Present Day | June 7th, 2019
"So Kaden took you to a rock by the coastline, that's how you knew where he would be that day?" Officer Hudson's face was calculating as he scribbled messy writing onto a notepad. I shifted uncontrollably in my chair.
October felt like it was so long ago, so much had happened, so much had fallen apart.
Things were as normal as they possibly could've been, or at least that was what I had managed to believe at the time. There was so much I was missing, so much I was seeing through.
Now? I'm at the police station a total mess, trying to keep the last bit of composure I had left, while I told the story of our friendship.
"I didn't know where he'd be. I took a lucky guess." I muttered, moving my legs back and forth while sitting in the slightly uncomfortable metal chair. Officer Hudson nodded.
"So the night of the party. You saw several teenagers high on Oxycodone, and you didn't think to call the police?" Yeah, I saw that comment coming.
I sighed. "I was too freaked out to think rationally. I just wanted to leave."
"Leave, as in go to Kaden's?"
"I already told you that." My voice dripped a negative attitude, but Officer Hudson seemed to be unfazed.
"Why him, as your friend Cole said, why not Molly or Kendall?"
"I don't know."
"Miss James, nothing you say here will leave this room. You're safe, you don't need to lie. Now please, tell me the honest reason." I didn't know how he constantly managed to keep his voice calm, I know I wasn't being easy to work with.
But did he honestly expect me to be? It's been a week, seven days, one hundred and sixty-eight hours.
The truth of the matter was, that I didn't know how to answer his question. I didn't know if I had developed feelings for Kaden at that point in time, or whether or not I wanted to tell Officer Hudson about those feelings.
"I always chose Kaden." Was all I ended up being able to bring myself to say.
As if he could tell I wasn't ready to say more, he nodded, writing more sentences onto the sketchpad.
He changed the subject.
"What value did that rock have to you?" He questioned.
Taking a deep breath, I responded. "Up until a week ago, it made me feel safe. It reminded me of him. When he took me there, I knew it was serious." I paused for a moment, trying to keep a tear from escaping my eye.
Really Avery? He doesn't deserve your sorrow, pain or grieving. He doesn't deserve anything less than hell.
Don't shed tears for hollow hearts. That's the phrase, right?
A humorless laugh escaped my lips when I found the strength to pull myself together.
"I can tell you one thing, I certainly never thought it'd be where I watched him die."
"Miss James I-"
"Sorry Officer, I'm getting ahead of myself-" Taking a final deep breath, I made my face neutral, void of emotion once again.
"Onto November."
*
November, 2018
"Then, I swooped in, her knight in shining armor, and took her home. Pretty heroic if you ask me."
I was currently at November's hot chocolate hour, sipping my creamy drink while listening to Coles ridiculous explanation of what happened on Halloween.
It was nearly one AM, but none of us seemed the least bit tired. We drank cup after cup of hot chocolate while laughing at stories told from another.
"Cole, that's not how it happened." My head shook slightly as I responded. Kendall, Kaden and Molly laughed.
"Well that's how I remember it."
"Of course it is, that's just how your narcissistic brain works." I smiled tauntingly.
"Kendall, Kendall, Kendall!" I heard Kendall scold herself, rushing into the back room. I assumed she had spilt on herself.
Cole's annoyed expression quickly transformed into a smirk.
"Excuse me." He spoke, getting up and rushing after Kendall. I turned to Kaden, my eyes questioning. He shrugged slightly.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go to the restroom." Molly said, rushing out of her seat and out of the room.
And then there were two.
"How long do you think it will take for Kendall and Cole start screaming at each other?" Kaden asked, leaning back slightly into the booth.
"Thirty seconds."
"Good guess." Kaden smiled faintly and looked down, fidgeting with his fingers, something I noticed him do a lot.
"Cole Jennings! You are such a- jerkhole!" Kendall's frustrated voice echoed throughout Mugs.
"Woah Kendall, jerkhole? I'm hurt, I really am hurt." Cole voice was speaking loud enough that you could hear the mocking tones his voice had.
"Okay sister, that's it." Kaden and I turned nervously to each other before hearing Cole scream "Jesus Christ!"
As if he read my mind, Kaden and I got up at the same time to see what was going on back there.
"Whatever Kendall did that asshole probably deserved it." Kaden muttered. I couldn't help but laugh. As we opened the door, I noticed Cole's light grey polo shirt drenched in hot chocolate.
Kaden and I burst out laughing.
"Stop laughing." Cole deadpanned. We didn't.
"Why are you laughing guys? I think Cole looks great. Hot chocolate is really your color." Kendall mocked, starting to laugh as well.
Not looking happy, Cole picked up the pitcher that we had made about twenty minutes ago dumped and hot chocolate all over the two of us.
Now he was the one laughing.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed, feeling hot chocolate drip off of me and onto the floor. I grabbed the hem of my shirt, attempting to ring at least a little bit of the liquid out.
Kaden's shirt was even more drenched than mine, his dark brown hair had now turned black and fell slightly onto his forehead. However, he didn't look mad. In fact, he almost looked like he was hiding a smile.
"Dude, you owe me sixty bucks for this shirt." Kaden spoke as he attempted to ring it out.
"Uh, did I miss something?" Molly stood and watched us suspiciously while Kaden and I stood soaked in a puddle of hot chocolate, Cole laughed his ass off and Kendall had her hands raised in an "I surrender" type way.
"Well, from the looks of it, Kaden and Avery decided to go swimming, Cole's an idiot and Kendall probably started this whole thing."
We all nodded, including Cole.
"Well..." I started, but was cut off by another snicker from Cole.
"Kaden's last name is Wells." He pointed out.
"You're actually stupid." Kendall deadpanned.
"It is!"
"What does that have to do with anything?" I joined in.
"I dont know. You said "well" so I thought of Wells." He shrugged. I turned my attention back onto Molly.
"Okay, it's one AM and my parents are probably worrying, so... I guess I'm gonna leave." Molly's voice was kinda awkward.
When Molly left, Cole, Kendall and I stayed back to clean. It seriously shocked me how trusting Helen was of us considering our ongoing lack of responsibility.
"No! Stop making me talk." Kendall said to herself, we all looked towards her.
She shrugged. "I know nobody is making me talk, but we were all quiet so I thought I'd say something."
"I respect that." Kaden gave Kendall a look of approval.
"So guys, as you probably know theres a football game next Sunday, the championships actually and uh, I was wondering if you guys maybe wanted to come watch? You know, as I kick ass." Cole tried to cover the awkwardness in his voice with his usual confidence, but failed.
Cole was the star receiver of our school's team, and although I hated to admit it, he was damn good.
"Sure, I'd love to go." I responded nicely, remembering the fun I had at football games at my old schools.
Kaden nodded indicating that he'd go but Kendall's face showed hesitation.
Finally, she rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, I'll go. But only because its my school you're against."
⦠Psychotic â¦
It was around two AM when we all decided to end the HCH officially. Kendall and Cole had left separately, while as usual Kaden was my ride home.
But I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to go back to an empty house.
"Hey Kade?" I asked, my voiced uneasy.
"Yeah?"
"Are you tired?"
Kaden laughed. "Another fun fact, I'm an insomniac. It's rare that I'm actually tired. Why?"
"I don't want to go home. It's just- I know I should be over it, and for the most part I am. But going back to my house right now just feels like the last thing I wanna do."
"Wanna go to the rock? I mean, it's two AM and thirty-five degrees, but I usually go there when I just need to get out of the house."
"You'd go with me?"
"Yeah, do you think I'd just let you go there alone?"
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me Ave. Now lets go."
Kaden redirected his car towards the rock, the dark road being lit up only by his headlights.
Soon enough, Kaden parked his car at the side of the road which caused me to assume we were here. I bundled up in my winter coat before exiting the car.
Kaden looked less affected by the cold, because he didn't flinch as he pulled his hand out of his pocket to shine his phones flashlight.
I'll admit, the woods at night was intimidating, flashlight or not. Kaden must've noticed my unease, because he smiled in amusement and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to walk at a slightly faster pace while he faced me.
"Come on Ave, don't be scared. We're almost there." He laughed slightly. I rolled my eyes and attempted to keep up with the pace he was pulling me at.
Soon enough, I saw the sky at a perfect view, not a cloud in sight, along with a familiar large rock that overlooked the ocean.
"It's even prettier at night." I gasped in awe.
"It definitely is. Now sit and talk about all of your deepest darkest feelings or something." Kaden sounded as if he was confused with the topic and his tone was mocking, but he still managed to keep a comforting smile plastered on his face.
I took at seat next to him on the cold rough surface while leaning my head dramatically on his shoulder.
"I miss my parents." I admitted, staring deeply into the ocean.
"I know you do."
"We used to be so... happy. But, it's like when I reached a certain age they decided my childhood was over and money bought happiness." My voice was dejected. I felt like I was going to explode, like I didn't have the energy to keep having angry conversations with myself anymore. So, I just let it all out.
"My mom is so disappointed in me, I mean, I know I'm not a genius or anything but I do try in school, and I get pretty good grades. My dad is the same as he was, but doesn't pay much attention to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm an attention craved brat, I just miss when he actually wanted to have conversations with me."
And I know I'm not gonna get into an Ivy League school and become a lawyer or something like that. I want to be my own person and my mom just doesn't understand it. She wants me to be her and my dad doesn't care enough to stick up for me." My gaze was still fixated onto the view in front of me. I didn't want to look at Kaden.
However, he wasn't really having that.
Kaden turned to me in a way in which my head was no longer on his shoulder. I could feel his eyes on me but my focus was now on my fidgety fingers.
"Ave, look at me." He spoke. I didn't.
"Avery." This was the first time he didn't call me Ave since he had given me the nickname.
Finally, I met his gaze.
"Avery, you're not a disappointment. I can't help what your mom says or your dad's actions, but I know that you're literally the opposite of a disappointment." Kaden paused for a moment, as if he was trying to run what he was about to say over in his head.
"Out of everyone that I've ever met in my seventeen years of living, you're the first one to actually make an impact-sorry, I never really have had a way with words." Kaden continued to stumble over his own words, which was enough to bring a smile to my face.
"Kade, you can stop now, I can tell you're in pain." I joked, finally looking up into Kaden's green eyes.
"Alright Wells, what about you? What are your, quote, "deepest feelings." I asked, mocking his previous word choice.
"Like, my family life?"
"Yep."
"Yeah, that might be a talk for another time." Kaden shifted uncomfortably.
"What about you just tell me the basics." I suggested.
"Actually, it's scarily similar to yours. My dad put's too much pressure on me to be the best. I mean, he's already mad about the fact that I'm not the stereotypical 'quarterback of the football team golden boy' that he was, so if I were to get a B+ on a test, he probably wouldn't talk to me for a good month." My stomach turned as Kaden spoke.
"My mom on the other hand, is the opposite. She's super clingy and rarely gives me personal space when she's home. Since I'm the only child, my dad is more like a 'my only son should carry out my legacy,' type person while my mom is more of a 'we only have one son don't take advantage of it.' type person."
"Jesus Kade, that's awful." I couldn't decide what to respond.
"At least I have my mom, I mean eighty percent of the time I can't stand the woman, but at least I know she cares." Kaden gave me a reassuring "don't feel bad for me" smile which made me feel slightly better.
I took a deep breath and concentrated my eyes back onto his.
"Kaden, just so you know, I care."
Authors Note
hey guys! so i actually had kinda a writers block in this chapter but that's all good because my bffffffff forced me to write it.
ANDDDDD speaking of her this book is also going to be crossing over with her book "city lights" (19129/10 recommend.) kaden and avery have already made an appearance, and in a few chapters a few of her characters (such as mason and scarlett) will be introduced here so i'm really excited for that.
anyways, have a great rest of your day!!
& remember, read city lights by okaykendall !!