“Okay that’s it. What is wrong, Kenz? You’ve been ignoring us all and staring at the window for the last hour,” Locke asks me as I stand up and walk over to the window, looking out at the dark forest. How long is Kelly going to be? I can’t focus on the movie the guys chose or the food that East brought. All I can think about is how my brother and Kelly are together. I think back to all the times he texted me about Kelly. The way she blushed when I guessed she was with someone, but didn’t tell me anything. It was right there all along, and I never guessed. I’m such an idiot for not realising.
“Kenzie,” Enzo says firmly, and I turn to look at him and all the guys who are staring at me. East turns off the movie as Enzo gets up and walks over to me. The twins give me worried glances, and I know I’m going to have to make something up or tell them the truth. I glance at East, wondering if he knew, considering he is Ryan’s best friend. Surely, he must have known something about them.
“What’s going on?” he asks, rubbing a hand down my arm, but I don’t get a chance to reply as the cabin door is knocked on once before the door is opened, and Kelly walks in. The moment I see her all I can think of is how she kissed Ryan, how she said she loved him. She’s been there with him all this time, and it’s been ages. The flushed cheeks, and messed up buttons on her coat suggest she is sleeping with him, too. She knows my brother is working with the rebels and knows my brother helped kill Mr. Layan. What else has she been hiding from me?
“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier, I was just stressed,” she says as she starts to take her coat off.
“Are you feeling better now?” I snap, knowing my brother has made her feel better. She stops undoing her coat to stare at me.
“What’s your problem?” she asks me, her eyes widening as she takes in how angry I am. If looks could kill, I doubt she’d be standing.
“Oh, I don’t know, Kelly. Perhaps it’s the fact my best friend is fucking my brother,” I say, and there’s silence in the room as I stare at her. She nods at me, her shoulders dropping.
“How long have you known? How did you find out?” she asks.
“Since I followed you and saw you kissing him through a window earlier tonight,” I tell her.
“Did you hear anything we said?” she asks, and I glance around the room, seeing all the guys watching us with worried glances, but they are smart enough not to say anything. I can’t say anything about the rebels and my brother in front of them all, it’s just not smart. They wouldn’t trust her around me ever again, and I need to find a way to get my brother and Kelly out of this mess. I’m mad, but they’re still two of the people I care about the most.
“Nothing. Once I saw you, I didn’t want to stay for the show,” I answer.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I love him. I’ve always liked him, growing up, but last Christmas, it became something more. Then we started texting and meeting up,” she says, her voice drifting off as I walk around her towards the door and hold it open.
“How can I ever trust you again? You’re meant to be my friend, and you’ve been lying to me for months. I just can’t deal with you, with this, right now. Can you leave?” I ask her, watching as she wipes a few tears away and walks away from me. She stops in the doorway and looks back at me.
“You can’t help who you fall in love with, you should know that, Kenz. Don’t hate me for loving your brother, I couldn’t help it. I am sorry I lied to you,” she tells me and then leaves. I watch her walk away and wrap my arms around myself. I don’t trust her because she still didn’t tell me about the rebels and everything that happened. I can’t help but hope she comes to me later and says something. Maybe she just didn’t want the guys to hear?
“Kenz?” East says coming over to me, shutting the door and pulling me into his arms. I rest my head on his chest and hug him back.
“Did you know?” I ask East, and he rubs his hands down my back.
“No idea. Ryan said he was dating someone he met at Christmas, but he never said who. I guessed it was someone he works with.”
“I just don’t get why she didn’t tell me. I mean, I wouldn’t have been against them being together, but to lie to me all this time?” I ask, but don’t want an answer, and East seems to realise it.
“Maybe she was scared she would lose your friendship?” I hear Locke say, and I pull away from East to walk over to the sofa and sit next to him. I look over at Enzo, who is leaning against the window.
“I want to get drunk again, can we find wherever Mr. Daniels hid the vodka?” I ask him. He smirks at me.
“Under the kitchen sink, behind the cleaning stuff. There should be Vodka, whiskey, and possibly some rum,” he answers.
“How do you know that?” Locke questions as he and Logan wander into the kitchen to check. Sure enough, they walk back in with vodka, whiskey, and half a bottle of rum.
“I’ve been down here a few times before Kenzie moved in, he always has some extra down there,” he answers.
“Are you sure we should be drinking this? You’re not eighteen yet, Miss Crowe,” East says mockingly, his impression of Mr. Daniel’s voice is eerie. I shrug.
“A week isn’t going to make much of a difference,” I reply, snagging the bottle of rum from Logan.
“It’s your birthday next week?” Locke asks, his eyebrows raised.
“Shit, it is next Wednesday, isn’t it?” East mutters, before taking a swig from one of the bottles.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Logan asks, snagging the bottle back from East.
“I guess between being stabbed, all the training, and Mr. Layan turning up dead, a birthday party didn’t seem appropriate,” I answer with a small smile.
“Screw that,” Locke says.
“Definitely screw that,” Logan reiterates.
“I hereby call this an early celebration of Kenzie’s birthday,” East says, snatching the bottle back again and raising it as if in toast. “Happy early birthday, Kenz,” he adds and then takes a swig. I follow suit, and so does Locke, who’s holding the other bottle. East and Locke pass their bottles to Logan and Enzo, who both take a drink, too.
“Let me grab some glasses,” I say, standing up from the sofa. I make my way into the kitchen area and grab five glasses and attempt not to drop them as I wander back to the sofa. I place the glasses onto the coffee table and slide back onto my seat.
“You made that look so difficult, Kenzie,” Logan says teasingly.
“I didn’t want to drop them, okay?” I reply.
“You weren’t walking on a tightrope,” he replies.
“Not everyone was blessed with coordination. I sucked at sports in the human school I went to,” I say.
“You went to a human school?” Enzo asks curiously.
“Yeah I went to the local comprehensive school. My mum thought it would be good for me to mix with human kids as well as Marked, I guess. I ended up loving a few of the human subjects, though. I wanted to go to University next year, but I had to let go of that dream because of well, marked powers and all,” I say, sighing.
“What did you want to do?” East asks, sliding down onto the sofa next to me.
“I’m not completely sure to be honest. There were a few things I enjoyed. I had to leave my A levels half way through, though, so not much chance now,” I say bitterly. Even I’m shocked at how bitter my voice sounds.
“That sucks,” Locke says.
“Can’t you go back and do it later?” Logan asks.