Complicated Love Read online

  Complicated Love

  by

  Lilah K.London

  Copyright © 2014 Lilah K. London

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  This book is a work of fiction. References may be made to locations and historical events; however, names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author’s imaginations and/or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), businesses, events or locals is either used fictitiously or coincidental. All trademarks and registered service marks are the property or their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only.

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  Part I

  Keira

  “Hi. I'm Keira Kelly,” I introduce myself to the attendance secretary that has a way too severe bun in the back of her head. Her brown eyes examine me critically. I chose my most sophisticated look to start school today. But as I look at the other kids in their way too expensive clothes, I can see I am way out of my league. I mean my clothes are nice but theirs are just nicer? Or may just more expensive. I can’t really tell. But I can see money oozing and dripping off of the other students and the few parents in the building. Even the staff looks rich.

  I came to Brenton Academy with no expectations. Or so I promised my Aunt Debbie. Now that I live with her things will be different. My mom, God love her, she just is not parent material. She is a great person. She has spunk and is as beautiful as the Queen of Sheeba. All those make great attributes as a wife or even a girlfriend but a mother? No.

  It's my senior year, and I have worked hard. My hard work is what helped me get a scholarship into this place. My Aunt Debbie or Deborah Cantis as she is known to her coworkers found out that they had an open lottery scholarship opportunity for minority students. Aunt Deb has always been the "stuck up" sister. She has been called an Oreo, wanna be, and anything else you want to classify her. But she went to school on a scholarship and got an undergraduate and graduate degree. She used to be married. But my uncle Brodie said she was too driven. So she said adios to him.

  I came here from Washington High School across town in a different school district. My mom and I lived in that district for about a year and before that I was in Danburry High School for about nine months. If you haven’t noticed, my mom moves a lot. Okay, she follows her newest boyfriend to wherever he is and I get dragged along. My Aunt Deb became concerned after her friend called. Her friend was my high school counselor at Washington. My mom, Janie Kelley, was gonna move me again. I went in to request my records and Ms.Smiley called my aunt. No doubt she was breaking the rules, but she said I have too much potential for my mom to mess me up.

  I can’t really blame my mom. She had me when she was fifteen so she's more like my older sister and less like a mother. She doesn't really work. Well she does work. It’s never steady work. So Aunt Deb called and offered to "take Keira off her hands" while she moved in with her new boyfriend, Sam.

  Aunt Deb found out from one of her corporate investor friends that Brenton has an open lottery scholarship. We met the deadline and prayed I'd get in. I did and I am ready to succeed. Aunt Deb doesn't have to worry about me. I’ve always taken care of myself. At fourteen, I got a work permit, and I have been working ever since. I pay for my school clothes, supplies, and my lunch. I always have and I always will. I will not depend on a man. Not like my mother. Ever.

  No expectations. I know this will be a better opportunity than the school I just came from. I have no doubt Miss Severe Bun is looking over the school records as I wait for my schedule. “Uh hum,” she clears her throat. “You realize school started over a week ago? I have to make sure that I have enough room for you in all the classes you requested.” I wait as she looks over my grades and test scores. Her eyebrows raise up. She's impressed. She should be. I know my GPA and standardized scores are competitive. But I wait patiently. “Okay,” she sighs after a few minutes. “Follow me.” She stands and I follow her to a class room down the hall.

  My schedule is sweet. I got all the advanced classes I requested. I know I can stay on track and graduate with honors. Brenton academy graduates tend to get great scholarship offers. So that’s my hope. Looking at my classmates, I know that I am different. Aside from the overwhelming wealth, I am also the only black girl in my class. Where are the black people?

  The teacher sits in the seat next to the window. I am seated at my desk next to some man child look alike. He is such a cutie with his close cut almost black hair and steel grey eyes. He nods and sends me a slight smile. Wow! Look at that dimple. His face is chiseled. He must have been held back. He has on a pair of cargo shorts and a Polo shirt with a pair of flip flops. Even his feet look masculine. He clears his throat. I refocus on the teacher. He caught me staring. So embarrassed. Mr. Beautiful flashes me a wide toothed grin. His chest rumbles in low chuckle. His teeth are even perfect. The dimple flash in his chin is awesome.

  I look around the class. Nope. No black people. I know Aunt Deb's apartment complex has a few black people. It's in a much better neighborhood than I am used too. But I’ll get used to it. Maybe there will other black students in the school but not one in this class. Oh well. Time to focus.

  Lane

  “I hate this class!” I mumble as I sit in my advanced statistics class. Only a fool would take this class. If my parents weren't such control freaks then I wouldn't be here. My mind is so not on school. I have football practice this afternoon. My mind is on the game against Camden Prep on Friday. Here at Brenton, we eat, sleep, and breathe the pigskin. The pressure is unreal. I am the quarterback, student body president, and homecoming king two times running.

  I am so ready to escape this microscope I live under. I need to clear my head and focus. My phone buzzes. I can’t deal with Rachel's obsessiveness. Not now. She has been my girlfriend on and off for the last three years. She thinks we are practically married. I need to get rid of her. But her parents and my parents have been pairing us together for as long as I can remember. We have a nice arrangement. She doesn't crowd me and I don't ask her about all the partying.

  I don’t party. I don’t drink. I don’t drug. I am an athlete. I keep my head down, work hard and do what is expected of me. My grandfather has a church here in city. I work hard to make him proud. I don’t care if my dad is proud or not. He's so busy sleeping with all the secretaries in his office, he couldn’t care less. He might encourage me to sleep around but I don’t want to be that guy. But my gramps is a great man. Honor, character integrity, the whole bit. He and I are extremely close so I spend most of my down time with him. Since my grandma died he seems sad. I can't focus on that now. I don’t want to cry. Because the truth is I miss her too.

  Looking around, I see all the flirting and texting going on. No one is paying attention to the teacher. There's a knock on the door. New girl. I watched her walk in. Her skin is like milk chocolate. She has heavy dark black hair that hangs down past her shoulders. Her eyes of bright and observant. Wait....It's senior year! Who freaking starts school late in their senior year! But she must be crazy smart if they put her in advanced statistics. She looks smart- confident. I watch her scan the class while the paperwork exchanges hands between adults. What is she looking for? We all go back to our book work. This class is crazy hard. I
hope she is prepared to do the work.

  There is a quiet hush in the class. There is only one seat open in the class. Next to me. I wonder about the looks she's getting. She must be uncomfortable. I'm uncomfortable for her. Geez! These people act like we have never seen black people. I know that why they are staring. We live in a little bubble. Most of us only hang out with each other. Our families are all connected to one another through business and social obligations

  She walks quietly but confidently to her seat. First she looks out the window. Then she looks at me. No, she stares at me. I clear my throat. I feel like she is staring through me. I smile and nod. She looks back up at me so I smile my best smile. She smiles back. Oh.My.God. Look at those dimples. Sweetest thing on earth. I am mesmerized.

  "Mr. Callahan," I hear the teacher call my name. So I look up at her. " Can you share with Miss-" She looks at her paper "Miss Kelly?"

  I nod and scoot my desk closer to her. I open my book. This teacher sucks. She doesn't introduce her the class. She doesn’t even tell her what we are working on. “Hi. I'm Lane Callahan." I introduce myself.

  She smiles brightly. She seems so young. Especially with those dimples. "I'm Kiera. Kiera Kelly. Is this the assignment?" Kiera points at the page.

  "Yup. Dr.Lorn doesn't really teach. She just gives the assignments. We can work in groups, " I explain. "You’re more than welcome to go back and look at the packet we've been working on. I have it already finished."

  “I got it. But thanks. She's gonna have a copy of everything for me tomorrow and a book. But I can sit here and help if you want," she shrugs. Yep. Crazy smart. I can tell. I had to actually study online to finish the packet. She seems to know the material. I would be crazy overwhelmed. But I have so many other obligations. Football has become a life of its own. She watches me and tells me the answers as I write them down. She is calculating before I can even finish getting it all on paper. Before the bell rings, Kiera asks me if I know where her next class is located.

  Her class schedule is almost identical to mine. She doesn't have athletics or engineering lab though. "I can walk you. I am going to the same class. "

  In the hallways I walk a little slower. Normally, I keep a clipped pace so I don't have to socialize as much. Honestly, I don’t like to socialize. I enjoy my quiet thoughts and time to myself. People always want to stop and talk. We only have five minutes. I learned the hard way about being late for my classes.

  I look back for Kiera. She is tiny. At six foot three and a half, I can see over the heads of most of the people in the hallway. She has to be barley five feet, maybe five foot one. She can't see anything. Sloan, my best friend and offensive lineman, bumps me in the hallway . You know, more like playfully tackling. I almost knock poor Keira over. To keep her on her feet, I grab her waist and stand her upright. She feels all soft and girly. "Sorry," I apologize to her. Then I give Sloan a hefty shove. "Dude! Watch it."

  "Oops! Sorry man," he apologizes. Sloan is always apologizing. I swear he is such a klutz off the field. On the field, he is a beast. He looks to Kiera who is a little shaken by almost falling. “I am so sorry. I didn't see you there." Then he looks back at me. "Lunch?" I nod. We always leave campus for lunch.

  Here's the deal. Sloan is my best friend. Has been since we were five. We played in pee wee league together. His dad was the coach. Sloan has always struggled in math and reading. So I have always been there to help him. I can agree he is a goof but I will beat the crap out of anyone else who talks bad about him.

  He has protected me on the field and off. He knows all my secrets. He is the brother I never had. His parents are so awesome. They love and support that big lug in every way.

  Finally, after a few fist bumps and head nods, Kiera and I make it to class. I pull a desk near me so she can sit. Maybe we can share again.

  Keira

  Okay, so I like this Lane guy. So far, after three days of school, he has shared all his notes with me and sat next to me every day. He seems to be some kind of god to the other students. I've never really had a lot of friends but he seems like a friend. We share notes, work as lab partners, and even text each other for answers sometimes.

  I know that some of the kids have noticed my clothes aren't really designer. I may have even heard a few giggles. But being friends with the most beautiful athlete on campus scores me big points. I think Lane has kind of been keeping them off my back but I don't care. It’s my senior year, I just want to get into college. I have to stay focused. I can't get caught up in girl cattiness.

  I have made a few other friends. Some of the other black students have taken me into the fold. It's been nice. All the students in the school are way too wealthy. The school is pretty diverse. There are a few black student who are super rich. There’s a lot more Asian and Middle Eastern kids than my last school. I have met one other student who happens to be on scholarship. Her name is Addie. Addie rides the bus with me sometimes when her parents can’t drive her in to the school. She's cool.

  Addie, a pretty red head with tanned skin, loves boys. My dating experience pales in comparison to hers. I have never had a boyfriend-ever. And Adie has had too many to count. I think she may have a bit of a reputation but I am still her friend.

  It’s Friday and the big rivalry game against Camden Prep is tonight. I can't go. I have to work. The pep rally was fun. I met Rachel, Lane's girlfriend. She seems nice. Some of her friends seem a little bratty but if I had all that money, I would be a little bratty too. After school, before I get on the bus, Lane stops me.

  “Hey, you coming to the game tonight?” he asks. He is such a man child. Sometimes he is a complete muscle head. But he really is a decent guy. Really cool. A good friend.

  "Nope. Gotta work." I keep walking.

  He walks with me. "You're always working.”

  "Yep. We can't all be rich, O Beautiful One." I call him his new nick name.

  "Hey, stop that." he doesn't like it when I call him that. “You coming to the dance?" He stops and waits for me to walk out the door.

  "Nope. The city bus doesn't run that late. But you and Rachel have fun." I wave as I walk to the bus and meet Addie in our usual seat. He simply waves. I think I see slight hint of sadness or something in his eyes. But then it’s gone immediately. Oh well.

  Addie lives to hear about my time with Lane. "So? What was that about? He never walks you out."

  "Nothing. Lane just wanted to know if I was coming to the game or the dance. But I can’t because I hafta work.” I explained.

  “God , he is so beautiful. How can you look at him?" She squeals in delight.

  "I guess I am sort used to it. After seeing him in almost every class, plus being his lab partner, and texting over homework..." I trail shrugging my shoulders.

  “No one is that blind.”

  "I didn't say I was blind. I said I was sort of used to it." I clarify.

  "You think he has some sort of crush on you?" She asks me seriously.

  I snort. "Really Addie? Have you seen Rachel? She is all tall and sexy. I even know she is sexy." I giggle.

  "Yeah," she sighs. "I guess you’re right. I was just wandering. "

  Oh well. I think too myself.

  Lane

  The game will start soon. I take out my phone to send Kiera a text. I don't know why but I need to talk to her. She’s at work so I cant call her. But I just ...I just need her.

  Me: Whats up?

  Keira: Nothin. Shouldn’t you be getting ready to play.

  Me:Yep. Just wanted to see how work was going.

  Keira: Going good. Most of the customers are at the game. A few grannys walking the mall.

  Me: Lol. Cool.

  Keira: Are you nervous?

  Me: A little.

  Keira: Do me a favor?

  Me: k

  Keira: Be careful!

  Me: Always. Worried about me?

  Keira: I need your brain intact for our lab next wk.

  Me: Ha! Ha!

  Keira: Tell S
loan to watch out for you. Have a great game. Gotta go. ttyl.

  Me: U2- have a great work.lol.ttyl.

  I smile at the text messages and reread them like a thousand times. I feel better. Less nervous. I didn't realize I was nervous until Keira asked me. It seems strange. No one ever asks me if I am scared or nervous anymore. I look at Sloan. He may be a complete klutz off the field but right now he's getting in the zone. He has that look. I know he has my back. I listen to the music blaring in the speakers on the field. We line up in the tunnel. It's game time. I'm ready. I know there are a few scouts out in the stadium. This is the biggest game of the season outside of playoffs.

  I close my eyes to visualize. A technique I have used since I was in pee wee league. I run the plays through my mind. They call us out and we run like crazy to the field. I can feel the energy pulsing through me.

  They line up on the field. The coin toss is over. The national anthem is done. The whistle blows and kick off. Now it’s time for me to step up. I snap my chin strap and take my position.