The Switch

Sarah- A Point of View

When I saw Kenny, two things crossed my mind.

He’s different…somehow.

I didn’t know how he was different, but the way he looked at me….it was as if he was doing a pretty good job forcing the apologetic expression on his face.

Or was it just my imagination running wild, after how much I’d been hurt by him?

He doesn’t know that I know about Sharon.

Derek’s nervous face flashed before my eyes, as I kept a steady hand on Luke’s shoulder, and asked him to move back, with a stiff nod.

I had to ask him about it.

Somehow, his eyes made him seem like a different Kenny—I didn’t even know if it was possible—but the brown was so muddied and hard, they looked like clay pots; lifeless and cold.

Luke stepped back, his movement unsure.

I took a deep breath.

“Sarah—” he began, but then gave up, and his eyebrows moved upwards “I know I’ve been confusing you” he looked at me, as if scanning my face for an answer.

Kenny was never that desperate. I’d never seen him so.

The usually cool and collected Ken Glesson I knew as a child, never, ever made that expression; no matter what was at stake.

He always put forth an explanation for his actions, before taking in people’s criticism. He justified, and then judged—not the other way around. Not how he was then, looking at me, as if afraid of how I’d be judging him.

That timid behaviour was simply too unlike Kenny.

Or maybe it was because he was, truly and genuinely afraid of losing me. What if he was? Everyone has something they’re afraid of, right?

With Kenny’s personality, in which everything is exaggerated, what if his love for me was too? What if his only fear was of losing me?

Was it too naïve, for me to hope for something like that?

Kenny’s dominating nature, usually put him in the spotlight as a bad guy, but I always knew the purpose behind his actions. That’s why I had told Luke earlier that he was insanely misunderstood; but not evil.

“Confusing isn’t even close” I decided to play it safe “you have my emotions in a labyrinth”

I could feel Luke’s gaze on my back, cautiously paying attention to every word I said and every movement I made.

“I don’t want to lose you over something as trivial as Sharon” he finally said, his voice sturdy.

The way he spoke gave me an impression that he was trying to convince me, by being incomprehensively sure of it himself.

Incomprehensive, because of the degree to which he believed me to be unobservant.

“There’s no point in taking the discussion there” I moved a step forward “Consider me intimidated”

Kenny frowned.

“Back inside the car; you said you had been trying to intimidate me.” I reminded him “Guess what, Kenny? I am frightened. Consider me warned. I won’t come between you and Sha—”

My voice broke at her name. The last syllable, ron, was swallowed in with the knob in my heart.

“You’re mistaking me.” He said, as if it was as obvious as the fact that the sun rose in the east.