posture, and perfect fucking existence reeked of money. She looked like she had no idea that food stamps even existed, and that helped fuel my decision.

  “You fucking should be,” I barked in her face. She jerked back, and my initial reaction was to pull her to me and apologize, but when that fucking sunk it, I realized just how problematic this girl could be to my psyche.

  “It…it was an accident,” she muttered, looking confused by my hostility.

  “No,” I snapped, correcting her. “An accident would be, had we both been watching where we were going, and a blind spot caused our wreck. But that’s not what happened, now, is it? I was watching where I was going while you were too busy being self-absorbed to realized that other people walked these hallways, too.”

  She went from sweet and apologetic, to offended and pissed right before my eyes. “It was an accident,” she snapped back. “I just didn’t realize kings and queens walked these hallways. Next time, I’ll be sure to do better.”

  Knowing the clothes she was wearing cost more than my entire wardrobe put together had me fuming over her kings and queens jibe. I stepped into her personal space and told her so. “Well, if anyone knows how to spot royalty, I imagine it’d be you, now wouldn’t it, Princess?”

  “You don’t know anything about me,” she hissed.

  I shook my head slowly; tauntingly. “Oh, sweet thing, that’s where you’re wrong,” I whispered. “I know all about you. I know that ridged back of yours can only come from years of debutant training. I know that outfit you have on wasn’t bought at the mall. I know skin so perfect can only come from not having one day of worry in your entire life. And I know those perfectly manicured nails of yours are not fake, which means only money could keep your natural nails looking that pristine.”

  “You don’t know shit,” she rumbled, her voice raspy and full of anger.

  The last warning bell rang above our heads, and the punch to my gut pissed me off even further, because, now, I had no desire to go to class. Nope. I wanted to stand here and fight with this girl forever. The unreasonable fear crept along my spine that if I let her out of my sight now, I’d never see her again.

  The feeling was positively violent.

  Her light brown eyes darted around before falling back on my face. “As wonderful as meeting you has been, I can’t be late for class,” she sneered as she went to step around me.

  And what did I do?

  The stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

  I reached out and grabbed her upper arm as she tried to skate past me to her class, and the current that sizzled in my veins earlier was nothing compared to the shock that rocked my body at this one touch.

  And, fuck me for being a fool, but she felt it too.

  She gasped and her eyes widened as my hold on her tightened and she let out a tiny whimper of discomfort. Her chest started rising and her lips parted in shock. We were so close I could feel the heat from her harsh breaths warm my chest through my shirt.

  She snatched her arm from my grasp and snarled, “Don’t ever touch me again.”

  Fucking hell.

  Chapter 4

  The direction of our influences.

  Talon~

  Her name was Kenzlee Mitchell.

  And how do I know her name, you ask?

  I knew her name because while, second and third period had been a struggle, fourth period had been a special kind of hell.

  Lars and Hunter had known immediately that something was off when I had stormed into second period pissed and distracted, but I had waved them off with the promise to explain later. And I couldn’t tell you what I was supposed to be learning in third period because I had still been pissed and distracted even then. But when Kenzlee waltzed into my fourth period class, and Mrs. Thompkins made a brief introduction, I knew I was fucked.

  Even her name had me fucked up. Why couldn’t she have a normal fucking name? What the fuck is wrong with Jennifer or Sarah? No. This goddamn girl had to go and have a Disney name, and I knew my Disney princesses. I read enough of those Disney stories to Edie when we were little to know a fucking princess when I saw one. And, while I knew Disney didn’t have any princesses named Kenzlee, her name just sounded like it could belong to one.

  I spent forty minutes trying to remain seated in my chair as I burned a hole clean through the back of her head all through fourth period. There had been an empty desk in the front row of the class, and she had planted her fine ass in it the second Mrs. Thompkins finished introducing her to the class. And, when Ryan Sturgess looked over at her and smiled, I had wanted to beat his face in with my fists. The only thing reason I hadn’t was because when she returned his smile it was out of politeness and she didn’t further engage in getting to know him.

  When the bell rung for lunch, I stayed seated unt
il Kenzlee was safely out of the classroom and I couldn’t accost her.

  Now, Hunter and I were sitting at the table Lars, Hunter, and I always sat at during lunch waiting for Lars. His fourth period was in the D Section, the farthest classrooms from the lunch square. We always ate outside, even if it was raining. The tables had umbrellas to ward off the heat from the bright California sun or the rain on its depressing days.

  “So, what the fuck is up your ass?” Hunter asked right before popping a fry in his mouth. We always opted for the concession stand food rather than whatever they were serving in the cafeteria.

  “I’m only doing this once,” I replied. “Let’s wait for Lars.” And, just then, I spotted Lars making his way to our table with his lunch.

  “Thank fuck, already,” Hunter grimaced. “Now, out with it, Tal.”

  Lars’ brows furrowed. “Yeah,” he chimed in. “What the fuck was up with you during second? You looked like a Friday night before a fight, dude.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was going to sound like a pussy or an asshole because how do you explain something like this? I wasn’t a fucking girl. I didn’t gossip or talk about girls. I didn’t doodle girls’ names on my notebook and fantasize out my future wedding. Hell, I wasn’t even sure of what I was feeling to even explain it to Lars and Hunter. I just knew she made me…feel.

  Without looking up from my tray of food, I asked, “Have either of you met the new girl yet?”

  Lars let out a low whistle, and I felt the hairs on the back of neck stand up. “Are you talking about that fine piece of ass wearing that white button-up?”

  Hunter groaned. “Why do chicks do that shit? Females in men’s button-ups should be fucking outlawed. And then people wonder what makes men stupid,” he grumbled.

  “I haven’t had her in any classes yet, but I did pass her between third and fourth period, and fuck me running,” Lars breathed out. “Talk about fucking hot.”

  I hadn’t meant to.

  I hadn’t meant to stand up and stare down one of my best friends in the world; a guy who has stood by me through all the ugly in my life.