6

Jenna didn't dare listen to music, turn on the tv or even look at her phone. She was worried any noise might mask the sound of his return, and she wanted to be ready to hide.

Not that there were many places to hide in her room. After shutting the door behind her she had noticed there wasn't a lock.

Propping a chair against the door would work... but she had no chair in the room. This room had been the home gym until being converted. It wasn't big enough to fit much more than a bed and a wardrobe, but Harry had made an effort to decorate it beautifully, with posh lighting and a few paintings that looked expensive.

He told her she could change it any way she liked, making it reflect her personal style, but she was happy to keep it as it was--stylish and smart. That wasn't so bad, right?

When the lock on the front door finally clicked Jenna almost had a heart attack. She sat back on her bed, hugging one of the large fluffy pillows and holding her breath.

He stomped about the kitchen for a while before everything went silent. Was he sneaking up the stairs with his ninja-like stealth again, she wondered.

Her body tensed, ready to pounce in a fit of flight or fight, until she heard him speak softly.

"Are you ready to talk about what happened earlier?" he asked in a conversational tone. He sounded calm. Too calm.

Jenna couldn't speak. It was a trick. Had to be.

"Hmm? I'm coming in," he said, remaining polite.

The door opened with a creak, and he entered. When he sat on the bed it dipped heavily, making her roll toward him. Her bum touched his and, awkward as it was, she didn’t want to scurry away like a frightened mouse.

Sitting so close to him, she could feel his body heat and smell his antiperspirant. It was unfamiliar—not one of the cheap and popular ones that teenage boys gravitated towards—the ones with dramatics adverts where the guy sprays himself and girls started dive-bombing him.

‘He smells nice,’ Jenna thought.

"What happened today at school... It won't ever happen again," he stated quietly, staring straight ahead.

Jenna was shocked by his mature and calm attitude. So shocked that she found it hard to reply.

"I—I'm sorry about kicking you," she said. "I'm really really sorry, Kai, it won't ever happen again, I swear."

"Hmm," Kai said and nodded.

"Did you think I was going to hurt you?" he asked after a moment of strained silence, still avoidning eye contact.

"Erm..." Jenna blinked, trying to think of what to say.

His hand hit her knee, making her look down. As she frowned down at his fist he uncurled it, revealing a leaflet inside.

The domestic abuse one.

"Oh!" she cried. "That was just something inside my new student pack."

"Funny." Kai scratched his head. "I didn't get anything like that. Neither did Charlene or anyone else I asked."

"Err... well... maybe it's something new they are doing?" Jenna suggested.

Kai snickered. "Yeah, right."

He smoothed down his clothes and let out a big sigh. "Well, contrary to popular belief, I'm not going to beat you. I will, however, beat the absolute shit out of that prick Jacob. And you will do nothing but watch and think about what YOU caused. Right?"

It took a few minutes for those words to sink in.

He was... going to beat up Jacob instead?

But... why?

It wasn't Jacob's fault that she had kicked him in the shin.

"What? No, that's crazy," Jenna muttered before she could stop herself.

"Oh." Kai said, keeping his tone conversational. "Well, it's happening, so..."

With that, he got up to leave.

"Nighty night."

Jenna sat, transfixed by this problem for almost two hours before realising her only option was to talk to Kai. Maybe she could talk him out of it.

She waited until he was downstairs, making toast in the kitchen before making her move.

"Kai," she questioned, approaching him from behind. He didn't turn around, just continued to smear way too much butter onto his burnt pieces of toast. Clearly he got his cooking skills from his dad.

"Please don't hurt Jacob because of me. It was me who kicked you, not him. It's hardly fair that he gets beaten up because of me... a girl he doesn't even know," Jenna explained, getting straight to the point.

When Kai didn't respond, she went on, "Please, Kai. Don't hurt him. Please."

When Kai finally turned, he had an entire slice of toast hanging from his mouth. He took a bite and swallowed before replying.

"What are you going to do about it?"

He pinned her with a glare so cold and dark she felt herself shrink away from him.

"I—I'm going to do nothing and watch," she whispered with a shiver.

"Good girl," he said and patted her on the head with his crummy hand.

Feeling hopeless, Jenna wiped the crumbs from her locks and went to bed but took hours to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Jacobs face.

The following morning she got up early and made bacon and maple pancakes for everyone, just to avoid having to eat Harry's cooking. He seemed overjoyed to have someone cook for him, unaware of the reasons behind it. He probably figured she was just being nice.

And she was partly. This was an attempt to suck up to Kai. Maybe if she was really nice to him, he would listen to her.

As Kai finished his food and picked up his book, she was quick on his heels.

"Kai, I need to ask you a huge favour," she said.

"Oh yeah?" he replied. "I wonder what this could be about. You just don't give up, do you?"

"Please," she asked, giving him her most pathetic puppy-dog eyes. "Oh, please, please don't hurt Jacob."

She pressed her palms together, praying to him to listen.

It was no use. He acted like she wasn't even there.

As they met his friends, he began talking to them, forgetting his conversation with Jenna like it was nothing. Pointless.

It probably was pointless to try to reason with him or plead with him. He had no pity for anyone.

When they reached the school gates, a strange tension rose in the air.

"Right," Kai said, spotting his victim straight ahead. "Time to party."

"Kai, please," Jenna tried one last time, grabbing at his arm. "Please don't hurt him. If you want to punish someone, it should be me."

"Foolish girl." Kai laughed. "I AM punishing you."

As he strode off in Jacob's direction, she could only watch helplessly.