Chapter 4 #2
“It’s all good, beautiful. Just breathe. I got you.”
Kenna clung to his neck and buried her face into his chest as she closed her eyes tightly. She found that she could take in a deep breath finally. The only thing that registered was the fresh smell of Damien’s soap and his cologne. She did that repeatedly—took deep, controlled breaths.
When she felt fresh air hit her, she opened her eyes and looked around. Outside always felt safe for her. All those years ago, when Cam stumbled out of their school, the police had just arrived and immediately led them to safety just before the bomb went off. Safety. Safe. She was finally safe.
“Over here.” Damien’s voice vibrated her cheek, and suddenly, they were inside a luxurious truck.
Damien slid in the back row, and Cam got in beside them. Annalise and Alanzo got in the middle row while the woman Kenna had yet to meet slid into the passenger seat.
“Kenna, it’s okay, boo. We good,” Cam soothed, reaching over and rubbing her back.
When Kenna tried to slide off Damien’s lap, he held her in place but didn’t speak. Kenna didn’t have the strength to fight him. Plus, she felt comfortable in his embrace. Looking over at Cam, she noticed tears in his eyes, and she immediately reached out for his hand.
They didn’t speak any further than that. Neither of them even bothered to ask where they were going. Annalise glanced back at them in worry periodically, and Alanzo seemed to read the space around him because he stayed quiet and laid his head on his grandmother’s side.
Tears streamed down Kenna’s face as she tried to push the images of dead students, of her dead brother, out of her head.
When the car finally stopped, she realized she had long ago closed her eyes. They popped open in alarm, and she looked around, realizing they were parked in front of a mansion. The biggest house she had ever seen. The kind of home that had a west wing and an east wing.
“This is my home,” Damien murmured to her, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “I figured it was the best place to regroup. You okay to walk?”
Kenna nodded, and this time when she tried to slide off his lap, he let her.
They filed out of the car wordlessly and Kenna hid behind her hands as she cried. She knew she was a mess at this point and looking crazy for freaking out so badly, but that was her life. Her trauma was unfortunately a part of her, and she didn’t know if she would ever rid herself of it.
Gentle fingers pried her hands from her face, and Kenna’s blurred vision landed on the pretty woman who seemed really comfortable around Damien. She smiled softly at Kenna and said, “I’m Jendaya. Is it okay if we go to the bathroom and get you cleaned up?”
Kenna’s skin tinted red. Now she knew for a fact she was a mess. Nodding slightly, she glanced up at Damien, who nodded in encouragement. When her eyes landed on Cam, she muttered, “Take a moment if you need to.”
He nodded, tears still swimming in his eyes. Kenna knew him well enough to know that when he got that moment alone, he would allow himself to come completely undone, as she had.
Jendaya gently tugged Kenna along in front of everyone and let herself into the house. Kenna wished she could bask in the brilliance of the home, but she couldn’t. Her heart still hammered in her chest, and she could barely see through her tears.
They didn’t have to walk for too long before they walked into a large guest bathroom decorated in blue and gold. It surprised Kenna when Jendaya walked inside with her and closed the door. She immediately went for a little appliance in the corner, and Kenna realized it was a towel warmer.
She watched as Jendaya ran the warm towel under warm water and then gestured for the toilet. “Sit.”
Kenna did without question, feeling like a child who couldn’t take care of herself.
Jendaya took great care to clean Kenna’s face.
The towel felt heavenly and seemed to soothe Kenna’s soul.
Her breathing and sniffling calmed, and Jendaya smiled.
“You’re so pretty. I thought you had makeup on, but there’s not a lick on your face. ”
Kenna didn’t know how to take the compliment. She never did. She gave Jendaya an awkward smile before finding it in her to speak. “You’re pretty too. You look like Zendaya.”
Jendaya barked out a laugh, startling Kenna, but she managed to maintain her cool. “If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I would be richer than Damien.”
Kenna looked at the floor while Jendaya stepped back. Finally, Kenna mustered up the courage to ask, “Are you his girlfriend?”
When Jendaya chuckled, it sounded warm and from the soul. “No, girl. I mean, we have a child together, but no. I’m married to someone else, and happily, at that.”
Kenna looked at her with her brows pulled together. “You guys are… friends, then?”
“Best friends.” Jendaya leaned against the sink and hung the towel on the edge of it. “We have been for a long time. We tried to date after he was drafted, but it didn’t work out. The best thing that came from that was our daughter.”
For some reason, relief flooded Kenna. “How old is your daughter?”
Jendaya smiled wistfully. “She’s thirteen and the biggest pain in my ass, but I love her with everything in me.”
“You sound like my mom,” Kenna commented, and she noted that when she gave a light chuckle, it felt good. The panic attack was passing, thank God.
“You must have given her hell.”
Kenna shrugged. “I think I was a pretty good kid. Cam got me into a lot of trouble… before…” Her words trailed off as she wondered how much she wanted to share.
She never opened up about that part of her life, but she felt like she owed some kind of explanation.
“Me and Cam are survivors of the Bairwood High shooting.”
Jendaya gasped. “Oh shit. No wonder you’re having a damn panic attack.” She grabbed Kenna’s hand as if it was the most normal thing in the world, and Kenna let her like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Only like twenty people survived that, right? My God.”
“Twenty-three out of six hundred and forty seven. Some were shot before he set off the bomb…”
“I’m so so sorry.”
Kenna looked up at Jendaya and saw how genuine she was. She relaxed slightly and nodded. “I appreciate that. I should really go check on Cam.”
Kenna stood, but Jendaya stopped her. “I’ll give you a moment alone, okay?
I’ll wait just outside so you don’t get lost in this big ass house.
Take a moment, I insist.” And then she hesitated slightly before saying, “This might be the wrong time to say this, but Damien likes you. He never brings strangers to his home.”
Kenna shook her head. “Oh no… He brought us here because it made the most sense. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
Jendaya snorted and gave Kenna’s hand a squeeze before twisting the knob on the door.
“He’s been doing these meet and greets all season, and there are disturbances often after the games.
Drunk and rowdy fans… this isn’t new. He’s never brought any of his previous meet and greet fans to his home, I guarantee you that, but hey…
what do I know? I’m just the baby mama.”
She winked and then walked out of the bathroom, leaving Kenna to her racing thoughts.