Run

Chapter 6

"What part of our conversation last night did you not understand?" Kieth asks with frustration.

"I didn't want to be a bother." I state flatly.

Wyatt sighs, "We are your guardians, we accepted the responsibility."

"I'd rather just do my own thing." I shrug.

"That's not how it works," He shakes his head.

"I'll do my chore and go to and from school directly. I don't see the problem."

"The problem is that you're a little girl who is an easy target for creeps out there," Kieth points out.

"I'm NOT little." I cross my arms defensively.

"Look, we care and we worry," Wyatt says simply, "Please, just go with one of the boys. Yeah?"

They seemed pretty desperate, which was somewhat pathetic. Damn it, I feel bad.

"Alright," I finally concede.

I still skip dinner and spend my evening working on homework. I don't have that much but I 'd rather get ahead than wait until the last minute. A knock on my door pulls me out of my thoughts on the American civil war.

"Yes?" I call hesitantly.

"Can I come in?" A muffled voice requests.

"Sure," I close my book and set my notebook aside.

Steve pokes his head in, "Hey. So I just came to see if you were hungry?" He holds out what looks like some sort of pasta.

"I could eat," I admit.

He smiles, glad that I accept his offering.

"I also wanted to see if you were going to ride with me tomorrow morning," He adds as he hands me the plate.

"Yeah, I told Kieth and Wyatt I would. You don't mind do you?"

"No," He quickly assures, "Will you be riding home with us too?"

"Uh," I hadn't really decided whether I'd rather take the bus or wait around for them.

"Because you're more than welcome to."

"Sure," I agree. It seems like the best option at the moment.

"Great. I'll let the guys know," He smiles brightly before leaving.

I could probably hang out with Cedric while I waited. I wonder if I'm being too quick to be friends with him. I don't dwell on that thought for long because it's Cedric. I might not have years of knowing him but I honestly doubted he could hurt a fly.

The next day was fairly uneventful. I rode to and from school with Steve and spent a fair amount of time with Cedric. He brought more pictures from the night before and even cleared out a space in his hidden room for me to put things up too.

"So how was school?" Wyatt asks as we all quietly chewed on our dinner.

It was my first time joining them since I came to live with them. Wyatt had caught us just as we got back and put us all to work on dinner. Might as well eat if I helped, right.

"We're going to nationals," Benjamin states proudly after no one answers Wyatt.

"That's good," Wyatt nods but looks back to me.

"How about you, Kit?" Kieth asks directly.

"Fine." I shrug.

"Do anything special?" Kieth persists.

I begin to shake my head.

"Hey, where did you head off to with Cedric?" Brandon asks innocently, but I could tell by his smirk and Dalton's snickering that they wanted to get a rise from me.

"We just hung out inside the school."

"Cedric?" Kieth frowns.

"You've been hanging around this guy a lot." Wyatt points out.

"We're friends."

"Sure, okay." Micah scoffs.

"Shut up." I mutter with annoyance.

"Men and women can't just be friends." Frank finally speaks for the first time since I moved in. Too bad his statement was a stupid one.

"What did you guys do exactly?" Kieth questions.

"Just talked." I frown at this interrogation.

"What is there to talk about with him?" Brandon asks seriously.

"He tells me about the animals he cares for and shows me pictures of them."

"Are they alive?" Benjamin retorts.

"Wow! You all are total dicks." I drop my utensils on the table.

"Well hold on a minute," Wyatt interjects, "Sit down, we should probably talk about this."

"No." I stand without concern.

"Kit-" Kieth warns.

They're both by the stairs leading to my room so I head out the back.

"Damn it!-- I'll go get her." I hear someone state.

I quickly break into a sprint. The hot Texas air hits me as I jump off the back steps. I go straight to the stable and look for a place to hide.

I begin to climb up the ladder to the loft but I feel someone grab me. I immediately panic and shove my elbow back into his face. I hear a grunt and I know I made contact but he doesn't let go.

"Put me down!" I kick and scream but to no avail.

I'm carried back into the kitchen and am dropped on the floor upon arrival. I hold my wrist as it pulses from being landed on.

"Hey!" Kieth calls as he comes to check on me.

I look back to see Micah is bleeding from his nose. That's what he gets.

"Shit," Benjamin quickly goes to check on Micah's face.

"Alright. Come on." Wyatt guides Micah away, making sure to tilt his head back.

"Kit." Kieth says sternly as he helps me up.

"I'm fine." I try and push past him.

"You're fine?" Kieth retorts angrily, "You just gave a kid a bloody nose. You're not fine. This whole time you've just been agitating everyone!"

"Then get rid of me like everyone else!" I snap back.

I turn and run back to my room before he can say anything else. I make sure to lock my door before going to my closet. I crawl in and start to cry quietly. I don't know why I did this to myself. I push everyone away and just end up hurting myself.

I don't know how long I'm crying in the closet before I hear a knock on the door. I stay quiet, covering my mouth to hold back sobs.

"Kit." A voice calls from the other side of the door, "Please open the door."

I gather my bearings to call out with a strong voice, "Go away!"

I hear muffled talking followed by receding footsteps.

I cry even harder knowing that this is all my fault.

It's around 10 when I finally leave my room. I had waited a sufficient amount of time to calm down before packing my things. I lock my door behind me to ensure that no one accidentally stumbles across my empty room prematurely.

I'm careful to go down the stairs quietly and tread through the kitchen and back porch as swiftly as possible. I sneak calmly away from the house and walk off into the night.