A Quirk Of Fate

~Chapter 2~

"Wake up Eli, it's school time!" cheered Kennedy. 

Yesterday we had the whole day to ourselves, for us to get to know each other better, and it worked.

She was interesting, and she said the same thing back, but I still didn't know everything about her. I can tell.

The question I always ask her: "What are you hiding from me, Kennedy?" 

It never gets answered.

"But Ken, I like my bed." I groaned and stirred in my bed.

She stuck her tongue out at me and smiled.

That's when I noticed a new bruise. I frowned. "Kennedy, why do you have a cut on your lower lip and a cut near your right eye?" 

She looked nervous for a millisecond, but it got covered with a confused frown as she touched the body parts I pointed out.

"Oh yeah, I, um, fell down the stairs and ran into the wall." she gave me a fake smile, showing her chapped lips.

"What are you hiding from me, Kennedy?" I asked her, not actually meaning for the words to come out my mouth.

"Nothing, Eli." she sighed. "You have to get ready for school." 

My face fell.

"I just don't want to face the bullies. They all know about the divorce, my mom and me living with you. What about you? I don't want you to get bullied because of me." 

"You know what, Eli? I don't care about the bullies. I got bullied before, and I don't give a crap. They're just like our dads, nothing else." she smiled slightly.

"Yeah but my dad left me, the bullies don't." I frowned.

"Okay, let me rephrase that. They're just like my dad." she frowned too.

"Sorry." I said. I knew that her dad was a touchy subject to her. "I'll get ready now." I waited for her to get out, which took a long time.

When she finally got why I was hesitating she formed an 'o' with her mouth. "Um, Eli, can I..... like.... stay, perhaps? I'll be in your bathroom while you stay in here and change. Please?" she had her puppy dog eyes which made it impossible to say no. 

"Yeah sure." I shrugged.

Her shoulders sagged and she let out a breath of relief before getting up. "Thank you a lot, Eli. For everything." she smiled at me and I returned it. "I should say the same." 

Kennedy flashed her welcoming grin before walking to my bathroom. 

I looked at my new closet and took out a black short sleeved v-neck and dark blue jeans and got my black leather jacket and changed. I was going to take a shower after school when me and Kennedy will see my mom, so I didn't worry about that.

I pulled on black socks and black converse and knocked on the bathroom door and opened it to reveal a crying Kennedy, trying to cover all her bruises with make-up. I rushed over to her and stopped her.

"What's wrong? Ken?" I worriedly asked. It was very obvious she was wearing blusher and lot's of tanned cream to cover her battered and bruised face. I pulled her into a sideways hug to soothe her. 

"Why did it have to be me, Eli? Why was it me who has to suffer through this all? When there are millions of bad people in the world who live happy lives, what about me who's a good person and lives a bad life? I don't like my life, Eli. But now I realised I'm not a good person. I've done so much bad before. I deserve this." she sobbed freely into my chest. I tightened my arms around her.