How to Fall Apart

Chapter Seventeen

When Kenny called the next day while I was at work and I let it go to voicemail it only had a little bit to do with Nate. I didn't even know it was my phone ringing at first because I didn't recognize the ringtone. A bad '90s boy band song blared and I laughed when I realized it was coming from my phone. It was Nate's MO, he did that to Carly all the time and I had left my phone out on the coffee table when I'd fallen asleep the night before.

It wasn't as though kissing Nate wiped away my feelings for Kenny. Although a part of me kind of wished it worked that way.

I worked the morning shift with Quiet Boy and due to the actual blizzard not many people were coming in for ice cream blizzards so it was quiet. I had entirely too much time in my own head and tried cleaning to distract myself but that didn't turn off my thoughts. I was torn, I liked Nate and I liked Kenny. And where the hell was Alissa? I text Kenny after he called, telling him I was at work and asking after Alissa. He asked me to call him when I got off of work. I was making myself crazy and was ecstatic at Carly's arrival at four to work with me. I said goodbye to Quiet Boy and he nodded slightly in response.

I didn't talk to Carly about Kenny or Nate, except to concede that I do, in fact, like Nate but that I also still like Kenny which only made the whole dating situation more complicated. She advised that obsessing over a celebrity simplified things. I reminded her of her crush at school and she shrugged, pointing at me and telling me my predicament was the exact reason she left it at unrequited love. She also suggested that I should figure stuff out with Kenny before letting things go any further with her brother and only partially because she'd have to hate me if I broke his heart.

"Jillian is protective," she said, like I hadn't already figured that out. "She's never liked any of Nathan's girlfriends and if you hurt him I'm pretty sure she'll hurt you." I didn't doubt that.

We'd stayed up so late the night before that by the time we closed we were both dragging.

I had Mom's car and the roads were icy so I decided to wait until I got home to call Kenny. Then when I did get home I talked to Mom and Clark before calling him.

"Hey," I said when he answered on the first ring.

"I thought you were going to call me right when you got off of work?" He didn't even say hi. He sounded mad and I wondered if he somehow knew that Nate had kissed me. But I knew that was ridiculous. Short of Nate calling him to tell him, there was no way.

"I did. I just got home." I told him.

"Well if you would have called me right when you got off work I was going to see if you wanted to go out." I could hear voices around him. Guys and girls. "Is Alissa with you?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I haven't seen her lately." I could hear him asking whoever he was with if they'd heard from her. "James hasn't even talked to her inawhile."

"Kenny, get off the phone." A girl whined in the background and I was pretty sure it was Erica. I actually had no idea who it was but I just assumed it was her. In spite of myself, I felt jealous.

"Well, sounds like you're busy." I bit down on my lip hard.

"Never too busy for you, let me come get you?" He turned on the charm and I could hear his sexy smirk in his voice.

"I have school tomorrow, Kenny. And I'm soooo tired, stayed up way too late last night." I laid down on my bed and was pretty sure I could fall asleep right then.

"So you were too sick to see me this weekend but you went out last night?" And the charm was gone.

"I went to work on a project with Nate Preston for school. I'm friends with his sister so I just stayed the night because the roads were bad." I said defensively. Not that I was sure why I had to defend myself. Kenny would go days without so much as responding to a text and never once offered any explanation.