Read Online When Our Worlds Collide by Lindsey Iler - Free Book Online Page A

unshed tears and I reach out to wipe them away, but jolt
back when I realize what I am doing. I shook my head trying to forget what just
about happened. This isn’t something I would do with any other girl. I’ve
caused plenty of tears in the past, but none that I was willing to try to stop.
There is this protectiveness I feel with Kennedy. She just watches me, opening
her mouth to say something before shaking her head as if that would have the capability
to erase her thoughts.
    Turning away from Kennedy makes me uneasy. Without looking
back, I know everyone’s eyes are pointed behind me. I need to get away from
her. Putting distance would surely right the wrongs of the situation. I try to
reassure myself that it will. I can go on with my life, not giving a shit about
anyone except myself now.
    Walking into the cafeteria after second block is awkward.
Amanda is waiting for me right inside the doors. She usually sits with a few
other girl at our table. I’m not in the mood to deal with anything she has for
me today. I don’t have the energy to argue with her which is where our
conversation will go today. Deciding I’d amuse her for a little bit longer
until it got to be too much work is the simplest of solutions.
    “Hey Babe,” Amanda says with a smile. She slinks her arm
through mine squeezing close to my side. Sometimes I think she does this just
to show that she belongs to me in some sort of fucked up way. I don’t belong to
anyone and I never will.
    “Hi,” I force a smile before removing her arm from mine and
making my way to my usual spot at the table.
    A few of the guys are already sitting around talking. I sit
across from Craig and Mark. We have been best friends since we were in
kindergarten. Both of them are on the baseball team with me and spend most of
their weekends bouncing from bed to bed with random girls. Craig is the biggest
deviant out of the three of us and isn’t afraid to admit it. Mark on the other
hand feels some sort of remorse for bagging and leaving girls in his wake. He
is usually the one you can be found in a booth at a restaurant entertaining a
girl after the fact. He is a better man than me for that simple fact.
    They are too busy in their conversation to notice I had sat
down. I came in at the end, but it wasn’t hard to catch onto their topic as she
walked into the cafeteria. All the talk fell to a dead halt as they watched
her. Great .
    Violet is on her side as she hobbles in on her crutches.
Violet whispers something to her and she laughs uncomfortably. Her smile
doesn’t reach her eyes just like all the times she smiled at me. Kennedy scans
the room for somewhere to sit and lands her eyes on me. Her gaze quickly falls
doing everything in her power to look away. Violet ushers her over to a table
closest to the door and she looks relieved when she is finally able to sit
down.
    I never did understand those two. Violet is a party girl to
the core who spent most Fridays and Saturdays hooking up with one of my
teammates. It’s been Dan as of recently. Violet and Kennedy aren’t anything
alike. I can tell that Violet is protective of her by the way she guides her
into the cafeteria as everyone watches with curious eyes. On numerous accounts,
Violet has defended Kennedy when Amanda made some snide remark as she walked
by. I feel a sense of gratefulness that Kennedy has someone like Violet. I
don’t know why I feel that way though.
    “I can’t believe she was hit by a car and the dude just
drove off,” Mark speaks not dropping his gaze from her as if he’s seeing her
for the first time. I don’t like it.
    “How do you know it was a guy?” I sound defensive. Amanda
looks over at me with a confused expression. She guides her hand up and down my
thigh as I sit stiffly putting all of my will power into not looking back
towards Kennedy’s table.
    “I mean, what kind of girl would hit another girl then drive
off? It would never happen. It had to have been a guy,” Craig butts in