Miserably Delightful

chapter 9

a/n: warning, Kayli is in this but, you know, Sang has some choice words about her ;)

Not wanting to be thoroughly questioned by my family, I drove to Knox's apartment and sent Karen the address. Knox wasn't home, thank god, which meant no questions would be asked by him either. Micah had questioned me when I left the house, but I lied through my teeth and told him I was going to hang out with my new guy friends. He wasn't exactly happy to hear that I was leaving to hang out with a bunch of guys, but he dealt with it and promised not to tell Zain.

I stood in the parking lot of Knox's apartment building, leaning against my mustang, twirling my key ring, staring at the bright pink kitty key chain on it. Every time I saw it, it brought a smile to my face. It was a gift to me from Knox as a joke, but I loved it. In my other hand, I gripped my phone tightly, once again my life line.

A beat up black truck pulled up beside me, and I straightened up, a grin forming. Karen poked her head out the passenger side window, a grin of her own on her face.

"Hey, cutie," she exclaimed, flicking hair away from her face. "Get in, and let's go."

Without hesitation, I shoved my keys into my pocket, then climbed into the backseat, Kayli holding the door open for me. I quietly thanked her, and she nodded, then turned and looked out the window. My eyebrows shot up at her blatant borderline rudeness, but shook it off and leaned forward to speak to Karen.

"Thank you for inviting me," I said softly then turned to look at Derrick. "Thank you for driving me."

"Of course!" Karen threw a smile at me over her shoulder. "You're a sweet girl and I enjoy spending time with you. But, same rules apply as at the races. You need to stay close to us, it can get kind of rowdy at these places."

I nodded, completely understanding what she had meant, especially after meeting that asshole Greg at the races. Guilt formed a tight knot in my stomach as I thought about how Kota had rescued me from that and how upset the boys would be with me if they found out I went to something like this without telling them. I took deep breath, reassuring myself that I deserved to have fun sometimes.

The ride was rather entertaining. Karen kept singing along badly to the radio, causing both Derrick and Kayli to whine at her to be quiet. I laughed, and encouraged her to sing louder, the two of us sharing conspiratorial smiles. Whenever Karen wasn't singing, her and Derrick were talking. I remained quiet, mostly, and just enjoyed listening to them talking. Kayli didn't talk very much at all, only occasionally interjecting something every once and awhile.

As we pulled into the parking lot of a brick building that looked rather unassuming, both Karen and Kayli straightened up in their seats. The car hadn't come to a full stop before Kayli was jumping out of it and bolting across the parking lot to someone leaning against a car. Karen helped me out of the truck, both of us giggling when I nearly tripped.

"Karen," Derrick said, his voice serious. "Please, for the love of God, do not taunt any fighters tonight."

Karen flashed me a grin then looked at Derrick, pasting an innocent look on her face. "Derrick, I have never done something like that in my life. I'm a very well behaved angel and I resent those kind of statements being made about me."

Derrick only stared at her, flabbergasted, and she burst into laughter then hooked arms with me and lead me into the building. Music was being played from somewhere, and people's voices echoed and bounced off the walls. I winced at the noise level but the smile remained on my face. Karen scanned the area, as if looking for anyone she knew, but then gently lead me in the direction of some benches. I took a seat on them while she stood in front of me, untying the flannel from around her waist and dropping it next to me. I assumed it was meant to save a seat.