TWENTY-THREE
During the next few days Kayden avoids me like the plague.
Predictably so. He’s been leaving the apartment early and coming back at a ridiculously late hour, and while I’ve tried to wait up for him, I somehow always end up falling asleep on the couch before I can ambush him. Though I always find a comfortable pillow nestled under my head and a cozy blanket wrapped around me to keep me from freezing.
It’s a nice gesture, but it would have been nicer if Kayden would just talk to me.
I get it. I overstepped his boundary. But I genuinely didn’t mean to, and if I could just get on speaking terms with him, at least he’d know that. But since I’m still getting the cold shoulder from him, the guilt that I feel has slowly been chipped away, replaced by the frustration of him icing me out when things get difficult in our . . . friendship. Or whatever the hell this is.
I try to not let it get to me since I’ve got more important things to focus on, like finishing the term with a good GPA.
When I’m finally done with my last physics paper on Friday, Brent and I have a little celebratory lunch at the school cafeteria, though it is really so we can compare our exam answers. I was reassured knowing that most of our answers were similar. I wish Kayden could have joined us, but it seems like he still needs his space.
Up until now, I was fully convinced he wouldn’t even show up to the paint ball arena today. I even left the apartment without him, choosing to carpool with the rest of them. It’s about a thirty-five minute drive from here to Tewksbury where the arena is situated, so I doubt he’ll want to make the drive to a place where he’ll be spending time with a bunch of strangers.
So imagine my surprise when ten minutes before our match, a mysterious man in a helmet, black sporty jumpsuit, and loaded PCP paint ball gun joins us by the bleachers beside the entrance to the arena. When he peels his helmet from his head, I immediately shoot up from my seat.
“I didn’t think you were gonna come,” I breathe.
Kayden nods, balancing the helmet on the side of his hip. “I didn’t want to leave you alone.”
“You must be Kayden!” Cara steps in front of me, extending her hand. “I’m Cara.”
Kayden presses his lips together thinly. “I know who you are.”
She blinks in confusion.
“I mean—” he says quickly. “You’re the girl who keeps trying to invite me to things.”
She glances away, pink tinting her cheeks. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine.” He scratches his head, guilt flickering in those grey eyes. “I’m sorry that I was rude to you then. I wasn’t in the right head space.”
The smile returns to her face. “I’m just glad you’re here.
Come on, you can wait with us.”
She guides Kayden to the bleachers where our group’s bulky forms have crowded the available space, leaving the other participants no choice but to stand around awkwardly while they wait their turn. It’s spring break weekend, so people have been coming and going all day. Most of them are young teenagers, crowding around the entrance as they wait impatiently for their turn to enter. The perimeter of the arena is sealed with corrugated metal, preventing us from passing time by watching other people have fun; the only hint of excitement is the sound of far distant war cries and whizzing pellets.
Daniel’s eyes sweep over the length of Kayden’s huge arms in awe. “Your tattoos look cool, man.” He compliments Kayden.
“Thanks,” Kayden says with a slight pause. “I’m looking to get inked next month. You wanna come with? Maybe you can get one yourself.”
“Seriously?” Daniel asks, excitement lighting up his face. “Hell, yeah.”
“You’ll look ridiculous with a tattoo, Daniel,” Alex chimes in.
“I let you get a dog,” her boyfriend counters. “Even though I didn’t like it.”
“That’s different. Our dog is adorable,” she says. “I doubt your tattoos will be that cute.”
“You have a dog?” I scoot closer to her curiously. “You know we aren’t allowed to keep pets in the complex.”
“Yeah. His name is Ace. And please keep it on the DL.”
She pleads with me. “We were visiting the shelter the other day and we couldn’t resist.”
Daniel rolls his eyes. “You mean you couldn’t resist. I resisted. Heavily.”