Page 43 of Unhinged Kallie

It was rare to see her shy, but she looked away and blushed, her cheeks glowing a rosy color.

“Are you going to tell me that I shouldn’t have?”

Everyone in the school knew what had happened to the football team. There were a million possible explanations, including a rogue fan from the other school, but as soon as I heard, I knew what really happened.

“No, I’m not. I wish I could’ve seen the look on Taylor’s face. He deserved it. He never should’ve touched you.” I squeezed her hand tighter and wished this quiet moment between us would never end. It had to, but I would take what I could get right now.

“You’ll get to see it soon enough,” she said, the corner of her mouth curling up and showing off the devil that lived in her heart.

Pulling on her hand as I smiled, she took the invitation and curled up beside me with her head on my shoulder. “You know this can’t happen again, right?”

“Are we talking about the football team or right now,” she asked slyly.

“I mean right now. It’s a one-time thing.”

“Eight months.”

“What’s eight months?”

“My birthday, and then I’m legal.”

“Sixteen is barely legal, and I’ll be nineteen, but that’s not the only reason we can’t be together, and you know it.”

“My dad is not going to care.”

Okay, I did have to laugh about that. “Trust me. He will care about anyone you date. Not only will he care, but he will cut me up, and you will never know or see me again. I would just disappear like all the rest.” She shook her head and snuggled closer to my side. This felt so right yet was so wrong, but right now, I didn’t have it in me to push her away.

“You worry far too much.”

“And you don’t worry enough.”

“Well, I’m not moving, and I’m not going anywhere. So you can fight this all you want. You can date anyone you want. Hell, you can even fuck anyone you want, but you are mine, Carter, and one day you’ll see that I was right and we’re meant to be.”

“You’re so much trouble, Trouble,” mumbling, I kissed the top of her head, loving the feel of her pressed against me. I should’ve been worried that she claimed me like that, but instead, my heart swelled. I hated that this fleeting moment in a hospital room was all I could have.

Her hand relaxed, and her breathing evened into slow breaths, and I knew she’d fallen asleep.

“I love you, Kallie. Even though I can’t have you, I want you to know that I will always be here for you and protect you.” I kissed the top of her head and breathed in the scent of her sweet shampoo.

Eventually, my eyelids felt too heavy, and I had to close them.

* * *

A WEEK LATER

Who would’ve guessed that getting injured like I had would make me a celebrity? At least, that was the only thing I could compare it to. Everyone at school wanted an autograph or selfie with the guy that started the eight-run comeback win. After I got hit and forced in a run, the team went on a rampage and stormed back to take the win.

Girls I’d never met sat in my lap and kissed my cheek for a pic. They didn’t seem to care that I hadn’t won the game. Everyone remembered when the crowd went silent as I rolled around on the ground in pain. That was the catalyst for a win and was all they really gave a shit about, but it felt good.

The guys on the football team were not getting the same kind of attention. They were back at school but were walking around like they’d ridden a horse for a week with a pickle up their ass. It didn’t help that there was vomiting in the hallways when Kallie’s school text—with the close-up image of Taylor’s blistered and peeling cock—was sent out. I had to give it to her. She was creative.

“Mr. Kohlmann, can you come in here, please,” Mrs. Peterson asked.

I didn’t have her for any classes, but the latest photo op girl got off my lap, and I turned the wheelchair around to follow her into the classroom. I couldn’t help but notice Kallie leaning against a locker door, her arms crossed and eyes so intense my pulse pound harder.

She didn’t like all the extra attention I was getting. It was fucking terrible of me, but I enjoyed her jealousy. I’d fought my feelings for so long, but it felt pointless. I couldn’t be with Kallie, yet trying to deny I loved her, wanted her, and did things I would normally never do if someone touched her was too tiring.

The door closed behind me, and I looked around at the empty English classroom with the pictures of all sorts of famous people on the walls. Mrs. Peterson walked past me toward the windows, her hand brushing against my shoulder as she did. I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or not.