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Chapter Ten

The next week found Kelley in a dark mood, a hole he didn’t want to climb out of. Jesse had tried talking to him but other than ‘nothing’s what it seems’, he couldn’t get anything else out of him. Kelley felt used and useless, both at the same time.

He knew he had to get his act together. School started the next day and Jesse had helped him to enroll in Yorkdare Public School for his senior year. He had no idea what awaited him there. Did he have actual enemies at Public? Sure, they were competitive when it came to football and the pranks were never-ending, but enemies?

He spent days cooped up in his motel room, lying in bed, the old television on but the sound muted. He kept thinking of how things had turned out like it had. He wouldn’t go back to his old life, knowing what he knew.

“Kelley!” The pounding on the door was louder now.

Kelley sat up with a grunt, rubbed a hand through his hair and yanked the door open. “What?”

“Enough moping. Either you tell me what the hell is wrong with you or I’ll beat it out of you.”

Kelley looked Jesse in the eye. “You’ll beat it out of me?”

Jesse gave him a half smile, the only way Jesse smiled at all and nodded his head. “Or we can go grab dinner at Lucy’s.”

“Fine, I’ll meet you there.”

Kelley closed the door and stood there for a few seconds. “I don’t hear the shower, kid!”

He laughed then and headed to the bathroom. When he opened the door of his room half an hour later Jesse was gone and he smiled. Jesse never gave up, it was one of the things Kelley admired most about him.

Jesse sat in their usual booth at the back of the diner and Kelley slid into the booth across from him where he sat with a lime milkshake in front of him. He opened the menu even though he already knew what they’d order, the only thing on the menu to fill them up in one go.

“Two mixed grills?” Chante was the regular waitress and she worked every day. She was in her thirties, had two boys and worked double shifts every day just to keep them fed and clothed.

“Thanks, Chante, and a Pepsi for the kid.”

Kelley smiled again because only Jesse called him a kid with his height and build. It was also thanks to Jesse’s training that he had filled out like he had. He wasn’t a typical Ectomorph quarterback anymore. Chante left their table with a nod and slapped their order down on the little window that the cook used.

“Are you worried about tomorrow?” Jesse broke the ice first and Kelley took a deep breath.

“Should I be? I mean, Private and Public have never been friends but I really don’t know what to expect when I set foot in their turf tomorrow.”

Jesse nodded his head slowly. “It’s true that a lot of people have beef with your dad but you’re not him, Kelley, and people will realize that.”

“So I’m going to get my ass kicked on the first day.”

Jesse laughed then and Kelley couldn’t help smiling. “Can they kick your ass now?”

“Anybody can kick anybody’s ass, nobody’s untouchable.”

“Wise words, kid, now tell me what’s been eating you up all week.”

Chante returned with his Pepsi and then returned with their food. Kelley folded his arms on the table as Jesse closed his eyes and prayed for his food. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jesse, the man had already proven his worth a dozen times over. Kelley hadn’t told him what he was going to do in the first place.

“I beat up my best friend.” Kelley shook his head. “My ex-best friend.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Yeah, it felt good. He’d been screwing my girlfriend behind my back for a year and then he told me he was already part of their sick little club, that I wasn’t good enough to be one of them.”

“It’s a good thing you found out, were you screwing her too? You don’t really look like a virgin to me.”

“What does a virgin look like?”

Jesse huffed out a laugh then. “Not like you.”

Kelley grinned as Jesse slurped his milkshake. “I was careful. I went to go see her too. I told her I didn’t care that she cheated, I still loved her and I’d help her to get out.”

“What did she say?” Jesse could already guess her answer since Kelley had been dark and moody ever since their conversation that night.

“She told me she liked it, wanted it even. I wasn’t wrong with my first assessment, she’s not a victim, she’s a willing participant. She told me thinking of my dad while we had sex is what got her off.”

“That’s rough, Kelley, was your dick too small for her?”

Chante dropped the ketchup bottle on the table as she looked at Jesse and Kelley choked on his Pepsi, his eyes wide. “I’m no expert, but the way he fills out his jeans, I’d say no.”

Jesse laughed loudly as Chante walked away after saying her piece and Kelley’s ears burned with embarrassment. “And that’s why I love this place.”

“Damn, Jesse.” Kelley laughed too as Chante turned around and winked at him. “I wasn’t a big enough asshole according to her.”

“It’s good to know you fill out them jeans nicely.” Kelley laughed again as Jesse finished his milkshake.

Kelley felt lighter that night as he lay in bed. He’d never had a chip on his shoulder or thought that he was better than anyone else because he’d grown up rich. He wasn’t rich now, he was surviving. His mother had talked about an inheritance he could claim at eighteen but he had no idea what she’d been talking about.

Kelley sat in his Escalade as he looked at the parking lot of the school. He’d gotten his class schedule and locker combination the previous week. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and climbed out, pulling the baseball cap low over his face.

He had ten minutes before he had to be in his Homeroom. The hallways were packed but nobody paid any attention to him. He was tall yes but so were a lot of football players. He got a few curious looks and he knew it was because of the semicircular scar around his eye. Jesse had said that it made him look dangerous and Kelley kind of liked that.

“Are you lost, pretty boy?” Kelley turned around slowly and looked at the boy who had cracked his ribs in their last football match and Mason James who had spoken to him.

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