The Smell of Lilies

Chapter 19

Something inside of Kel snapped. Whether is was from sheer shock or madness she wasn't quite sure yet. It was as if the wires that connected in her head to allow her to do basic movements like breathe and blink and speak had been cut off. For now, she stood there like a statue, not breathing, blinking, nor speaking. 

Something inside of Brandon tightened. Unlike Kel, he knew what it was. Anger. A lot of anger.

He hadn't been this angry since Curtis had passed. 

The blood in this veins was boiling through his blood stream. It was an intense anger that he could physically feel under his skin on his arms, the back of his neck. His teeth gritted, and his eyes darkened. 

But this was Kel's life. Not his.

This was her personal issue. Not his.

Brandon couldn't ignore the burning blood that made his forearms tingle with fury, but he could attempt to ignore the reason. Within ten seconds, logic had hit him in the head. He couldn't deny the feelings he had for Kel. It was still a scary fact for him, though; he had never fallen in love in a week before. But he had enough common sense to know that Kel didn't return the favor. Yah, she liked him. But she wasn't his, which bothered him, but the fact remained imminent. She wasn't his. 

Craig was here, chasing after her. What brick of reality hit him in the head to do it, Brandon didn't know. But wasn't that what the man was supposed to do for her? Especially after he had hurt her and disgraced her so wrongly? At least he should apologize. And it seems that that is exactly what Craig was doing.

Brandon had no right to come between it.

"Kel?" Leila said, snapping her fingers in front of Kel's stoic face.

Kel breathed in as if she had to think about it first. "Craig...is...here?"

"He's on his way."

"You didn't try to stop him?" Kel said a little more frantically.

"I tried! Remember what I told you?! I said I would kill him if he ever came here! And believe me, I gave some pretty harsh death threats with some choice words, but he didn't even listen to what I was saying! He just told me you weren't answering his calls at home, so he's coming here personally. That's why I'm here. To first give you the warning and then I can kill him."

Kel's face was a mixture of worry, regret, and pain. She slumped her body against the kitchen counter and put her wait on it. Leila crossed her arms.

"What am I going to do?" she muttered to herself. She didn't want Craig here. She hated the man. She hated what he'd done to her. 

The two sisters seemed to have forgotten that Brandon was standing there, just a few spaces to the side. 

"How long?" Kel asked, looking at the floor.

"Ten, fifteen minutes."

Kel closed her eyes.

"If you want, go back to your room, and I'll tell him you're not here. And then I can give him a piece of my mind."

Kel shook her head. "No. I have to do this. This has to finish."

That was Kel for you. No matter how unfair life played out, she did her damnedest to retaliate properly. 

"You don't have to do anything," Brandon finally said. The blood was still searing through his veins. He spoke through a clenched throat.

Kel heard the angst in his voice and stood from her slump. She stepped over to his and brushed the back of her hand across his cheek. Goosebumps rose on his arms.