The Heartbreaker's Home

Chapter 7

The First Argument

Kelsey had never thought of herself as a jealous girl. That is, not until that very first day Declan had brought her along to a post game celebration of milkshakes, fries and burgers at Redwood Creek's milkshake bar, The Pudgy Moo.

The celebration of the game was boisterous, and the cheerleaders at Hoffman High together with the team all crowded into two booths.

She had always known Declan was a star player, even before they got together. It was why she had been surprised in the first place, that someone like Declan Reed, star quarterback and most sough after male in their high school, would actually want someone the school often classified as a 'band nerd', the girl who was always in the music room, or with headphones plugged into her ears. Kelsey's lunch buddies consisted mostly of Megan, Megan and whoever Megan was attached to... and did she mention Megan?

So it was to no surprise that in a crowd of almost twenty people had Kelsey shut tighter then a clam. Squeezed in between her boyfriend and his best friend Grant, her chocolate milkshake remained almost untouched. Kelsey only watched, as if a rat had stolen her voice, as Declan jostled his friends, joked and laughed. He occasionally draped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her, but never once had he looked at her.

Worst, they were all over him.

When she said they, she meant them. The pretty, skinny, leggy cheerleaders who seemed as if they cannot get enough of the football team, Declan and Grant especially. By the fourth girl who surreptitiously ran her finger up Declan's bare arms, and him just laughing at what she said, Kelsey had had just about enough.

With a muttered, unclear apology, not even a look at who was supposedly her boyfriend, Kelsey excused herself and dodged the crowd to exit the brightly lit diner. She only managed to go a couple of feet away from the entrance however, before a familiar voice that often invoked joy in her, called the nickname that was uniquely his, pausing her steps.

"Kay, what's the matter? Are you alright?" Declan had asked, as he ran up to her, a confused expression on his face. With his tousled, post-game hair, flushed cheek and excited light in his eyes, Declan Reed look every bit the star quarterback. Why would he even want her? Insecurities flew amok in her head as she bit her lip, hoping the dim street lights of the street could hide the way her eyes darted away from him. "Kay?"

Not happening. Declan was too attuned to her.

"You're busy. I better leave."

He frowned, not comprehending the meaning behind her words. "What do you mean? We just won a game, Kelsey, everyone's celebrating!"

"I can see." she couldn't help the sudden toxic that crept into her voice, as she yanked her hand out from his grip. "So much celebration, that everyone can't wait to get a piece of you!"

It was a rare show of temper, for the otherwise quiet, silent Kelsey. So she was a jealous girl. It wasn't something she was proud of, yet with Declan Reed, he seem to amplify every single one of her emotions, and she couldn't decide if she loved him or hated him for it.

---

"You really didn't have to stage a kidnapping, you know. We have phones." I muttered, rubbing my neck from where he had chafed it. My bag had been left in my car, along with the food Seeley had packed for me, having fallen out of my grip the moment Declan had yanked me into his car and more or less drove off before I could even register what had happened. To his credit, Declan looked quite guilty, but rolled his eyes at my words.