His Number One : The Sequel to Chemistry

Chapter 12

Kaylin sulked through the doors of Jackson Hew High School that next morning. She still hadn't gotten over what happened the previous night before. When she got home and began eating her dinner that she hadn't even bothered to microwave, the only thing she could think about was whether she should tell her mother about her Anthony or not. With every cold pea she slowly chewed on, she leant further and further towards just keeping her mouth shut. It's not like telling her would change anything. Anthony already chose the life he wanted to live. And if Jordan knew what he was talking about, there's no way he could change that. Not even if a 40-year-old woman showed up at his door step with a belt and a bottle of holy water. Kaylin was fully convinced that there was nothing she could do. But she just couldn't shake the feeling that if something were to happen, it'd be her fault for not letting anyone know beforehand. But if something didn't happen, and she ended up telling, both Jordan and Anthony could end up in jail. 

"Kaylin!" a voice called from behind her. She stopped near the entrance of the school and turned around. Jacob scurried through the crowd of people in front of him in order to catch up. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," she said in such a low tone that Jacob almost didn't catch it.

He could see that she was still upset by Anthony and Jordan's situation. He was too. And he'd been wondering if there was anything else she had found out.

Apparently Kaylin was wondering the same thing because she said, "Have you talked to Jay?"

"Nope," he answered. "You?"

"No," she sighed. "I stayed up all night texting and calling Anthony. But he never responded, and his phone sent me straight to voice mail. As much as I love my brother, Jordan doesn't need to be hanging out with him."

"Yeah, that guy scares me."

She shook her head in a disapproval. "Don't be scared of him."

"Nah, I think it's safer for me to be afraid of him," he grinned. "But I gotta run to the library to print out a current event. You wanna come?"

"Can't," she answered. "I gotta go upstairs."

"Alright. Text me if you hear anything," he said before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Kaylin continued up to the second floor of the school. She hadn't made it off the main hallway yet when Mariah suddenly approached her. She looked distressed, as if she had unpaid bills she didn't know how to take care of. She was alone. That was unusual because she was always with a group of her freshmen friends. The way she had approached Kaylin, fidgety and in a hurry, made it seem like she had been ripping and running around the school all morning. "Hey, Kaylin," she greeted.

What went through Kaylin's mind was, "I thought you didn't like me. Why are you talking to me?" But what parted her lips were, "Hi."

"Do you know what happened to my brother last night?"

Kaylin hesitated, quickly trying to decide whether to tell the truth or not. "No. What happened?"

She exhaled deeply and her eyebrows went downward, resulting in her facial expression converting into fear and exasperation. It was evident that she had been running around trying to get information about her brother all morning. "He came home in really bad condition. We tried to ask him what happened to him but he wouldn't talk. You know how stubborn he can be." The worry that had been terrorizing Kaylin all night was suddenly lifted knowing that Jordan had gotten home safely.

"Is he alright?"

"He is now. He wouldn't let us take him to the hospital but Mom assumed that he had a sprained ankle so she wrapped it. He had a really big cut above his eye too. He just looked really bad."