This is my brand new story, Hooked. Its gonna be a good one, and I think you guys will like it alot :) REVIEW. And make sure to chekc out Making Things Right!
Chapter One: Arrival
HOOKED
"Are we there yet?" nine year old Katie Knight asked from the back seat of the car. Kimberly Knight sighed, getting very impatient with her daughter, as Kendall let out a small chuckle. Katie had been asking if they were there yet every five minutes—literally. Kendall could tell his mother was starting to get annoyed, especially since she was trying to concentrate, driving nervously through all the snow and slippery ice Minnesota had given them as an early Christmas present this fine December 21st.
"Almost, sweetheart," Mrs. Knight said impatiently, clutching her scarf closer to her neck, one hand laid flush against the bottom of the steering wheel. Kendall returned his gaze out to the window, looking at how the white snow fell perfectly upon the firs and other trees that lined the interstate so flawlessly. He re-fastened the earphone of his MP3 player into his left ear and leaned more against the door, looking up at the grey sky with sad, green eyes. He began to think about what this Christmas meant to him. The first Christmas without his father. He sighed in deep and with a quick movement of his thumb turned up the volume more to block out the horrible thoughts, before tears welled up.
"Kendall?" Mrs. Knight asked concerned, allowing her gaze to fall back to her son and daughter. He had barely said a word, or even made a noise since their descent from Southern Minnesota three hours ago. She quickly saw the distraught, upset look on her son's face and sighed deeply. She knew he was thinking about her late husband. Kristopher Knight had died not even a year ago in car accident on the way home from work, due to a patch of black ice. It explained why Mrs. Knight was so tense in the car, especially on this day. Kendall ignored his mother's notion to him and continued to block out his thoughts with loud, obnoxious rock music.
"Kendall," his mother said even more loudly, trying to get his attention. Kendall still continued his gaze out the window, when he felt a sharp punch from his little sister. He turned to her with a surprised face, taking his ear buds which screamed with music from his ears with an annoyed look on his face.
"What was that for?" he asked her with a knitted brow.
"Mom has been trying to get your attention for like ten minutes," Katie said annoyed, rolling her eyes, and then taking her earlier position of arms crossed against her chest, with a bored scowl gracing her face. Katie's precious video game had died an hour ago, and since then, she had resorted to making everyone else in the car miserable as a form of personal entertainment. Luckily for Katie, it had worked, as she cracked a small smile after punching Kendall in the arm. Kendall looked at his mother's tired, worried eyes in the rearview mirror and sighed.
"What?" he asked burdenfully, one ear of his MP3 still in as if Mrs. Knight had just interrupted a hockey game or something of the other.
"You know that Jenny has a son your age, Bryan, right?" his mom asked him. Kendall sighed. His mom had brought up Bryan Tregger at least six or seven times in the past month. It was like his mother thought the two were going to be best friends over the next week, which would definitely not happen. He had already had three best friends back at home. He didn't need any more.
"Yes, I know, mom. You've told me ten times," Kendall said rolling his eyes, and taking his rightful place against the window. Kimberly sighed, feeling bad for her son, knowing he was hurting. Kendall had taken his father's death the hardest out of the three Knights, no doubt about it. Him and his father were very close, something both Kendall and Kris had cherished dearly. Kendall had been an emotional train wreck for nearly two months after the accident.
"I know, I just want to let you know it's not going to be all adults up there," she said. Kendall silently nodded his eyes out the window again. "You're going to have a good time, Kendall. I promise," she said with a forced smile on her face. Kendall sighed deeply.
"I'm sure I will, mom," he said in a desperate plea to get his mother to stop pretending. Both knew that spending the Christmas with his mother's best friend and her relatives wasn't going to be fun for the eldest Knight. Kendall would have much rather not have had Christmas at his house, and just gone over to Logan's house for Christmas. His mother and father always had the best treats for the boys, like Candy Canes and hot chocolate. One Christmas he remembered especially well was when his mother had gone into false labor with Katie on Christmas Eve, and Kendall had been shipped to the Mitchell's. It was one of the best Christmas' Kendall had ever had.
Mrs. Knight veered off the interstate onto an exit ramp as Kendall seemed surprised at the new change of scenery. No longer were they going straight on an interstate with occasional curves, but they were actually entering some sort of civilization. Kimberly stopped the red mini-van at a traffic light, and couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She was excited to see Jenny Tregger, her best friend from High School. She hadn't seen her in a few years, and even though they talked on the phone once a week, she still missed her best friend. When Jenny had come down to Duluth for the funeral of her husband, Jenny had told Kim that if she needed anything to just call her. It was around November, when Christmas music started playing on the radio and all of Duluth was hung with garlands that Kimberly Knight started to worry about her children. It was their first Christmas without their father, without her husband. It was then she had decided to call up Jenny and ask her if they could get away from their house and spend the holidays with her. Jenny relentlessly agreed and well, here the Knight family was, traveling up to the rich and luxurious suburbs in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
"Mom are we th-" Katie began to say in an annoying whine.
"Yes, sweetheart. In about ten minutes," Mrs. Knight said annoyed, her patience with her youngest child starting to really waver. As they drove up a steep hill, Kendall looked at all the huge, enormous houses that lined the streets. Some had driveways that looked like personal avenues. Many of the houses had a full glass wall of windows, or a frozen pond in the front yard. They passed the General Store, the StarCrest diner, and a few other shops and vendors. Kendall picked his head up a bit as they passed what the town had to offer.
He had to admit, a new change of scenery was quite refreshing from the small, quaint houses that he knew back in Duluth. A few minutes later, Mrs. Knight pulled into the large, circular driveway of Jenny Tregger's house. Kendall pushed his face against the glass window of the car and looked up in awe at the house, enormous house in front of him. It looked like a hotel. It had a series of decks with hot tubs, a large kitchen that you could see through the huge glass wall, and the many peaks of the house gave Kendall just a clue at how many rooms there were inside. Maybe this won't be so bad after all, he thought. Mrs. Knight turned off the car and got out, closing the door behind her. She looked up at the enormous house her friend owned, thanks to marrying one of the most successful business men in Minnesota.
"Okay, let's get our bags out of the trunk," Mrs. Knight said walking to the back of the car. She popped open the trunk and sighed as Katie went to pull her bag out of the mix, without any luck.
"Kendall, can you take your sisters bag for her please?" Kimberly asked her son. Kendall turned his gaze away from the huge house back to his family, as he gently unfastened Katie's pink and purple overnight bag from the pile. He hoisted it on his shoulder, along with his hockey bag on his other one, as Kimberly took her own bag, leaving the bag with their Christmas presents inside the trunk.
"Mommy, you forgot one," Katie said, motioning the big black bag in the back of trunk. Mrs. Knight quickly shut the hatch door and chuckled.
"That's just Christmas decorations, sweetheart," Kimberly said nervously. She looked up at her son who had a smug smile on his face, both knowing that they were the Christmas presents for Kendall and Katie. Katie being only nine still believed in Santa Claus, but Kendall had known for years now. Kimberly Knight smiled at her son's grin, and he heart nearly stopped for a moment. She hadn't realized how much Kendall had grown to look like his father the past few months. The same expressive, dark eyebrows, the same shaggy hair, and the same piercing green eyes she had fallen in love with. Kimberly felt like she was looking right at her late husband, and it brought a small, sympathetic smile to her face.
"Let's go inside," Kimberly Knight said, as she ushered her two young kids along, inside the huge, warm house that smelled of turkey and gingerbread.
It was around 5'o clock, after Kendall and Katie had been shown off to most of Jenny Tregger's family and friends, that the three Knights retired to their room, to clean up for dinner.
"This is your room," Jenny said, leading the three down the long, warm, woodworked hallway. Kendall looked at all the pictures on the wall of Jenny, her husband Dave, and their kids, Bryan who was Kendalls age and Serena who was a year older than Katie. The four looked so incredibly happy, all bleach blonde, all with stunning blue eyes, all with perfect smiles. They were like the perfect family. All nice, and respectable. Bryan was going to the University of Minnesota on a hockey scholarship in two years, because he was basically all-state. Kendall had heard of him a few times from the other, older boys on his team. Bryan was a junior, and Kendall was a sophomore. The Tregger's were just like the Knights—except they were better. Kendall could've been jealous of Bryan Tregger for many reasons, but the main one was that he had a father—and Kendall didn't.
Jenny, a short, blonde, naturally beautiful middle aged woman opened the mahogany wood door to where the Knights were going to stay for the next week. There was a stone fireplace in the corner, a bearskin rug, a couch and loveseat, a huge big screen TV and a King size bed. In the corner, was a personal bathroom, with a shower, Jacuzzi tub and toilet. Kendall walked into the room behind his mother and sister in awe. This room was absolutely beautiful.
"This is beautiful, Jen," his mother said, looking back and smiling at her friend. Mrs. Knight took a deep breath in, and Jenny could see the hurt in her best friend's eyes.
"I'm so glad you are staying with us, Kim," Jenny said smiling. She turned her eyes to Kendall and Katie.
"And I'm sure you guys will get along with Bryan and his friends. They're very nice, and very into hockey," she said. Kendall smiled politely as Jenny sighed.
"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Jenny said politely. Kendall's mother hugged her best friend tight and whispered something into her ear, as the two exchanged a smile and Jenny exited the room.
"I call bed," Katie said lunging herself onto the King sized wonder. She had been waiting to do that since walking in. Kimberly chuckled and put her bags down by the foot of the bed as Kendall followed silently. He hadn't said much at all. He took off his grey beanie and pushed his hair back, taking off his jacket and gloves silently.
"I'll take the couch," Kimberly said affirmatively. Kendall looked up at his mom, who had a smile on her face. He hadn't seen her smile in such a long while, not since his dad died.
"No, it's alright. I'll take the couch," Kendall said, his voice raspy from barely talking. Kimberly looked at her son.
"No, it's okay, Kendall," she said. Kendall nodded no and came over to his mother, touching her hand gently.
"It's not a big deal, mom. I can watch the Wild game close up from the couch anyway," he said with a smile on his face. His mother smiled at him and kissed his forehead gently, her hands going through his dirty blonde hair.
"Thank you, sweetheart. That's so thoughtful of you," she said. Kendall sighed and hoisted his bag from the floor to the couch. He zipped it open and decided what he should wear for dinner. His jeans were alright, but the plaid shirt he was wearing would definitely not suffice for this family. They were all a bit dressed up. Kendall turned around and looked in the reflection of the TV. He looked like quite a mess, his hair a bit greasy since he hadn't showered since last night. It was then he decided to check out the bathroom, bringing a black sweater and thermal long sleeve shirt in with him.
"I'm showering," he bellowed out, going back to his bag to bring in his toiletries.
"Okay, just don't take too long," his mother said, unpacking Katie's dress clothes from the bag. Kendall entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He immediately went to the stall shower which was huge, with glass doors. He set his shampoo and conditioner on the ledge and looked at himself in the mirror. His green eyes looked tired and sad. He had to admit, this house was pretty awesome, but it saddened him being here without his father. Kendall sighed and quickly went over to the shower, turning on the hot water. He felt it for the right temperature before undressing, and stepping inside. The hot streams of water on his face felt amazing after their long journey, as he ran his hands through his now dark, damp hair.
It was about twenty minutes later, and Kendall was fully dressed, as were his mother and Katie. The three descended downstairs to the dinner table, where a long banquet table with at least twenty chairs was set up. The entire table was set, as the Tregger's relatives and friends all gathered around the glowing fireplace, sipping eggnog and laughing. Jeez, if this only December 21st, I could only imagine what Christmas is like, Kendall thought.
"I'm going to go see if Jenny needs any help in the kitchen. Why don't you see if you can find Bryan around, Kendall?" Kimberly said, taking Katie in tow to the kitchen with the rest of the women. Kendall sighed, and bit his lip. He sort of wished he was a girl. He saw Bryan in the corner, one hand in his pocket, the other with apple cider, talking to one of his aunts. Kendall didn't want to interrupt, but he caught Bryan's eyes awkwardly, as the tall, muscular, bleach blonde came over to him with a welcoming smile.
"Hi, Kendall. I'm Bryan," the boy said, giving him his best smile. Kendall smiled, as the two boys shook hands accordingly.
"So I hear your quite the hockey player," Bryan said with a smile on his face. Kendall nodded, and sheepishly looked down. He was an amazing player, but didn't like to admit it.
"Yeah. I hear you are too," Kendall said with a polite smile. Bryan chuckled and shrugged, taking a sip of his cider.
"Eh, it's hard not to be good growing up in Minnesota, you know what I mean?" he said. Kendall smiled and nodded, taking his hand awkwardly out of his pocket, warming up to Bryan a bit.
"Yeah, I feel you man," Kendall said smiling. He looked up at Bryan curious.
"So, who taught you how to play?" he asked. Bryan smiled at the boy.
"My dad did. We used to spend hours on the ice together at a time. He taught me everything I know. We are actually going on a trip in a few weeks to see the Wild play the Sharks in California. I'm really looking forward to it," Bryan said, his eyes going to his proud look alike father standing by the fireplace. Kendall swallowed hard and looked down, his hands shaking. His father had always promised him that they would go to an out-of-state Wild game when he was old enough. It was supposed to be his gift for Christmas this year. It was then, Kendall's throat got dry, and his eyes started to water a bit. It felt like his heart was being ripped in two. He looked down and was silent, and Bryan had realized what he had done.
"Oh, Kendall. I'm sorry," Bryan said nervously, feeling stupid, touching his shoulder gently. Kendall picked his head up and looked at the boy with the fakest, most cordial smile he could produce. He felt horrible, and tears were right on the brim of his eyes.
"It's okay. I—I'll be right back," Kendall said nervously, turning away with his hands deep in his pockets. He made a beeline across the dining room, to the back hallway. His heart raced as he bit his lip, looking for somewhere to go. It was then he saw glass doors leading out to one of the many decks the house had. Kendall burst through them, near breaking them as he ran to the rail of the deck, running quickly, hitting it violently, grasping to the rail and letting out a quiet sob. Tears ran down his cheeks, as he lowered himself down to sit against the rail. He hadn't cried since the two months following his father's death. He'd been so good, but what Bryan had said set him off, big time. Kendall clutched his shoulders in the cold Minnesota air, as warm tears cascaded down his face, collecting at his soft, pink lips. He ran his hands through his hair in anguish and agony, his leg shaking a bit. He tried his best to take deep breaths as best as he could to calm himself down, and didn't even realize he was being accompanied on the deck. Kendall felt someone sit next to him, and he figured it would be Bryan coming to make sure he was alright, or Katie. But it wasn't.
Kendall opened his eyes and looked next to him to see the most beautiful, blonde, starry eyed girl he had ever seen before him. She had beautiful blue eyes, light pink lips, a pale, freckly face. Her wavy blonde hair fell in soft curls upon her face, her nose delicate and soft, her expression confused. Kendall could've sworn she was an angel of some sort. His green eyes locked on her like she was the most beautiful thing in the entire world. In that moment, Kendall Knight swore he had fallen in love.
"Why are you crying?" she asked in the sweetest, most concerned voice ever.
And with four words, Kendall Knight was hooked.
What do you guys think? Review please :) XD