AN: Hello there everyone! I apologize for the late update! A lot has been going on in my life that I needed to sort out and, though that's not much of an excuse, it prevented me from updating. I'll be trying to update more often and I don't want anyone to think that I've abandoned this story or Let The River In. With that said, enjoy!
The rest of English class passed by both fast and slow. I'm tempted to say that it also passed by without much else going on but that would be a blatant lie. After the bewildering exchange between Jared and I, he proceeded to move from his usual desk to the one next to mine which caused everyone who entered the classroom to buzz with curiosity. Though we had a free seating chart and our teacher allowed us to sit wherever we pleased, most of us chose a seat on the first day of school and stayed there until the last day so the fact that Jared uprooted this concept threw everyone off.
I attempted to pay attention to the lesson but the constant bounce of Jared's knee along with his unapologetic staring made it quite difficult. The last fifteen minutes of class rolled around and we were assigned a certain amount of text to read before the bell rang. This was perfect – the class was silent and I enjoyed the novel we were currently studying so I was hoping that it would give me some down time before the nerve-racking walk home with Jared. I leaned forward to rest my cheek on my fist and began reading, freezing when I felt an instantly recognizable heat brush against my cheek. Jared was sitting closer to me than I realized, his fingers tucking a loose curl behind my ear. I stared at him in awe, mirroring the same reaction that was on his face almost perfectly.
Jared stared at me like a man who was standing before the ocean for the first time – his eyes roaming over my face with what looked like a determination to memorize every feature. There was complexity, adoration, curiosity and respect in his eyes, something that both made me nervous and intrigued. As anxious as I was from this blatant staring, I couldn't find it within myself to pull from his gaze – like the moon and the tide I felt immensely drawn to him, almost like it was my duty to challenge his eyes, to stare at him just as intensely as he was staring at me. With a blush hot on my cheeks I gave into my anxiety and glanced back down at the novel in front of me, jumping with alarm as the bell sounded. Fifteen minutes passed by that fast? How long had Jared and I been staring at each other?
I collected my things hurriedly and stood up, turning to Jared almost instinctively to find him reaching for my hand. Again, a fire raced through my veins like I'd never felt and his wide, bright smile didn't help the embarrassing thunder of my heartbeat. We walked out of class together, both of us ignoring the stares of our classmates as they stared in obvious wonder at our interlocked hands.
"Kim? Holy shit Kim!" I heard Anika call from behind me.
"Hey! I…um…I won't need a ride today. Jared offered to walk me home!" I said awkwardly, bobbing my head in Jared's direction.
Anika's eyes brightened as she studied our below the wrist embrace.
"That's perfectly fine! Not a problem at all!" She said with a knowing smile. "You better call me tonight though to give me details!" She paused, running a hand through her hair with an uncomfortable chuckle. "Details about the science quiz! Right? Okay, later!"
I groaned and shook my head. Could she have been any more obvious?
Jared and I continued walking out of the school until we were off the property and meandering down the sidewalk hand in hand.
"So, Anika is quite the fireball?" Jared said questioningly.
"You could say that, definitely. We complement each other pretty well – she's fire and I'm more ice." I said quickly before internally groaning at such a cheesy line.
"I wouldn't say you're ice, you seem pretty hot to me." Jared said with a smirk.
"Oh, okay." I said stupidly while blushing.
Jared chuckled as he shortened his long strides to meet my much smaller ones.
"By the way, I wanted to thank you for this weekend. Anika and I were pretty freaked out about it and you and Sam made us feel a lot better." I glanced up at Jared to see his eyes darken and his mouth fall into a frown.
"Let's not talk about that right now, alright? I'm glad that you're okay – you mean…" He paused and let go of my hand so he could run his own through his mess of hair.
"I mean?" I questioned.
"You mean a lot to people." He said quickly, giving me a reassuring nod. "Your parents and Anika and…others I'm sure. You're a very special person, Kim and you play a big part in a lot of people's lives." He exclaimed passionately.
I smiled tightly and shrugged. "I'm sure that nothing would have come from it. It was comforting to have you around of course but I can handle myself. I always have and I always will." I said defensively.
Internally, I almost felt a little upset with Jared. Like I said, I wasn't a noticeable person. I blend into the crowd, moved silently and I was proud of my independent, invisible nature. However, for someone who had shared every class with me ever since I could remember and didn't even remember my name, he was very outspoken about how special and meaningful my existence was to the people in my life…all three of them.
Jared looked at me curiously, a light blush forming on his cheeks.
"I didn't mean to say that you can't handle yourself! I just meant that I don't want to ever see something happen to you." He stated quickly.
I shook my head and picked up my pace. Sure, my frustration with him was getting out of hand and I knew that he only meant well but I couldn't help but feel off put by his behavior.
"Kim, wait!" He said as he caught up to my side. "I didn't mean to offend you at all! Please don't be mad with me."
I sighed as we crossed onto the street that my house was on.
"I'm sorry, Jared. I guess I just don't understand your sudden interest in me to me honest. I've been in every class with you since grade school and you didn't even know my name until a couple weeks ago. Not to be an asshole but why am I 'so special' all of a sudden?"
"Kim, listen, the last time I saw you I…" he paused and I stopped to look at him. His gaze was fixed over my shoulder. "Is that your house?" He asked curiously.
I turned and saw two police cars sitting in front of my home; a couple of officers were leaning on their vehicles chatting with each other about something.
"Uh, yeah it is actually. I wonder what's going on…" I began to jog over to the officers, beginning to panic. My parents were supposed to come home from their trip today and they would always at least send me a text before they got on their plane but I hadn't received anything yet. I approached the officers who looked me over quickly before giving each other a look.
"Are you Kim? Kim Hollow?" One of the officers asked.
I nodded, too anxious to speak.
"I'm Officer Rhye. We had a report called in about some sexual harassment that happened a couple weeks ago. We're here to question you about the incident."
Jared was by my side at this point, a frown etched on his handsome face.
"It took you two weeks to approach the victim?" He asked angrily, his fists clenched at his side.
The officer shifted his weight and glared at Jared.
"And who are you?" he asked.
"Jared Cameron, I was there that night if you took the time to read the full report." He said, his deep voice ringing through the air. Although my brain was overwhelmed with what was going on, I did take a moment to admire the authority and protectiveness that was radiating off Jared. His chest was puffed out, his dark eyes narrowed and angry. His jaw was clenched and his plump lips were fixed in a deep scowl. He really was so handsome. I shook my head and threw myself back into the situation at hand.
Officer Rhye and Jared were still in a staring competition, neither looking as though they would back down anytime soon.
"We can go inside if that would make things easier." I stated, walking in between the officer and Jared to unlock the front door. Everyone followed me inside and took their seats on the couch or loveseat.
"As I said before I was interrupted," the officer began. "We received that report and conducted some research of our own before deciding to speak with you. You see, Daniel Roberts has had several serious reports against him for sexual harassment, violence and attempted kidnapping – he's not a particularly nice guy which is why we needed to pay you a visit. Did he say anything about not being finished with you or paying you a visit later?" He questioned.
"Uh, yeah actually he did say something along those lines…" I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat.
Officer Rhye glanced at his partner seriously before looking back at me.
"I'm not trying to scare you, ma'm, but Mr. Roberts tends to mean what he says. In the cases we've been looking over, many of them don't end well but somehow that snake always has a way of getting out of our grasp. He's very manipulative and can twist and turn his way out of charges. There's a high possibility that you will see his face very soon and you should be prepared. I noticed your parents aren't home, will we get a chance to speak with them?"
I clasped my hands together and shrugged.
"They work pretty late some nights but they're aware of what happened and I'll tell them what you've told me." I reassured them, lying through my teeth.
Jared sat up a little in his seat and glared knowingly at me. I shifted under his uncomfortable gaze and turned my attention back to Officer Rhye.
"Is there anything that you suggest in the meantime?"
The officer and his partner stood up and were making their way to the door.
"Just keep any eye out and be very aware of your surroundings. I'd also suggest you purchase some pepper spray as well. If you need or notice anything, even if it seems minor, please let us know immediately." He said solemnly.
"I will, promise." I muttered, not wanting to recognize that I could potentially be in some real danger.
The officer and his partner exited – the front door closing at the exact same time my cell phone started ringing. I quickly glanced at Jared who was still sitting on the loveseat, arms crossed and icily staring at me and answered.
"Hello?"
"Oh, Kim! Darling! How have you been? Just calling to let you know that you're father and I decided to stay another two weeks! Can you believe it? It's like another honeymoon!" My mother's voice chimed loudly over the phone. I groaned and sat on the couch across from Jared.
"Mom, the amount of time you and Dad have travelled since your first honeymoon would make this your hundredth honeymoon. Look, something serious happened a couple weeks ago and I think it would be best if you would come home."
"There's no need for that, Kimmy! You're a smart, intelligent and independent girl! Besides I'm sure you're just being dramatic about something little. Always keep things in perspective dearie. Mother's instinct tells me it's a problem with boys, isn't it? Is it that Jared Cameron again? You should just give up on that one!"
"Mom!" I half-screamed, looking up at Jared to find the frown still in place but his eyes held an amused twinkle.
"Anyhow, you'll be fine. If anything call Alyssa over, she's a doll!" Mom said before squealing at my father, begging him to stop at some location they must have passed.
"Mom, its Anika and this isn't just some…regular issue! This is serious! Someone-"
"Oh honey I've got to go! We just passed this fabulous café that I couldn't live with myself if we passed! See you in two weeks! Love you!"
With that the phone call ended and I slumped back into the couch, sighing angrily. Jared leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking me over.
"Your mom doesn't seem to be too concerned with your well-being." He huffed, shaking his head.
"You don't know that."
"From what I hear…gathered it seems that way. I mean how long have you been alone? Two weeks? A month?" He asked and I looked at him with surprise.
"How did you know that? That's none of your business" I said angrily. No one but Anika knew that I had been alone for so long and it was that way for my own safety. Now if the police knew I was left alone while only being seventeen, it would cause trouble.
Jared stood up quickly and started to pace.
"So you've been home alone this whole time while some psycho is out to kidnap you and you purposefully made the decision to not tell the police? Come on Kim!" He shouted, his deep voice trembling.
"In my defense I didn't know to take him seriously! And how the hell did you know that I was alone? I don't want to ask a third time!" I growled.
"It's obvious! I can smell that there hasn't been anyone but you or Anika here in almost a month!" He spit, grinding to a halt in mid pace as though he let something slip that he shouldn't have.
"What…what did you just say? Smell?" I asked, staring into his wild eyes.
Jared groaned and threw himself back on the couch.
"I meant see, I misspoke…" He grumbled.
I sat across from him again and watched as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Look, if you're so concerned why didn't you tell them?" I asked sassily.
Jared chuckled and shook his head.
"I don't know, Kim but I should have. Regardless, you need someone here with you to make sure nothing happens." He said seriously, meeting my gaze.
I shrugged.
"I'm sure I'll be fine – I can call Anika over whenever she isn't busy." I said simply.
"And if she is busy then what? Is there anyone else you can call? Anywhere you could go?"
I shook my head and smiled tightly.
"Right now she's all I have so if she can't make it guess I'm one dead bitch." I said jokingly.
Jared growled and stood up, his body shaking.
"I never want to hear something like that again, understand?" He said strongly.
I stood up then too; he wasn't going to intimidate me.
"I can say whatever the hell I want Jared Cameron and not even you could stop me. Just because you suddenly find me interesting and want to walk me home does not give you a right to just fuse yourself to my life."
Jared crossed the room then and stood so close to me that I had to turn my head to look up at him. He smelled like clove and the ocean – it was hypnotizing. I met his eyes with the same passionate stare that he was giving me and his face broke out into a blinding smile.
"We're going to have so much fun together." He said lightly, his dimples prominent and making my heart race.
"What do you mean?" I asked, momentarily swooned by the look of adoration he was sending my way.
"Well obviously I'm staying here with you until your parents get back." He said with a swift wink as my jaw dropped.
Could things get anymore bizarre?
AN: I'm sorry if Jared is coming off a bit cocky but that'll calm down later...maybe? Haha! Anyways I hope that you liked this chapter and I'm eager to get started on my next update! Have a great week and thank you for reading 3
