Unbroken

Chapter 12: Kacen

A/N: I was determined to update twice today. Technically, it's no longer 'today' as it's 3 in the morning, but here it is. Another update before I crawl back into my writing cave. I have a lot to get done in the next few months if I'm going to be ready to get them published. :D

Emma:

Kacen sat sideways in his chair, staring off into space. His long legs took up the entire aisle and his backpack was placed in the chair behind him. I stepped over his legs when he didn't bother to move them, and then handed him his bag.

He took it as he finally turned to look at me, cocking his head curiously. His eyes had dark circles under them and his chest expanded as he sighed heavily. "H-hey."

"Is something wrong?" He looked like crap.

He shook his head, resting his ankle on his knee. I might not know him that well, but even I could tell that he was lying. He was silent until class started, back to staring at some random point across the room. I probably didn't have the right to ask Rook or Nix about it, even though I wanted to.

Crossing my legs at my ankles, I gently tapped his shoe with my own. He gave me a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

When the bell finally rang to signal the end of class, I felt a bit of relief. Standing up, I shouldered my bag, stopping in surprise when he followed me out of the room. I didn't think he'd paid any attention to the class.

We made it out to the hallway and his fingers brushed against mine before he grasped my hand. "I'll w-w-walk y-you."

"To my next class?" I questioned, rubbing my hand against my stomach nervously.

He nodded, lightly swinging our hands.

"Why were you upset earlier?" I shouldn't keep pressing, but I didn't like seeing him upset.

"It's s-s-stupid. D-don't w-w-worry ab-bout it." He smiled tightly.

"Kay." I lightly squeezed his hand as we stopped in front of my Spanish class. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Y-yeah." He released my hand, hurrying to get to his next class as he slipped his phone from his pocket.

Moments later, mine vibrated. We missed you yesterday. I'm glad you're back today. Glancing up at the crowded hallway, I smiled as I caught Kacen's attention on me, just before he disappeared into his own classroom.

---

As I got to my next class, Nix stood just outside the door. "Did I miss anything important yesterday?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so." He shrugged a shoulder as he led the way into the classroom. "I'd offer to let you see my notes, but I think your sister took better ones than I did."

He dropped into the second to last seat, allowing me to sit behind him.

Pulling my notebook out of my bag, I flipped through the pages to figure out where Ari might have written my notes.

"I think she was writing on the last page. I remember thinking it was weird that she was writing so far back in it," Nix said as he flipped through his own notebook.

I turned to the last page in my notebook, happy to see that she did take notes, even if they started on the last page and continued on on the second to last page. I turned the page once more, squeaking as I quickly flipped my notebook closed. God, I hoped no one saw Ari writing all those hearts with Rook's name doodled in them. My stomach churned and my cheeks burned.