Keditha's Betrayal

Chapter Fifteen

I stand in the doorway, not sure what to say. Donnie told me he was mad at me and I guess he had good reason to be. “Are you okay?” I ask softly.

Kenny holds his side, groaning as he shifts into a more comfortable position. “I’ll live, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He replies grumpily.

“Key, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left like that.” I rush over to his side but when he shakes his head at me, I stop in my tracks.

“No, you shouldn’t have but you did anyway.” He mutters. I remain silent. “I was really worried about you Athena. I thought maybe Philip had gotten you or maybe…”

“I’m sorry. I’m tired of having to depend on everyone, of not being able to take care of myself.”

“I’ve never doubted that you could take care of yourself for one second Thea, but we’re family, whether you need our help or not, we’re still going to be worried when you just disappear on us!” He yells.

“I’m sorry Kenny.”

Kenny sighs. “Yeah, well…” We sat in awkward silence for a few minutes.

I rub my arms uncomfortably, looking down at my feet as tears threatened to fall. I let out a heavy sigh, biting my lip.

Kenny grabs my hand, pulling me to sit next to him. He wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Are you okay?” he asks, I only nod. Kenny sighs, pulling his arm back. “Thea?”

“It’s fine Kenny.”

Kenny grabs my hand, entangling our fingers. “No, I shouldn’t have yelled.” He tells me. “I was scared.”

"It's not your fault Kenny." I mumble.

Kenny squeezes my hand. "Still, just let me be sorry." He says.

I sigh. "Fine." We sit silence for a few moments. "I'm sorry for challenging Louis, I just- he made me so mad!" I tell him.

"I think he made all of us mad."

I nod. "But if I didn't...you shouldn't have jumped in front of me Kenny."

Kenny gives me a look. "And what? Possibly let your baby die and allow you to go through this pain?"

I meet his eyes. "I can take-"

Kenny smiles, rolling his eyes. "I know, I know, you can take care of yourself. That doesn't mean I won't try to protect you."

I nod. "And I'd protect you right back." I whisper.

The door swings open and Donnie along Julian and Cade stumble into the room. "There's the two lovebirds." Donnie says. "How are you feeling?" He then asks Kenny.

"Like a million bucks." Kenny laughs then winces.

Donnie smacks his head. "Are you an idiot? Don't do that."

Cade takes the seat next to me. "And how are you feeling?" He asks.

"Worn out." I say.

Cade wraps his arm around my shoulders, giving me a hug. "I missed you." He mutters.

"Missed you too." I whisper back.

Julian rocks back on his heels. "So...how did they family reunion go?" He asks.

I shrug. "Went good at first but then Isabel showed up. I think I freaked all of them out." I tell them. "I feel terrible about the whole thing."

"Anthony seemed pretty chill." Julian tells me. "Kind of freaked out but I think he really just wanted to see his family."

I smile at him. "I probably won't be welcomed back there anytime soon." I say.

Donnie glances at me, studying my face. "How's your wound?" He asks.

"Fine." I reply.

Donnie nods. "We should probably clean it."

I glance around the room. "Can we do it later? When they're not around?" I ask.

"Yeah, we don't have to do it right now but we should do it soon." He tells me.

I study Donnie intensely. He was unusually serious, not at all like his usual goofy self. I wonder if he was taking all the Louis drama harder than I thought. "Are you okay Donnie?" I ask.

"Hm? Uh yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You're unusually mature." I say.

Before Donnie could answer, Julian cuts in. "Athena's right. You've been acting strange ever since-"

"I'm fine, just leave me alone." Donnie snaps. We watch as he storms out of the room and slams the door behind him.

"Okay, so he's not okay." Kenny says.

"Can you talk to him?" I ask Kenny. "I'd be willing to do it but you understand Donnie and his relationship with Louis better than I do." I say.

Kenny sighs. "I could, once I can walk without a immense amount of pain."

I kiss his cheek. "Thank you. I have to grab something from your room, I'll be back." I jump up, patting Julian's arm before I exit the room.

I head into Kenny's room, searching for a book that we could read together and hopefully take his mind off the pain.

I scan the end table drawer. I wasn't overly surprised when I didn't find one in there. Kenny just kept his handgun in there but there was no harm in checking.

"Athena." A eerily familiar voice says. I frantically spin around, looking into the cold green eyes that belonged to Louis.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. Louis steps towards me causing me to step back and bump into the drawer. I grip the edges of the drawer as I stare at Louis, scared to take my eyes away from him for just one second. "Are you going you kill me?" I ask, sucking in a breath.

"I'm here to warn you." He says.

I force a laugh. "About what? Yourself?"

Louis gives me a look. "You need to stay away from Philip. He's planning something big and if you come after him, I'll have no choice but to take you out myself."

I huff. "I'm not afraid of you Louis." I tell him.

Louis leans closer, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not the one you should be afraid of." He snaps. "Do I have your word that you'll stay away?"

I only glare at Louis. He sighs. "I don't want to have to hurt you." He says.

"Seems like it." I mumble sarcastically.

"Athena, do I have your word?" Louis snaps again, his voice raising with every word.

I grab my gun from the drawer, pointing it at his chest. Louis reacts quickly, grabbing my wrist and twisting it painfully. I wince, trying to pull my wrist back.

Louis grabs the gun from my hand. “Don’t try that on me Athena, you know I’m better than you.” He says calmly.

I rip my wrist from his hand. “Only because you won’t shut up about it.” I snap.

Louis’ gives me a sympathetic look. “Stay away from this Athena, I’m telling you this as a friend.”

I shove him back. “A friend wouldn’t have shot Kenny.” I snap at him.

“If it makes you feel better, I was aiming for you.”

“It does actually.” I say sarcastically. “He almost died, because of you!” I snap.

“I don’t want to discuss this. I should go. Just...think about what I said, please for your sake and everyone else’s.” he says before walking around the bed and climbing out the window.

Just then, the door opens and Julian walks in. "Athi? Is everything okay? I heard yelling."

I rub my wrist and shake my head at him. "Louis was here."

"What?" Julian almost gasps. "Are you okay? Did he say anything?"

I sigh. "I need to talk to Donnie. It's time we stop hiding from Philip and the others."