ICE (The Benders Series) (19 page)

She knew what he meant, that breaking her heart was hard enough without her quarreling or crying. As much as she hated everything at the moment, the least she could do was make it easier on him.

Kenna loved him. And she knew it now as she stood there in silent tears.

“I’ll go,” she finally said. “I hope you learn what you need to. And I hope to see you again.” Her words were soft and filled with hurt and understanding. “You need to rest now.”

She turned quickly to leave, not wanting to linger in the sight of his burned body, not wanting to remain in the room that was so filled with heartbreak. “Kenna,” she heard him call as she marched away. Despite his call, Kenna remained firm in her decision to leave and give him the peace that he needed.

She knew he loved her. She didn’t need to make things more painful for him than they had to be. She could bite the bullet this time.

With that in mind, Kenna made her way to the waiting car. She slumped inside as the waterworks continued on their silent rampage down her pale face. She once again started the engine and sped back into town.

She returned the Buick, hid the keys, and jogged home to where her father had yet to return from shopping.

Once there, she buried herself in her bedroom upstairs.

It was like the last hour had never happened. It was like she hadn’t just said goodbye to the only boy she’d every professed love for. It wasn’t like she’d just had her heart re-shattered. It wasn’t like all the happiness had just been ripped from her soul.

No. She knew that it had to be like the last hour had never happened. Like she’d never said good-bye.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Heartbreak.

Kenna remembered the feeling from the day her parents told her they were splitting. Even though she was only ten at the time, she remembered it like it was yesterday.

“Kenna,” her mother called from the dining room. It was a Saturday. It was raining outside.

The blond dropped what she was doing and followed her mother’s calling. When she got into the dining room, both her parents were sitting at the table. She was immediately suspicious.

“Am I in trouble?” she asked as she walked to the chair that her mother pulled out.

“No, baby, of course you aren’t in trouble,” her mother replied as ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair. “Your dad and I just need to talk to you about some things that are happening.”

At that point, Kenna turned to her father. The man had bags under both of his brown eyes, and the happy twinkle that once accompanied them had all but vanished. His face was red. He seemed tired. He seemed upset. When he looked back at the girl, he couldn’t help but turn away with immediate guilt.

She turned back to her mother. Her blond hair hung straight and pristine on her perfectly postured shoulders. Beside them were gold hoop earrings that her father’s money had bought her. Her blue eyes were as placid as ever.

“What do you mean, things that are happening?” Kenna asked quickly.

She watched as her parents turned to each other and made brief eye contact. After the meeting of their eyes, her mother took a deep breath and looked at the girl once more. Her father, however, was looking off into the corner.

“Well, your father and I have decided that it’s best for everyone if we separate,” she explained, her voice even and calm.

“What do you mean separate?” the girl shot immediately. She, of course, knew the meaning of the word, but couldn’t wrap her head around what it could mean in terms of their family.

Her mother reached for the girl’s hair again, but Kenna moved away from her hand and practically jumped out of her chair.

“Honey,” the woman said, “your father and I are getting a divorce.”

“Divorce?” she gasped. She could feel her heart begin to race, and tears begin to form in her eyes. Kenna turned to her father again, but he was still avoiding the girl. “Dad?” she asked, hoping he would deny what her mother was saying, hoping that none of it was true and all some sick, cruel joke.

“It’ll be okay, Kenna,” he choked as he got out of his chair and came to hug her.

At this move, Kenna darted from the room as fast as she could. She sprinted up the stairs of their modest Florida home and threw herself onto her bed, just as she had so many times before then.

Divorce? Why?

Sure, her parents got into their fair share of arguments. Sure, her father worked on the road and wasn’t around as much as he should have been. Sure, life wasn’t perfect. But she didn’t see how tearing their family into separate pieces could possibly make things better.

As Kenna searched for an answer, she couldn’t help but to somehow feel suddenly at fault. She was rowdy, even as a preteen. Maybe if she’d just listened better or done better at school or martial arts or something then maybe her parents would have gotten along better. She quickly examined all of her flaws and tried to find out which one could have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

It wasn’t until months later that she met Ryan.

Then things made more sense.

Her mother was a dirty cheater, a dirty, rotten, unfaithful witch.

And that was the story Kenna had convinced herself of for the last many years. She was never good at math, but to her, Ryan was the ‘x’ variable that made everything add up.

And since then, her relationship with her mother had never been the same. Her mother started working more. Kenna felt herself becoming more and more spiteful. Though she originally got into trouble to get revenge on the woman, eventually she just got used to it. Eventually, she didn’t know why she drank or felt relief from being totally intoxicated.

But things had been better. Minnesota had been so different. And yet, she sat there on the porch enduring the same pains she’d felt so long ago.

She ran her fingers against one of the fogged-up windows as she sat on the lowly porch sofa. Normally she would have drawn a heart or written Jon’s name. Now she didn’t know what to draw. Angered by being stumped by the window, she placed both palms on the glass and wiped it completely clean of its fog.

Though a week had passed since she last saw Jon, the feelings of heartbreak and guilt and sadness were as fresh as ever. She curled herself up after assaulting the window and came to a depressed rest.

He father walked in shortly after and sat down next to her.

“Hanging in there?” he asked as he squeezed one of her bare feet.

Kenna hadn’t done her make-up or dressed nicely in some time. Nor had she spoke much to her father or anyone for that matter. In short, she was a wreck.

She shrugged her shoulders, but as she did, she heard a very familiar sound. Kenna glanced up to see that her father was staring out the window.

“Why would that piece of shit be here?” she heard him say under his breath.

Kenna sat up immediately to see Jon getting out of his truck and heading for their doorway.

Her father stood up swiftly. “I’ll take care of this,” he said as he signaled that Kenna should stay where she was.

Kenna, however, stood up to follow him to the entry where all three met simultaneously.

Jon spoke first. “I need to see Kenna,” he said, out of breath from his jog up to the door. Kenna stood a few yards behind her father, afraid of how things might play out.

“You have ten seconds to get off my property before I call the police,” the man insisted with a glare.

“Kenna?” Before anyone could say anything else, Jon pushed past her father and scooped the girl up in a tight and loving hug.

“I’m calling the police,” her father hollered as he pulled out his cell phone. Jon turned back to the man and stared at the phone. It immediately went ice cold. Her father dropped the device, and it turned off, unable to take the icy temperature.

Kenna could see that a battle was about to start, so she quickly got between them.

“Five minutes,” she begged. “Please, Dad, five minutes.” Her father was staring at Jon, his nostrils flaring, his temper heating.

“Five minutes.” This time, it was Jon’s voice. He was calm. “Five minutes,” he repeated to the man. “Then I’m gone.”

Kenna could see her father becoming composed again. His breathing slowed, but his scowl remained. “I will stand here and time you. Five minutes.”

With the agreement in place, Kenna whipped herself back around to the Colewell whose hug lifted her once again off her feet.

“I had to see you just one more time,” he whispered as he held her there tightly.

Kenna shook her head lightly. “I still don’t want you to go,” she admitted as the tears came once more. For as much as she’d cried, Kenna didn’t think she could possibly produce more of the little droplets.

“I’m just happy to see you,” Jon said as he set her back on her feet and kissed her forehead.

Kenna wiped away the tears and forced herself to smile. “Me too,” she sniffled as she looked up at the tall, handsome Colewell. She could still see discoloration on his face where he’d been burned. “How are you feeling?” she managed to ask, seeing that he looked almost completely healthy.

“Much better,” he breathed. “I hardly notice it.”

“Four minutes.”

Her father hadn’t left the porch and stood only feet from the pair.

Jon nodded at the man to acknowledge that the agreement was still in place.

After that, the Colewell wiped away some of the frazzled hair that had settled on Kenna’s face. He took her by the hands and kissed her lovingly on the lips. Just as in the past, both of them felt a spark shoot off within them and a chill spread throughout them, giving them both goosebumps.

“Three minutes.”

Her father was clearly angered by such affection and began to speed the time. His foot was tapping on the ground, and his arms were crossed firmly across his chest.

“Do you remember what I said the other day?” Jon asked as the pair looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

“Which part?” Kenna inquired, though she remembered every word.

“The part about birds,” Jon clarified, still holding her hands. “I’m leaving the day after tomorrow. Promise me that you’ll be happy here. That you’ll move on and forget that I exist.”

Kenna shook her head. “How could you ask that of me?”

“Two minutes.”

“Kenna, I love you,” Jon went on. “And I can’t just be there and imagine how horrible your life is here. I need you to promise me that you’ll move on.”

Kenna could feel her face forming a confused expression. “Do you plan on dating other girls? Do you plan on moving on?” she asked quickly.

“No, I love you. I’ll get better for you,” he explained, not entirely sure what the point of her question was.

“Then don’t ask me to move on either. Let me wait if I want to. Let me hold on to the thought of you coming back and us being happy again,” Kenna argued. “And promise me that I will see you again. Even if it’s years from now.”

She could see tears begin to form in her eyes as he let go of her hands and kissed her again.

“I promise. But I still won’t expect you to wait, and I understand if you don’t,” he added as he glanced at Kenna’s father.

“One minute.” The man’s warning was right on cue.

“Well, I won’t be happy if I ever find out about you fraternizing with some ice bender chicks or whatever,” Kenna said as she wiped away a few more tears that had trickled down her face.

Jon smiled. “There is no one else like you,” he said as he kissed her a final time.

Kenna smiled and threw herself at him for another hug.

“I love you,” she whispered, though she didn’t care if her father heard or not.

“I love you, too,” Jon replied as he held her there tightly for the few seconds they had left.

“Time’s up.”

With that, Jon released the girl and made his way out the door, a door that slammed tightly behind him.

“And good riddance,” Kenna heard her father say, loudly enough for both she and Jon to hear him.

When her father turned back around to face the girl, she wore a very hurt expression. Her face had scrunched up, and it was clear that she was doing everything she could to fight back the tears.

“Why would you say that?” she scolded, though she knew that any facial movement might force her eyes to give way to the tears.

The man looked both sympathetic and unapologetic at the same time.

“I’m not that forgiving,” he said coldly. “I hope we never see that boy again.”

He pushed past her and went back into the house, clearly distraught by the conversation that he’d just seen take place between his daughter and her perceived abuser. In his mind, Kenna was acting incredibly immature and even stupid. Unfortunately, the man realized that he had little control over the matter, and for the time being, there was no need for worry. After all, the Colewell would soon be out of sight. And now, all the father had to do was keep him out of mind, for both himself and for Kenna. But it seemed that at the moment, convincing his child to forget about Jon would be about as realistic as a fictional romance novel.

Indeed, Kenna had no intention of moving on or dismissing her relationship with Jon. Even as she stood there and watched his truck pull away, she couldn’t help but be filled with new hope and new optimism.

Yes, Kenna realized that she hadn’t even been dating the boy for half a year, but that less than half a year had been the most wonderful less than half a year that she could ever remember having. She saw a future with Jon. A happy, real, exciting future, a future that made her want to shout with joy- which was something she’d never had any inkling to do in the past.

Even if there were obvious complications like his temper and their inability to maintain physical contact and the fact that he was a full-blooded ice elementalist, and she was a flame moiety, to them, their love was greater. Their emotional and intellectual relationship trumped all that. Their personalities just clicked like a brand new ink pen. They made each other better. They made each other want to be better. And that spoke volumes.

But apparently her father heard none of that. He could only remember the one night, the one incident that all together caused all the madness to occur.

While she was furious with her father, she couldn’t help but to understand his dilemma. After all, if she and Jon ever had kids and their daughter came home in such a state, surely whoever her perpetrator was would be dead. And so despite her disagreement with the man, she forgave him for his thinking.

Kenna sighed as she marched slowly back into the house.

The rest of the day seemed to drag. There was obvious tension between Kenna and her father, but neither of them cared to address it, at least not at the moment.