Keeping Hope (Broken Girl Series) (27 page)

“We need food,” she snaps, thrusting her hands beside her.

“Of course there’s no food. The house didn’t come with all of the cupboards stocked,” I mock, but her face doesn’t change. I reach out and grab her limp arms, pulling her into my chest, her head lying perfectly against my shoulder.

“What’s wrong, baby? What’s this really about?”

“Nothing,” she whispers, her head moving slightly against my neck. “I just didn’t sleep well and I’m damn hungry,” she chuckles. “We really need to go grocery shopping,” she sighs.

“Well, let’s go!”

“What? Now?” she asks surprised.

“Now!” I answer, pulling back and looking at her face. A small smile curls at the corner of her lips as she dances past me. My heart feels a little lighter at the sight of her smiling again. I push myself away from the counter and follow her up the stairs.

We wander around the grocery store picking up everything we possibly can to fill every inch of space in the damn kitchen. I pick up the necessary cold drinks, beers, and snacks for tomorrow’s house warming slash birthday party. Thankfully, I have my fake ID on me. Ken grabs all the sensible shit I hadn’t even thought about. I check the time on my watch. Fuck. I don’t think I’ve ever dragged my ass out of bed on a Saturday morning this damn early.

We pay for our things and start to head out toward the truck. I walk to the back, loading the bags from the cart. Suddenly, I hear the screech of a car approaching. I swing around and look at the vehicle parked inches away from my door. I recognize it immediately.

“Shit,” I grate out, rushing to get the rest of the stuff in the truck.

“So, where’s my baby sister’s momma at?” he drawls. The blood rises in me almost instantly.

“Fuck off, Dennis,” I growl. “Just go back to the cesspool you came from. Nobody is concerned about a damn thing you have to say.”

“Oh really? Looks like the police were pretty interested in what I had to say.”

“Police?” I glare at him questioningly. “They’ll soon see through your bullshit lies.”

I slam the door shut, ignoring him as I push the shopping cart back to the bay outside the store. I turn quickly, eager to get back to the truck knowing that Ken is probably freaking the fuck out right now.

Shit this guy has a massive fucking chip on his shoulder. I wish I’d finished him when I had the chance. Yeah, I know what I did was wrong, but this fucking jerk has put us through hell for no good reason. I walk around the truck, smiling at Kennedy. I see the dread written all over her face.

Desperate to get inside, I reach for the door handle, but it’s locked. I walk around the car and see Dennis is tugging on the Kennedy’s door, trying to get in. I grab the collar of his shirt, spin him around, and push him back against the truck.

“Seriously, Dennis. I’m fucking sick of this bullshit.” I thrust him back against the truck again, before turning and pushing him as hard as I can. I watch him stumble backward and land on his ass with a thud.

“This isn’t over, Peterson,” he yells out.

“Oh, I think it is,” I growl in warning. I grind my teeth together, letting out a huge breath as I jump in the truck and drive out of the parking lot.

“Shit, Cole. Is this what it’s going to be like, hmm?” Kennedy asks, annoyance dripping from every word. “Every time we leave the house? Every time we go to the grocery store?” She slaps her hands down against her lap in an act of defeat, her head turns away from me as she stares out of the window.

“It won’t always be like this, baby. He’ll soon get bored and move his attention to someone else. He obviously has his own, deep rooted issues he has to deal with. You know, I think he’s pretty fucked up.”

“All my life I’ve been scared, living in fear. And now this. I’m sick of living in fear, Cole.” I watch as a solitary tear slides down her face, staining its path before dripping down on her arm.

“He can’t hurt you, Kennedy. I won’t ever let him hurt you.” I try and reassure her, but my words don’t seem to register. She shakes her head, refusing to accept what I’ve said.

“Listen,” I raise my voice a little. “Don’t give up, Kennedy. I see you’re shutting down on me. Don’t do this! I have never once given up on you. It’s time you don’t give up on yourself or on us.”

Her swollen, tear stained eyes lock on mine. “You’re right.” She sniffles. “I can’t let every encounter with him bring me down, bring us down,” she rushes out, reaching and taking hold of my hand.

I smile widely at her. “Wipe those eyes, baby. I got a surprise for you!” She sniffles some more before sitting upright, her eyes widen as she turns to face me.

“What kind of surprise, Cole?”

“A good surprise.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure how I feel about this,” she says nervously.

I look at her and simply smile, not wanting to give away anything else. I’ve worked hard on keeping this a secret and I’m not about to give it up now.

Kennedy

I watch intently as we drive down yet another unfamiliar street. I crane my neck, looking past Cole as we approach a small row of shops. Cole slows, pulling into the parking lot. I look through the windshield, noticing we are parking directly outside a small, but expensive looking jeweler. I look at Cole, then back over to the shop, and back over to Cole.

He smiles from ear to ear. “Come on, we need to collect your birthday present.”

I feel a wide smile stretch across my face as the anticipation builds inside me. I’ve never celebrated my birthday. I remember having that exact conversation with Cole about how birthdays for me were never “special” and I had never received a present, at least not the kind of normal present a child should expect to receive. If anything, birthdays were used as another damn excuse for me to get my ass beaten, or raped, for no good reason. I shudder, closing my eyes tightly, as if trying to wipe away the memories. It works, if only temporarily.

He smiles, taking my hand in his, before leading me toward the shop. The window has the most spectacular jewelry displays; the florescent lights helping to make the diamonds shine brighter than the stars in the sky. I can’t help but gasp at the beauty of it all. I look at the window, then back at Cole, and my excitement turns into guilt. If it was the other way around there’s no way I could do this for him. I have jack shit money, and I know guys aren’t really into expensive jewelry, but still, I could never do this whole grand gesture thing, even if I wanted to.

I stop moving as though my feet are suddenly glued to the ground. Cole looks back at me with sadness in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing, it’s just um…”

“Too much?” he asks, cocking his head to the side. His eyes are downturned. He looks sad.

My mouth twists up at one side in a half sad smile. “Kinda,” I answer honestly. He pulls on my hands, wrapping them around his waist.

“At least lemme show you what I picked out.” He shrugs. “You decide you don’t like it. Fine? I understand it might all be too much. It’s not a big deal, I promise.” He bends his head, his eyesight now in line with mine. “Deal?” he asks, with a slight smile and a shrug of his eyebrows.

“I…I…I can never repay you for something like this.”

“I don’t expect you to. This is for you. This is me showing you just how much you mean to me. You’re worth more to me than diamonds and gold.”

I feel the emotion in me heighten, tears threatening to break through. I breathe in deeply, my chest pushing out as I straighten my posture, doing everything I can to keep the tears at bay.

Dammit, I don’t want to cry. A gentle hand appears under my chin, lifting it until I’m met with the sweet taste of Cole kissing me. I close my eyes as a chill runs through me, the familiar excitement I feel every time he kisses me.

He quickly breaks the kiss and I shudder at the loss of his touch.

“Come on.” He gently pulls on my hips, guiding me inside the stunning shop. As I walk inside, I glance around, taking in the splendor of this beautiful store. It is elegant, yet understated. I can totally see why Cole has chosen this quaint jeweler.

The tall, slender woman behind the counter greets us as we make our way over to her. I break away from Cole’s hold, slowly browsing the cabinets. I hear them talking, but I’m so engrossed in gawking at the bright stones, that their conversation is a blur. After a few seconds, I feel both pair of eyes boring into me as I wander through the small store, oblivious to them.

I turn, looking between the both of them and blush a little with embarrassment.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I mutter, shuffling toward the counter with my head in a downward position. Shit, I’m awkward. Everything about my social skills screams ‘outcast’.

“You don’t have to apologize, Ken,” Cole reassures. “Are you ready to see what I chose for you?”

I bite the corner of my lip, nodding my head slowly in acknowledgement. In fact, I couldn’t be sure if I was ready or not. My hands shake, as I clasp them together, hoping to keep my nerves and excitement under control.

Everything about Cole’s body language screams nervous. One minute he’s touching his face, the next he’s running his hand through his hair. I reach out, taking his hand in my own, hoping we can put each other at ease in this moment. The lady reaches underneath the counter, pulling out a small box, and places it slowly in front of me on the glass counter top.

My eyes are fixed on the box as she opens it and I’m floored. In front of me is a heart shaped ring, filled with a huge sparkling diamond. I stand there, frozen, mesmerized by the spectacular beauty of this ring. I snap my head to the side. The warmth of a single tear cascades over my cheek, falling down onto the glass counter. Before I get chance to say anything, I notice the assistant walks slowly backward, through the door to the back room of the store.

“Cole, I…I…I…I don’t know what to say.”

He reaches forward, taking the ring from the box. “It’s a promise ring, Kennedy. This is my first step of showing my commitment to you, to prove that I’m in this for the long haul. Despite what happens, I will be here for you, as your best friend, as your partner. I needed something special to show you how I feel in here.” He makes a fist and starts to pat his chest. “Because, shit, I’m not good at always showing you how I feel.”

My heart pounds a thousand miles an hour, a tingle runs through every part of my body as this hunk in front of me openly declares his feelings for me. I can’t help but throw my arms around his neck, kissing him deeply, with everything I have.

He pulls back, studying my face. A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “You like?” he chuckles.

“Oh, I do. I really do,” I gush. He holds my hand, sliding the ring carefully onto my ring finger.

“But won’t people think this is an engagement ring?” I ask confused, as I look at the placing of the ring. I’d never heard of a promise ring. The only rings I’ve ever seen on this finger were engagement and wedding rings.

“Who cares? This is about us, nobody else.”

I smile and nod, acknowledging the meaning behind his words. This is about us, and from now on, no one else matters.

“Thank you so much, Cole. This means more to me than you will ever know.” I hold out my hand, taking in the beauty of the sparkling diamond. It really is something else.