His Scars

21. Mine to Keep

Hey kids, 

It's update time! I am dedicating this to @shylaja13 . She has been on me to update ever since she began reading and watching her react to this book gave me life. 

Sorry for the late updates, I know where I want to go but it's taking a second for me to get there.

I hope you enjoy. 

The meme will make sense at the end of the chapter. I'm giggling just thinking about it. Maybe I'm just cruel. 

---

KANE

The bliss I was in was unlike anything I had ever felt. I was undeniably happy. I was at peace. The people that I had surrounded myself with had created a bubble around me. One that seemed detached from my reality; detached from my past. 

I spent my days studying and hanging out with my friends. Dinners and late evening were spent with family. Sage was basically a daughter in my household now. She was all my parents could talk about. Even Cole was besotted with her. They had begun calling her over for game nights. 

I picked her up on the  way to class and dropped her home if our schedules matched. We spent too much time together for me to be able to control my feelings. But control them I did. Even though I could see her falling harder. It worried me sometimes. Though it calmed me a little that she still didn't seem to be getting her hopes up. But she retained the goal of making me feel sure that I was loved. 

Just the thought of it made my chest feel tight. Matt, Gina and I had become a lot closer too. I'd hung out with them individually on several occasions and they felt easy to be with. I'd often waited for things to become awkward with them but it never did. They talked incessantly and never expected me to be more or less than I was. 

I had expected at least one of them to bring up my scars. They had seen me with my shirt off. I was aware of how grotesque my body was. If my face was bad, my arms and torso were even more so. Not one of them asked. Not one of them stared. Even though I was prepared for it. Well, Sage had stared but her gaze didn't quite hold disgust. And considering the kiss we'd shared after that, I knew she wasn't repelled by me. Quite the opposite. 

I was in my head. No longer aware of the way people stared and shuddered. 

Not aware that all that I had, was not mine to keep. 

I was walking back to my truck  from the grocery store one night when it happened. I heard the footsteps but when I looked back there was no one there. Not right behind me at least. 

I reached the truck and shifted my bags to one hand so I could fish my keys out of my pocket when something slammed into me from behind. Everything fell to the ground, including my keys, scattering around me. I turned only to get a blow to the face, my head bounced off the glass behind me. I groaned. 

I looked up to see Eric and his Neanderthals. I couldn't help but roll my eyes. 

"Really?" I asked. "I thought you left." 

One of his guys held my arms and the another punched me in the stomach. I dropped to a knee. Eric crouched so his eyes were level with mine. 

"Leave?" He asked. "After you and that bitch humiliated me? Ruined everything I've worked for?" 

His knee collided with my jaw and I felt my eyes tear up from the pain. 

"You ruined everything yourself. You went too far."