HIDDEN (Hidden Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

“Excuse me?”   I asked just to make sure I heard her right.

“I said you shouldn’t stare.”  She repeated defiantly with a lift of her chin.  I raised my eyebrow at her.  I easily outweighed her by a good twenty pounds and had more muscle mass in my one leg then she probably did in her whole body. 

“I wasn’t staring at anything.”  I countered, turning to face her fully.  She must have interpreted my move as aggressive because she backed up a step.  “I was just wandering around town.”

“You’re lying.”  She pointed out but stuttered over the words, her confidence wavering.  “I saw you watching them.  Who are you?”  She quietly demanded, apparently the petite girl did have some spunk after all.

“New in town.  And you?” 
Confrontation on my first day?  Yep, nothing new here.
 

“I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Well good for you.”  I muttered.  Her eyes narrowed slightly at my comment.  A shadow fell over me as a masculine voice came from my side.

“Is there a problem here?” 

I turned my head away from the annoying girl to see that the black haired boy from across the street was now standing between us, looking from the girl to me.  Movement behind him told me that the two other boys flanked him and the girl had circled around to stand beside the petite girl. 
Great, just what I needed this morning. 
The black haired boy assessed me for a moment before returning his attention to the petite girl. 

“No, Cade, it’s fine.”  The petite girl answered quietly without meeting his eyes.  I couldn’t figure out if she was still intimidated or just shy by nature with new people.  If she was shy, why did she single me out in the first place?

“Bree, you sure you’re all right?”  The other girl asked, putting her arm around Bree’s shoulder.

“Yes.  I’m fine Cassie, thanks for asking.  I was just coming over to meet you guys.”  She glanced at me.  The petite girl, Bree, seemed to still be assessing me.  It made me a little bit uncomfortable. 

“No problem.  You know we always look out for you.”  Cassie smiled, squeezing Bree’s shoulder before moving her attention to me.  “I haven’t seen you around before.”  There wasn’t a question in there so I didn’t answer.  Besides, the three hulking boys to my side had my full attention even though I wasn’t looking at them. 
Could I outrun them if needed?
  I wiggled my toes, cursing myself for wearing flip flops instead of sneakers. 

“Who are you?”  Cade demanded, this time directing his question at me.  I turned to face him and knew that was a mistake.  Up close the boy was hardly a boy.  His features were in sharp relief and I found I couldn’t look away from his deep brown eyes.  There was something about those eyes that made me catch my breath. 
What a hottie!
  The other two boys shuffled on either side of him which finally woke me up enough so I could stumble out a reply.

“Kendra.  I just moved here.”

“From where?”  He asked, a little less forcefully this time.  His eyes held mine steadily and threw me off balance. 
Who looked that intensely at someone they just met?
 

“Other side of the state.”  I replied shortly.  I looked around at the group and noticed all of them were studying me, closely, like they were trying to figure out some hidden fact about me.  Well, I wasn’t one to stick around unnecessarily.  I cleared my throat and nodded at no one in particular then turned to leave.

“Wait!”  Cassie said from behind me.  I turned back to her and noticed that she had taken a few steps toward me. 

“Sorry if we seemed a little…protective.  We look after our own.”  She said, nodding at the group around her.  I figured she meant their close group of friends so I nodded.  I’d seen that enough over the years, even if I was never in one of those groups.  “Will you be going to school next week?”  She asked.

“Yeah.” 

“What year are you?”

“Senior.”  I replied and she smiled in response. 

“So are we.  Maybe we will have some classes together.”  She sounded almost hopeful.  I, however, was skeptical. 

“Maybe.”  I replied noncommittally and shrugged. 

“Where do you live?”  Cade asked, his gaze intent on me.  I made it a point not to squirm.

“Edge of town.”  I hedged.

“Are your parents in the store?”  He asked, nodding toward the window I was looking in earlier.

“No.”  I replied, confused.  What did my “parents” have to do with anything? 

“Are they close by?”

“Why are you asking?”  I countered and squared up to him.  Cade seemed like one of those boys who always got his way.  Not something I was interested in doing.  Not in the least. 

“You shouldn’t be walking around alone.”  He took a few steps toward me, which made me back up.  I inwardly cursed my retreat.  He noticed and stopped his advance as he gave me a quizzical look. 

“Why?”  I asked to cover my retreat.

“This may be a small town but bad things can still happen.”  He stated.  He glanced around at the group before adding, “We will walk you home.”

“Uh, thanks but no thanks.”  I replied shaking my head.  “It’s too far to walk and I have a ride picking me up.”

“You’re refusing my offer?”  He asked incredulously, like it was something that had never happened to him before.  Anyways, from my viewpoint it wasn’t an offer, more like a demand. 

“Yeah, I’m refusing it.”  I replied sarcastically.  “I don’t need your help.  I can take care of myself.”  His eyes narrow at my response.

“Cade, let her go.”  Cassie said quietly as she pulled gently on his arm.  I don’t know why, but a surge of jealously spiked through me as Cassie touched Cade’s arm. 
Weird, why would I care?
I shook off the feeling and returned my attention to Cade.  He looked back at Cassie before his gaze shifted to me.  He still seemed undecided so I made it easy on him.  I turned around and walked away.  I wanted it to be a statement, like a “thank you but no thank you, I don’t need you” kind of act.  But my curiosity got the better of me and as soon as I heard them start discussing something amongst themselves, I glanced over my shoulder.  Right into the eyes of Cade who was following my progress down the street, eyes focused on me.  I quickly turned back around and went into the nearest shop. 
Whew!  Talk about intense!
 

I glanced around the store and realized I’d ducked into a flower shop.  Well, there were worst places to be hiding.  I glanced around for a little bit and finally decided I could buy a bouquet of wildflowers for the kitchen.  They would brighten up the room and smell nice, at least.  I made my purchase and slowly walked to the door.  Before I opened it, I tried to look down the street but I couldn’t tell if they were still out there or not.  I took a fortifying breath and stepped out.  I purposely did not glance back the way I had come but I didn’t hear any voices.  I turned and continued down the street as I perused the stores. 

I spent the next thirty minutes wandering up and down main street, looking in windows, and checking over my shoulder.  Cade and Cassie were definitely different than other kids I knew.  They seemed close to each other and Cade was way too protective.  I mean, I’d just met the guy and he was insisting that they walk me home?  Maybe some would view that as chivalrous, but he didn’t ask.  He demanded.  Orders never sat well with me.  I shook my head to clear my thoughts. 
No sense in rehashing that encounter.
  I didn’t buy anything else from the stores, but when my stomach started growling, I decided it was time to eat.  On the corner there was a diner and I thought that was as good a place as any. 

As soon as I walked in the door, I felt out of place, again.  Every head in the joint turned to look at me, scrutinized me, and then dismissed me.  Internally I bit back my angry retorts and made my way to the bar stool.  Ever since I could remember, people judged me before they knew me.  I was always labeled.  New kid.  Foster kid.  Mouthy. 
Well, that last one was probably true.
  As I sat down, I set my bag of flowers near my feet and a menu and glass of water was placed in front of me.

“What can I get you?”  The waitress was in her mid-forties, smiled, and didn’t seem to judge me like everyone else had.  Maybe she just wanted a good tip. 

“A burger, fries, and chocolate milk shake please.”  I replied without looking at the menu.  This place looked like it had all of that.

“Sure.  Anything on the burger?”

“Whatever comes with it is fine.”

“Okay, I’ll have that right out.”  She smiled before tearing my order off and placing it on the carousel for the cook.  I met the cook’s eyes and eyed him just as he was assessing me.  Whatever he saw, or didn’t see, made him scowl before he returned to the fryer in front of him. 
Jesus, this town was crazy.  I hadn’t even been in town for 24 hours and people were already making assumptions about me.
 

“If you smiled more people wouldn’t jump to conclusions.”  A familiar feminine voice right beside me made me jump about a foot in my seat.

“Holy Hell!”  I yelled before turning to glare at Cassie.  Her eyes widened slightly at my outburst before she dissolved into a fit of giggles.  I huffed and shook my head before turning away to ignore her. 

“Sorry!  Sorry,” she took a deep breath before sliding into the seat beside me.  “I didn’t mean to startle you.”  I rolled my eyes and continued to ignore her.  “We didn’t get off to a great start.  I’m Cassie McCoy.”  She held out her hand.  I honestly debated not taking her hand, but so far, she had been nice so… I reached out my hand and shook hers.

“Kendra Jennings.” 

“It’s great to meet you.”  She smiled warmly and I had to fight my smile in return.  I was always on high alert when I was in a new place.  You never knew if someone was being genuine or not until you had a chance to observe them for a while.  She seemed nice but I didn’t know what her end game was.  “So, you just moved here?”

“Yesterday.”  I replied. 

“Oh wow.  You must have so much stuff to sort through.  Your family bought the place on the north edge of town, right?” 

“News travels fast.”

“Oh, you know.  Not many secrets in a town this size.”  She laughed at her own joke.  “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

“No.”

“Oh, so just you and your parents then.”  I didn’t respond.  When most people found out I was a foster kid, they either assumed I was on the wrong side of the law or needed their pity.  Neither applied to me.  While I was unruly at times, I never did anything that would jeopardize my future.  My future was all that I had to look forward to and I was adamant that nothing would stand in my way of becoming an artist.  Loud masculine laughter caught my attention and I looked over her shoulder and met the brown eyes of Cade, again.  Both of his buddies sat with him and Bree and joked over something.  Cade didn’t seem to be paying attention though.  His eyes were fixed on me.  I looked away first and unconsciously grabbed my necklace to play with it.  Cassie looked over her shoulder and frowned before she looked back at me.

“Oh, don’t mind him.  He’s just moody sometimes.”

“Your boyfriend?”  I asked and cringed internally that my filter deserted me.  Why did I have to show an interest? 

“My what?”  She laughed.  “No, not at all.  He’s my brother.  Twin if I have to claim him at all.” 

“Oh.”  Now that I knew, I could see some resemblance between them.  “Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s all right.  You’re not the first to make that assumption.  It happens a lot when we travel out of town.”

“I suppose everyone around here knows you are brother and sister.”

“For sure.  We’ve lived here our whole lives.  Everyone knows everyone.” 
Except me
, I thought.  She must have read my thoughts as she added, “Don’t worry.  People just take a little time to get used to change.  Not many people move here.  Give it a few months and things will seem normal.” 

“One order of fries, burger with everything, and a chocolate milk shake.”  The waitress plopped my food down in front of me before adding, “Can I get you anything else?”

“No this is good, thanks.”  She nodded before going to her next customer. 

“You can eat with us.”  Cassie offered.  I looked over at her, my gaze slid beyond her to the brown ones that still watched us. 

“No thanks.  I’m not staying long.  I have to head home after this.” 

She sighed before she asked over her shoulder, “Cade, bring my food over, would you please?”  Out of my periphery vision, I saw Cade stand up, grab a plate and drink, and head in our direction.  He set the plate and glass down in front of Cassie.  I couldn’t help my eyes as they traveled up to meet his.

“Why don’t you sit with us at our table?”  He asked me.  Cassie answered before I could.

“Because you scared her off that’s why.”  Cassie huffed before taking a bite of her sandwich.  Cade frowned at her answer and looked at me.  My response was automatic.

“I’m not scared.”  I could see Cade’s lip twitch in response. 

“Then why don’t you sit with us?”

“I’m not staying long.”  I replied, and then before I could help it, I added, “I don’t go where I’m not wanted.”  His eyes narrowed in response.