Unbroken

Chapter 26: Rumors

A/N: I apologize for the long wait on this one. As I've mentioned before, I have no idea what I'm doing in this book. Originally, there were supposed to be 23 chapters, but obviously that didn't work out. So, enjoy this one. :D

As we got to school, Nix glanced around the hall, a small scowl on his face. I didn't blame him. Several people stared at us as we made our way to his locker. My heart started racing and I swallowed hard, trying to force down the panic.

"You okay?" Nix asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

My fingers danced over my stomach as I tried not to puke and hide my shaking at the same time. "I'm good," I answered untruthfully. Why were people suddenly interested in us? It didn't make sense. Did it?

It was a win that I had kept it together this long, right? Felt like it, anyway. As we made it to my locker, I slowly twisted the numbers until the lock slid open. "Why is everyone staring?" I finally whispered.

He blinked and his brow furrowed before he said, "What?"

Instead of verbally repeating myself, I signed my question, and he gave me an understanding look. "Not sure. We'll talk to Kacen when he gets here."

I switched out my books as I watched him. "What does Kacen have to do with anything?"

"Money talks. He might not be overly popular, but he isn't unpopular either."

"D-d-did I h-hear m-my name?" Kacen asked as he practically body checked Nix.

"We're attracting a lot of attention and we have no idea what the fuck is up with that," Nix informed him as I closed my locker.

With a lazy salute, Kacen, prowled off, not even bothering to say goodbye. "Is he going to be long? We have homeroom shortly." My phone vibrated and I pulled it from my pocket, reading the text. "Rook says he's here and has coffee...?"

Nix lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug and ran his fingers through his tousled curls. "Let's go meet Rook, and then I'll see if I have time to stop by my locker. I don't need it for first period, it just saves me time between first and second."

When I nodded in agreement, Nix put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his body, his lips grazing my temple. His move did nothing to settle the nervous energy filling my body, and if I didn't get out of here soon, I was going to hurl, which would only make my issues worse.

As soon as we reached the front doors, I felt like I could breathe again, and I let Nix lead me to where Rook usually parked.

His truck was in its spot and Rook sat on the bumper, making the back dip. When he saw us, he pushed away from it, a frown on his face. "You okay, Em?"

Attempting to fake a smile, I nodded. It was pointless to say otherwise.

"Right," he muttered. "And I'd totally believe you if you weren't paler than a vampire and didn't look like you were about to be sick."

"Kacen went to see what he could find out, but I swear we had the attention of like, half the student body when we walked in there," Nix explained.

Rook opened his passenger door and passed me a chocolate looking frappuccino. "Your first class is with Kacen, right?" I played with the zipper on my jacket and nodded, having trouble finding my voice. "Here, take this. It's his." I accepted a second coffee and tilted my head to stare at him. Did he seriously expect me to drink this? I'd either puke it back up or be a jittery mess by second period.

After giving Nix his coffee, he picked up his own along with his backpack. "Let's head to class, and we'll see what Kacen's picked up during lunch."