Chapter 3
“You’re in the upper section, ma’am. Row Z seats forty-two and forty-three.”
Cam politely thanked the chubby older man that handed the tickets back to him and then turned to glare at Kenna, who looked around nervously.
“Girl, would you come on. The boogeyman ain’t gon’ get you.”
Kenna shook her head. Cam was joking, but she couldn’t shake the nerves bouncing around within her.
Her boogeyman was in the form of a boy named Zachary Nelson.
She never would have thought the tenth grade student would be out to get the entire school on that random Wednesday all those years ago, either, but he was.
Who was to say that wasn’t the case for one of the thousands of people brushing past her at that moment?
Trying her hardest not to cry, she glared back at him and snatched the tickets from his hand. Confirming what the guy at the ticket booth said, she frowned back at him. Suddenly, Cam had an innocent look on his face as he smiled at her timidly.
“Cam, really? You told me you got seats that were practically courtside.”
“Girl, these seats are good. Everybody knows the nosebleeds are where it’s at,” Cam defended as he walked ahead of her and up the stairs, popping his booty with each step, knowing damn well it would irritate Kenna.
She had to give it to him. His tactic worked.
She didn’t feel nearly as anxious as she walked behind him, glowering at the back of his head.
The higher they climbed the stairs, the higher her irritation rose. She wasn’t even sure why the seats mattered to her so much, but then it hit her. They mattered because they were so far from an exit. If all hell broke loose, they would be screwed with these seats.
Fear gripped her once again as she scouted out the area, trying to spot a solution for her panic. When they finally made it to their seats, all Kenna could do was shake her head as she breathed heavily from that impromptu workout. It was Cam’s turn to get irritated.
“Now I know like hell they didn’t put a damn pole right in front of our seats. Kenna, we can’t even see the jumbo screen,” he fussed.
“Jumbotron,” she muttered.
Cam waved his hand dramatically. “Whatever.” After he perched on the edge of his seat, he looked up at her expectantly and sighed. “Come on, Kenny. It’ll be fun, seats be damned.”
She scrunched up her face at the nickname. He used it rarely and mostly when he wanted to get on her nerves. Again, his tactic worked because her anxiety took a backseat as she stared at him, ready to argue that there was no fun in staring at a damn pole for two hours.
Instead, she sat down and said, “I hope you liked walking those stairs. I’m going to need you to go grab me a drink.”
Cam didn’t put up a fight. He stood up and then bowed down dramatically at her. “Whatever you say, Queen Kenna.”
As soon as he disappeared into the crowd, Kenna wondered why she had even done that.
She wanted to punish him for lying, but that had backfired quickly.
With Cam gone, her anxiety went into overdrive.
The tears she had been holding back sprang to the surface, and she looked behind her to see if she could spot her best friend.
If she was brave, she would have gotten up and followed him, but she stayed glued to her seat as she felt panic set in.
The loud music playing caused mayhem to bounce around her body. Loud noises were extremely triggering for her, and she knew this was exactly why she didn’t want to come to this damn game in the first place.
To her right, a little boy about five or six sat in the seat next to her. She caught his eye, and he peered at her curiously before he proceeded to climb into Kenna’s lap, startling her.
“Boy! You can’t just climb into strangers’ laps,” the woman next to him scolded before looking at Kenna. “I am so sorry, honey.”
Kenna wiped her tears and smiled gently at her. She was beautiful, with deep brown skin and pretty braids. She was on the heavier side, but in a way that told Kenna she brought beautiful life into the world. Kenna looked down at the boy and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Alanzo,” he said proudly.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman apologized again. “We’re still working on boundaries.”
“But, Gigi, she needed a hug. She’s crying, see?” Alanzo pointed at Kenna’s face, causing her to blush from embarrassment.
“Alanzo,” his grandmother scolded.
“It’s okay,” Kenna murmured. “Alanzo, your gigi is right though. You can’t just climb into anyone’s lap, but I’m happy that you chose me. I did need that hug.”
“Chile, I swear he’s an empath. He takes on other people’s emotions so easily,” his grandmother said.
“It’s really no problem. I love kids.” And that was the truth. She had the biggest soft spot for children, and Alanzo proved to be a great distraction in Cam’s absence.
“You must not have any, then.”
Kenna laughed, which surprised her, but she didn’t question it. This woman and her grandson were obviously placed next to her for a good reason. “No, I don’t.”
Kenna didn’t really think she wanted kids. After losing her brother and seeing her parents go through that, she doubted she had the guts to bring children into the world. If she was a nervous wreck now, she would definitely be one then.
“You’ll make a good mother one day. You have a kind soul, I can tell. I’m Annalise.” She held her hand out and Kenna shook it.
“Kenna.” She did her best to make it seem like she was holding herself together as she got more comfortable talking to Annalise.
If it was just Alanzo, she would have her guards down fully, but anyone over the age of twelve made her leery.
Once they hit those teenaged years and were capable of intentionally harming others in a traumatic way, she tried to steer clear.
It was why she never made any new friends after high school or dated. Cam was all she needed in her eyes.
“Why are you crying?” Alanzo asked, causing Kenna’s eyes to snap to him.
She obviously hadn’t done a good enough job pretending like nothing was bothering her. Then again, kids could be really perceptive.
“Zo, leave that poor lady alone,” Annalise scolded again.
“No, no. It’s okay,” Kenna said before looking at Alanzo. “I’m just a little nervous, is all.”
“About what?”
Kenna thought about how to answer him before she decided to be honest, but as vague as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was scare him by telling him about the horrors of her past. “Big crowds make me uncomfortable.”
He nodded once, as if that was all the explanation he needed. “Wanna see my favorite game?” Alanzo reached over and dug around in his grandmother’s black leather bag before pulling a tablet out.
“Please feel free to tell him no at any time, chile,” Annalise said, shaking her head while a small smile played on her lips. Kenna could tell she didn’t want to keep telling him to leave her alone, and she was glad for it.
“Actually, I’m a video game developer, so believe it or not, this is right up my alley. Besides, he’s helping.” She muttered that last part, but Annalise had those mom ears or something because she smiled kindly at Kenna and nodded as if she understood.
Kenna appreciated that the older lady didn’t pry. She also appreciated that she allowed Alanzo to distract her. For that, she earned some major points in Kenna’s book.
Kenna allowed herself to be entertained by Alanzo’s game, which happened to be a basketball simulation, for the next several minutes. She noticed the crowd swelling and the noise level peaking the fuller the arena got, but she breathed through it and focused on Alanzo playing his game.
Cam finally came back with a tray of drinks in one hand and a basket of nachos in the other. He sat down dramatically, huffing and puffing, before he peered over at her, his arched brows pulling in. “Who’s your lil friend, Kenna?”
Kenna looked at Alanzo, who had slowly inched his way back into her lap somehow. She hadn’t even noticed, but now that she had, she realized his weight grounded her. “This is Alanzo and his gigi, Annalise.”
“You are too cute!” Cam said, setting the drinks and nachos down on his lap and reaching over so he could pinch Alanzo’s cheeks.
Alanzo swatted his hand away and balled his face up at Cam. Kenna was surprised because he had been so sweet to her. She didn’t think the little boy had a mean bone in his body. A laugh fell from her mouth as she watched the exchange.
Cam looked taken aback as he withdrew his hand. “I take back my compliment.” He stuck his tongue out at Alanzo, who stuck his tongue right back out at Cam. The two glared at each other.
Annalise laughed, not knowing how serious Cam was at the moment.
Kenna knew Cam had just gained an enemy.
Not a real one—Cam wasn’t that mean—but he would bug the hell out of Alanzo for fun.
She wasn’t sure how he was allowed to even teach the third grade.
He most definitely had his favorites, and it showed, but he was great at what he did.
Nobody could deny that. The way he could beef with a child needed to be studied though. Nobody was safe from his pettiness.
“Ms. Annalise, this is my friend, Camden.” Kenna interrupted Cam and Alanzo’s stare-down with the introductions.
“Nice to meet you, baby,” Annalise said, holding her hand out to Cam. He took it and smiled brightly.
“You too, Ms. Annalise.”
“Please, just call me Annalise,” she said to the both of them.
“In that case, you can call me Cam. If you want, you can call her Kenny.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Kenna said, cutting her eyes at Cam.
Alanzo’s face scrunched up. “Isn’t that a boy name?”
“Yes,” Cam said, scrunching his own face up. “What about it?”
“She’s a girl,” Alanzo pointed out.
“Girls can have boy names just like boys can have girl names,” Cam argued.
Alanzo opened his mouth to argue, but Kenna spoke up, elbowing Cam in the ribs. “Cut it out.”
“What I do?” he hissed, his eyes turning into slits.