[¥] Chapter 4 [¥]

¬£¬New Feelings¬£¬

"I had fun." I said as we walked down the street towards my house. I had asked him if he wanted to call Lennox to come pick us up and drop me off since it was late, but he refused saying that he wanted more time alone with me.

"Yeah me too." He said with a smile still holding my hand in his.

"You know you're very fun to talk to. You're a great listener" I complemented, it was the truth, he stood there and listened to me go on and on about nothing of importance and somehow didn't fall asleep from boredom.

"Yeah I try. I could listen to you forever if I could." Smooth. We walked hand in hand to my house. Kelly had given Jordan the keys to his car earlier when everyone decided to start heading home due to the cold and the fact that it was getting dark. He said his house was not that far from where I lived.

"Your brothers are very creative, in a strange way." I said referring to our little playtime at the park with his brothers. It was very fun. Before it had gotten too dark, we met back up with Jordan, Cameron, and Desmond and just played around for a bit. It was afterwards they all decided to leave.

"I guess you can say that." He said with a light laugh. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked. Invite him in!

"Yeah I guess so." God his hands are soft.

"Question, who all are coming?" I asked making small, not wanting this to end. He thought about it for a while.

"Me, you, my brothers and their girlfriends. Well Desmond's friend." He said matter-of-factly.

"Okay." Stop stalling and invite him in already. He walked me to my door still holding my hand. I do not want to let go. I never knew someone could be so nice to me. He makes me feel like I can just be myself around him. He makes me feel safe. However, I am keeping my wall up just to be safe.

"You want to come in?" I asked in a nervous tone, hoping he would say no, however a big part really hope he accepted.

"Uh sure why not." I was relieved that he didn't said no, but then angry that he said yes. I really did not know why. I unlocked the door and the house was quiet. When I thought they were gone, I heard faint yelling and screaming coming from upstairs. That must be my parents. What is going on?

"Uh Kelly you mind waiting right here for a while?" I asked as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He looked at me with concern in his eyes but did not say anything.

"Sure."

"Here's the remote make yourself comfortable, there's a bathroom down that hall third door to your left. I will be right back in a minute. Just got to check something out." I said talking fast. He gripped my shoulders to stop me from going over bored and looked me in the eyes. I calmed down and took a deep breath.

"It's okay, no need to be nervous." He let me go and walked over to the living room, sat on the couch, and started flipping through channels. Could he hear them too and knew that's why I was so nervous, or did he think it was something else?

I went upstairs to see what was going on. Something must be wrong because they never argued, at least I never heard them arguing. I walked to their door and was about to knock when I heard something that caught my attention.

"We have to, he's out and after her!" he said with hurt behind his voice. If it was possible, I think my dad was on the verge of crying. I never- I repeat NEVER seen or heard him cry before.

"I am tired of running from him! We have to face him one day." My mom said. It sounded as if she had been crying her eyes out. I stood behind the door listening trying to comprehend what they were talking about, better yet who they were talking about.

"But we can't have her to risk her life!" he exclaimed. Who is life? What for?!

"She will be fine. She's a tough girl, she'll know what to do." she said in a somewhat calm voice.

"No! I will not have my child near a murderer!!" he said between clenched teeth. It seems like no matter how calm my mom talked to him he would just yell. Not being able to stand this anymore, I knocked on their door and they stopped yelling in mid-sentence.

I waited a while, for them to get themselves together; my dad finally came and opened the door. He looked tired and angry. "Yes baby girl." he said trying to cover up his anger.

"What's going on? I heard yelling." I asked, as my voice was thick with concern.

"Nothing we're fine." My father spoke not meeting my eyes. He is lying.

"Stop lying to me. What's really going on?" I asked with more hurt in my voice. They never lied to me. This has to be something serious for all of this to be happening.

"Baby don't worry about what's going on with us, we're fine. Just stay focus on school and your career." I know you are wondering what she means "my career". Well I have always wanted to be a nurse or a pediatrician. I love helping people but my big dream is to go worldwide and dance for someone famous. She has always told me 'no matter how tough things get between us. Stay focus on you and your dreams.' That is what I have done. I may have blocked them out of my world but I never forget to love them.

"Mom please just tells me." I begged trying to hold back the tears that threaten to fall. It killed me that they would stand there and lie to my face, when I thought we could tell each other anything. Okay well maybe I'm over exaggerating on this. It was only like that between my father and me. My mom she just knew what I told her, so I would understand why she wouldn't explain this situation, but my father? He would tell me everything.

"Why must you keep secrets away from me? We promised that we would tell each other everything when one gets concerned, and right now, I'm concerned about my parents." They both got quiet for a while, staring at each other, communicating through looks one I wasn't involved in. I leaned against the doorframe and closed my eyes to stop the tears from falling. I drew in a deep breath and let it out. The look on both their faces showed hurt and fear. What did they have to be scared of?

"You love me right?" My dad said as he placed both hands on my shoulder. He was always a man of words. Even if they really weren't things you wanted to know he always had something to say to smooth the moment over. He's always the first to spring into action when there's a problem going on.

"Forever on end." I told him.

"Do you trust us?" he asked with a slight squeeze on my shoulders.

"Always." I wanted to cry so badly, because I knew they were keeping something big from me, something that I should know. Instead of breaking down and yelling at them, I was strong and held it in. I was not going to cry, not now and not yet. There were other things to worry about. Like Kelly. Just the thought of him made me smile. Then I remembered I had him waiting for me downstairs.

"Then trust me when I say everything will be fine. We will tell you everything but not right now. We're still discussing things." Yeah right.

"Fine." I said as I let out a deep sigh, giving up the fight for now. I knew that they weren't going to tell me no matter how much I pushed.

"Now what else is bothering you? I can see it in your eyes." Tell them! The voice in the back of my head was saying. I looked at him in the eyes and he looked really concern. I moved from his grip and stepped into the room, I'm pretty sure Kelly could hear everything that's going on, and for some reason I wasn't sure I wanted him to know about this. I closed the door behind me and leaned my back against it.

"I think someone is after me." I came straightforward and told them. I felt there was no way to sugar coat it at all. "They were stalking me today." I said through the lump in my throat.

"What do you mean?" I did not know how to explain it to them. Therefore, I took out my phone and went to the text messages that the "mystery person" was sending me and handed it to my dad after he read the messages, he then handed it to my mom. They both took a while to absorb the information. Concern and fear written on their faces. When no one said anything, I decided tell them what I thought.

"They were sending me texts and stuff. At first, I thought it was Jason but as you can see I was wrong."

"Do you know who it is?" My dad asked looking up at me wile my mom went over the messages once again.

"No, and I'm scared." I confessed in a soft voice.

"Don't worry they won't hurt you. I'll make sure of that." He said as he handed me back my phone.

"Okay." I hugged both my parents and went back down stairs. I stopped at the door before I went downstairs. "Oh and just to give you a heads up Kelly's downstairs. Try to keep the yelling down please." They both nodded and I finally left the room, closing the door behind me.

When I got down stairs, I didn't see Kelly sitting on the chair. Probably looking around. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. I stood there thinking about what my parents were saying. Who were they talking about that has gotten them this upset? I was trying to figure it out when I felt arms hug my waist from behind. I almost jumped out of my skin because he scared me. I took a few seconds before I turned around and saw Kelly. God I love those eyes. "Hey where'd you go?" I asked him trying to rid the thoughts from my mind.

"I was in the bathroom." he said still holding on to my waist.

"Oh." was all I could say. I just stood there with the water bottle in my hand staring at his face. The way his eyes sparkle when he smiles. The way his barely noticeable dimples show when he smirks.

"So everything straight now?" he asked snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Just peachy." We both laughed a little, and then looked into each other's eyes as if we were trying to find each other's souls. I felt a light shiver slide down my spine, which caused him to press his body closer to mine, as my back pressed up against the counter. He then started leaning in slowly for a kiss. That is when I became venerable to the outside world. Pictures of people laughing at me flashed before my eyes, and I felt trapped. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. He was inches away from my lips. I couldn't stop the oncoming disaster waiting to happen. My heartbeat picked up and the blood rushed through my veins. Then it happened, he kissed me. His lips were soft. I couldn't resist, my body wanted to kiss back but part of me was refusing, every part of me was refusing. It didn't seem right so I pulled away. I wanted to kiss him again but I knew it was wrong somehow somewhere.

"What's wrong?" He asked a look of confusion and hurt clear in his now deep brown eyes. Weren't they just light brown earlier?

"I can't do this." I finally spoke, shaking my head back and forth and looked down at the ground. I couldn't dare to look into those enticing eyes much longer. I was subjected to kiss him once more. I noticed how his pants fell slightly below his waist. It's like he's trying to sag but yet keep the school policy together.

"And why is that?" he asked lifting my head up with his index finger, forcing me to look into those brown, almond shaped eyes of his. This was weird because now they were back to his normal color. Maybe I had imagined it earlier.

"I believe we're rushing into this a little too fast. I mean I haven't really known you for 24 hours and you're trying to doing this." I stated.

"I thought you liked me." he said sounding a little hurt.

"As a friend nothing more." I said more to myself than to him. I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince at the moment; me or him? I can't fall into another relationship when my heart is still against the concept of love. I've given my heart to too many people and all they did was tear it apart and threw it back in my face. "I am sorry but I am still sensitive to relationships. My last one wasn't a good one. As a result, I have built this wall to block out the world so I won't get hurt, but when I am with you, I feel my wall falling and it scares me. I don't know why but it does." I confessed. I looked away because I couldn't bear to see the hurt yet desire that burned his eyes every time he looked at me. It was chipping away at the hardness of my heart I worked hard on making.

"Maybe it's time for it to come down so you can explore the world better." He said in a soft soothing voice. There goes another piece chipped away, evaporating in the air.

"But I don't want to. The world is dangerous and I don't want to get hurt again." I felt the tears burn the back of my eyes as the thoughts of my last relationship resurfaced in my mind. It was a rough and hurtful relationship but I was determined to make something work, until it was too late. I closed my eyes and looked away trying to get rid of the memories.

"Blocking yourself out is only going to make you weak. Let your guard down and live a little. That is probably why, people treat you the way they do now, because they see you as a coward and they can manipulate you. However, I see different. I see a beautiful strong young lady fighting the world alone because she's scared." He had a point. I had my walls up because I was scared of the world, but I've always fought for freedom. I guess it didn't work out too well. It all makes sense now, as to why people treat me the way they do. They push me around because I allow it, although I fight back, I don't fight hard enough, and I give up too easily. Hearing those words from his mouth helps me to understand my life a bit better. We released each other and I stood there for a little while figuring out everything he just said, until it became very clear to me.

"Yeah I guess you're right." I finally said. I opened my eyes, looked at him, and saw what seemed to be hope and desire in his eyes.

"So are you going to stop hiding behind that mask of yours and show your true colors?" He asked as his lips curved into a smile.

"I can try." I said with a slight smile and a soft giggle.

I offered him a snack but he refused so we went up to my room. When we pasted my parents' room they were not arguing. Good. We entered into my room, and I turned the radio on, I couldn't go too long without it. "I have a question." I said as I sat down by my desk.

"What is this a day of 21 questions or something?" he joked.

"No seriously though."

"Go ahead."

"Why do you like me so much?" I just had to know. That one question has been burning a hole in me ever since we were at the park and when he kissed me. Damn that kiss was good. Now I was regretting not kissing him back.

"Because you're beautiful, smart, and you have a lot going for yourself." I could feel the heat rushing to my face causing me to blush a soft pink. He is smooth.

"Okay and thank you very much." I said with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now it's my turn. If you had known me since the beginning of the school year, and actually talked to me, would you have given me a chance?" Straight to the point.

"That depends." I answered smoothly. I was really thinking on his question. I tried picturing myself sitting and talking to him about class work and other things, and us growing a friendship. The possibility was pretty big.

"On what?" He asked.

"If I felt a little different than I do now."

"So you're saying that if you did like me more than a friend, there would've been a possibility." He asked trying to make sure he was getting everything right.

"Yes."

"So what's wrong with you now?" he pushed for answers.

"I have trust issues right now, and plus I just met you a couple of hours ago, and beside I already told you I like you as a friend." I stated.

"Tell you what, leave your guard down for this weekend and let your mind roam free, explore different things and don't be so close minded about certain things. So it will find what it wants and things will be okay." He suggested with that signature smirk of his. I couldn't help but agree.

"I'll try." Then my phone beeped saying I had a text:

Hey is this Khalia?

I looked at my phone with a frown. I really hope it wasn't that creep from earlier.

Who is this?

"Everything okay?" Kelly asked breaking my wondering mind. I looked up at him and smiled nodding my head.

Jason.

I stared at the phone as if it just grew three legs and wings. How can his text me when he is in jail? "What's wrong?" Kelly asked. By this point, my mind is everywhere but on earth.

"It's my ex he just text me." I said with confusion plastered all over my face.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked sounding a bit confused as well.

"He supposes to be in jail." I stated matter-of-factly.

"What happened?"

"You're one nosy person." I laughed out of nervousness.

He simply shrugged his shoulders not finding the situation funny at all. "Just want to know so I can help if I can."

"Well right now, there's nothing to help with." I explained looking down at my phone, deciding not to respond.

"Okay." We talked more about school, life, our family, and just anything we can talk about at the time. It felt good to be able to talk to someone for hours on end just about nothing. He stayed until about ten and decided to leave. He called Lenox to come pick him up, and while we waited, we just got to know each other a little more. When Lenox showed up, I walked him to the door and he kissed my cheek and left. I went up to my room, took another shower, and lay down. That whole time I could not shake the feeling of someone watching me. This has been one crazy day.

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How do you like it so far?? What are your thoughts on what's going on between Khalia & Kelly?