ICE (The Benders Series) Page 9

  “Kenna is from Florida,” Jon declared, still glaring at his mother. “Perhaps you could ask her about that? Instead of acting like a jerk,” Jon snarled angrily.

  “Jon,” Kenna scolded giving the boy a glare of her own. “That’s enough.”

  “No,” Mrs. Colewell interrupted as she took as long breath. “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to newcomers. Tell me about Florida.” Her face seemed to unstiffen as the woman made an attempt to become a little more at ease.

  Kenna gave her boyfriend another nasty look before turning back to the woman. “Florida is…well, it’s warm compared to Minnesota,” she began with an obligatory smile. “I lived in a bigger city so I was accustom to life going at a bit of a fast pace.”

  Yes, Kenna, good word choice. Prove to her that you are intelligent, she encouraged herself as the discussion pressed on.

  “I see, and now you are in Minnesota? Was there a reason for such a move?” she asked though the words seemed to pain her as they left her mouth.

  “I came up with my father,” Kenna explained. “My mom still lives in Florida with my stepdad and step siblings.”

  “So you come from a broken family then?” she inquired with a hostility that she had great difficulty hiding.

  “Mom,” Jon reminded his mother with a stern glance.

  “No, it’s a valid question,” Kenna stated to prevent another stare-off. “I prefer to think of it as unconventional, rather than broken,” she replied to Mrs. Colewell’s comment.

  At this, the woman gave a nod. “And how do you feel about Minnesota then? Do you like the cold?”

  Kenna sighed. “Well, it’s only cold for half the year, so that makes it bearable, I guess,” she joked. No one at the table smiled. Even Jon seemed someone upset over her answer. Kenna quickly rethought her words and added, “But I really like the snow. The winter really does look magical, especially being as I’ve never seen one like this before.”

  At this correction, everyone seemed to lighten up again. “Magical really is a good word for it,” Bryce noted though he caught a sharp glare from his mom for the statement.

  “Yes,” Kenna went on. “I’m still not very good at hockey though. Jon has tried to give me a few pointers, but I’d say I’m still only as good as Dax and Graham.”

  The two older brothers became suddenly aware of the conversation with the mention of their names.

  “Dax and I could take you and Jon with ease,” Graham boasted at her rather daring and unforeseen proclamation.

  “Pft,” Dax continued. “I don’t even know if it would feel right, beating the snot out of a girl and little Jonny like that.”

  Just as Kenna had hoped, her completely exaggerated bragging had brought the two to life. If there was one thing she knew, the Colewells loved good ole fashioned competition.

  “I’d beat you both single-handedly,” Jon laughed with his usual arrogance. “It would actually help you all if I had Kenna on my team. She’d weigh me down, just like Bryce does.”

  Kenna gave the boy a quick elbow jab in the side at the insult, though she did it with a flirtatious and infectious smile.

  “I’m not even gonna deny it,” Bryce agreed with a nod. “But hey I’ll ref for you guys if you all are serious.”

  “Tomorrow, game on,” Dax announced proudly. “And we won’t take it easy on you because you’re a girl,” he added, his warning only half-teasing.

  “And I won’t take it easy on you because you are an unskilled, egotistical boy,” Kenna smiled, her arrogance suddenly heightened to Jon’s level.

  Every one of the brothers laughed at the comment, amused by her sense of humor, humor that fit in perfectly with Jon and his family. The only person at the table who hadn’t lightened up by this point was Mrs. Colewell, who was peering at her food, eating it one small bite at a time.

  “I like your hair,” Kenna almost choked on the words as she spoke. Much like comforting people, dishing compliments had never been her thing.

  Mrs. Colewell glanced up from her stare at the plate. “Thank you,” she said. The woman then reached a hand to touch the braid that fell effortlessly down her shoulder. “I’ve done it this way since I was a kid actually.”

  “It’s really pretty,” Kenna said more confidently feeling like she’d struck some kind of soft-spot. The woman only nodded as her mind seemed to have been taken elsewhere by the praise. “So did you grow up in Minnesota then? Or how long have you lived here?”

  The woman’s stare into the distance was interrupted by a strong blink of her long-lashed eyes. “We’ve been around for a number of years. My family was originally Scandinavia. In fact, my sister still lives there,” she explained as if having a normal, happy conversation, which of course was a complete one-eighty from moments ago.

  “Oh that must be hard to have a sister so far away,” Kenna sympathized. “Do you see her often?”

  “Not in years,” Mrs. Colewell continued. “I suppose it must be difficult for you to be so far away from half of your family,” she added with matched sympathy.

  Kenna sighed. “Sometimes it is. I still call my mother on a weekly basis though. I mean, it was weird not having everyone together for Christmas. It was just me and my dad.”

  “I see. Will you go to Florida to visit?” the once-hostile mother asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Kenna admitted with a shrug. “I’m happy here for now. But I suppose I might visit in the fall maybe.”

  Mrs. Colewell nodded. Though her glower remained as fierce as ever, she seemed much more open and talkative. “Well, I doubt Jon has anything to do with that. He’s not exactly a charmer,” she went on to say, poking fun at her third son.

  “I get it from you, Mom,” he shot back without a moment’s hesitation.

  And so, for the rest of the dinner, the group chatted and joked, gossiped and jested. Though things started off quite a mess, they were ending quite seamlessly. Mrs. Colewell even walked Jon and Kenna out as the evening ended and Jon announced that he would be taking Kenna home.

  As Jon held the door, Kenna turned to shake Mrs. Colewell’s hand. “Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Colewell,” she said kindly.

  “Elisa,” the woman stated. “My name is Elisa. That’s what you should call me.”

  Her lips couldn’t help but curl. Even her eyes began to glitter with joy at what the woman said.

  “Perfect,” Kenna replied, doing a horrible job at maintaining her composure. “I can’t wait to come over again soon,” she added enthusiastically.

  The woman nodded, the scowl on her face softening almost to a smile.

  Kenna took the nod as a farewell and spun around to join Jon for the journey home. Once they got into the privacy of the rusted truck, Kenna couldn’t help but beam.

  “That went well!” she boasted, her white and flawless smile prouder than an albino peacock.

  Jon raised his eyebrows as he pulled out of the driveway. “It did,” he agreed with a rather surprised expression.

  “What? You didn’t think I had any charisma?” Kenna laughed as she leaned closer to her rather happy boyfriend.

  “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you stood a chance,” he admitted.

  “I guess the hair comment sealed the deal,” she noted as they pulled onto the main drag.

  “Yeah, my dad, well my brothers’ dad, used to always tell her how much he loved her hair,” Jon said, pointing out why the compliment had struck such a blow. “It probably meant a lot to her to hear that again.”

  The girl swallowed hard at the insight, suddenly feeling more sympathy toward the harsh woman. But she wasn’t going to let such feeling ruin the absolute delight she felt in making a decent impression on the family.

  Kenna smiled at Jon as she examined his concentration on the road. He was so perfect, and the honeymoon phase was drifting into a phase of very real emotional and intellectual passion. Somehow, she much preferred it to the awkward phases when one only really wanted to impress the other. Things were so natural n
ow, so real, and so effortless.

  She couldn’t stop smiling as she continued to stare. His eyes were so focused, so handsome and alluring. His muscles were rigid and toned, and every bit of him appeared manly and strong. From his chiseled cheek bones to his disheveled brown hair, from his solid arms to his quick legs, Jon was so much better than a ten, and easily the best-looking guy she’d ever dream of dating.

  And it was a dream, better than a dream because it was real.

  In a matter of a few short months, Kenna found herself falling for the Colewell…maybe even falling in love with him.

  But the thought of love scared the girl. In the past, love appeared so weak and fragile and disappointing. She had a difficult time getting her hopes up about love…or at least she had until recently.

  “Well, here we are,” Jon announced as he parked across the street from her house. She wished that the drive had been longer than five minutes and that she could have stared at him longer.

  He turned to her as she leaned over towards him. Without a thought, he leaned toward her and kissed her quickly and happily on her smiling mouth.

  “I hate that this day is ending,” Kenna sighed, putting on a pouty face. Jon couldn’t help but kiss her frowning face as well.

  She smiled again at the gesture and was quickly reminded of how natural things had been. She was tempted to even tell him how she truly felt, that she might indeed love him.

  No, too soon. You aren’t ready, she reminded herself.

  She shook her head as Jon reached for the ice water that he kept handy in his truck. She wanted to tell him and to give in to her feelings. She wanted to be vulnerable and to be in one hundred percent. But she wasn’t ready. Honestly, a small part of her still hung on the idea of him having super vampire power or something of the sort.

  She took a slow exhale. And just as she was about to say her farewell, an idea popped into her head. “Hey, would you want to meet my dad?” she asked eagerly. Jon gulped down more water and set down the cut as he seemed to ponder the question. “It would mean a lot to me. He’s been asking about meeting you a lot lately.”

  Jon nodded. “Sure,” he said to her surprise. She didn’t know if she expected him to be confident or scared. She imagined he was sort of a mixture.

  “Really?” she asked to double check.

  “Yea, I mean, I can’t go be formal obviously, but I can say hello quickly,” he said as he opened the door and let himself out of the vehicle. He then went around and helped Kenna out of her side as well.

  Kenna couldn’t remember ever smiling so hard in her life. “Awesome. I’ve never introduced anyone to him before so I’m not sure what he’ll say, just a warning,” she said though words were beginning to become difficult to form through the smile.

  Jon laughed, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  But at the end of the sentence, he stopped walking. Kenna stopped too as soon as she noticed his hesitation.

  Jon was staring at the front door of her house.

  Staring.

  Examining.

  Studying.

  She wasn’t sure what he was doing but saw that he face was forming a sudden and very severe glare.

  “If another time would be better that’s fine too,” Kenna assured, a sudden fear coming upon her as she watched Jon’s face continue to morph.

  “I can’t,” he stated shortly and angrily.

  “Well another time then,” Kenna assured again as she reached for a good-bye hug.

  “Not ever,” Jon corrected. “I have to leave,” he announced as he threw her open arms away from him and began a raging march back to his truck.

  “Jon? What is it?” Kenna questioned as she followed behind the Colewell.

  “I think I need space,” he called over his shoulder, his fury growing as he spoke. “I don’t think I can see you again.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kenna interrogated as Jon scrambled into his truck and slammed the door behind him.

  “I mean don’t call me or come over or talk to me or anything!” he snapped at her as he started the engine. “I need space. We are done! Got it?!” he elucidated as he shouted at the girl below him.

  “I don’t understand,” Kenna refuted, a lump beginning to swell in her throat. “Didn’t we just have an awesome day? Jon? Please?” she begged as she stepped toward the open truck window. Kenna almost couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The day had been so perfect and so magical. He had just kissed her. Twice. He couldn’t really be breaking things off? Could he?

  Judging by the look in his eyes, Kenna knew he was completely serious.

  She could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes that were just moments ago glistening with happiness. Her muscles began to tighten, and she became suddenly frozen.

  “I need space,” he said again with the same hostility as before. “Take your lying little self home to daddy. I don’t want to see you again.”

  And with a final glare, he sped forward, leaving Kenna heartbroken and confused.

  Lying?

  He was the one with obvious secrets, wasn’t he?

  Kenna couldn’t wrap her head around what had just happened as she stood there on the street.

  In sixty seconds, she’d gone from filled with love and adoration to very empty and startlingly alone.

  And she had no idea why.

  INTERLUDE ONE

  The door slammed so hard that it shook the house.

  I didn’t need to see or hear him to know who he was or what was going on. Nevertheless, I briskly sat up from my lounging couch position to ready myself for what was to come.

  He let out a blood-curdling yell before he found words to explain his uncontrollable wrath.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?!” he hollered as he stormed to where my mother was cleaning in the kitchen.

  I couldn’t see them from where I was at. A large white wall blocked my view from the fiery scene. As a result, I scooted myself so that I sat on the edge of my seat, ready to pounce into action at the first sign that it was necessary.

  “Jon,” she replied softly. In my mind, I could see her studying his face to determine what was meant by his question. She must have understood. “I thought you knew.”

  “Bull shit!” he screamed back at her. “Do you really think I would have let myself get near her if I had known?!”

  My other brothers had come into the living room as well. All three of us were waiting to step in, in case things got out of control.

  “Well how’d you find out then?” she asked back, her voice still calm. It wasn’t like this was new to her, though this was the worst I’d heard him sound in almost a year.

  He didn’t answer with words but let out another angry yell. This time, the yell was accompanied by the throwing of several pots and pans- and probably food- that lay about the countertops. Still, it wasn’t enough for any of us to flinch.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?!” he shouted again.

  I could imagine what he looked like. He’d probably gone white. Whenever this happened, he took on a ghostly appearance, one that would surely frighten anyone who didn’t understand his condition. I’m sure that even his eyes were white with rage by now. I’d seen it before. I’d seen his pupils fade into icy madness as he lost control of his fury.

  I felt bad for him.

  He wanted control. He just didn’t have it.

  Just like his father I imagine.

  “Now you know. It wasn’t up to me to tell you. You had a right to explore the girl yourself,” my mother defended, again composed.

  He yelled again. Each yell was growing in intensity, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he lost it.

  “Do you know what you’ve done?!” Jon fired back.

  I could see icicles beginning to form upon the ceiling where a small portion of the kitchen was exposed to my view. By this time, I’m sure the kitchen had become a very frost ridden place.

  “Jon, you need to cool down,” my mom ordered.


  Up to this point, I hadn’t pondered the discussion that was taking place between the pair. I couldn’t fathom that my mother would intentionally keep a secret from my brother given his very temperamental personality. But, it wouldn’t have been the first secret that she’d kept from him either.

  “I will not calm down until you give me a reason!” Jon shot back. We heard the breaking of ice now as it shattered upon the floor.

  I stood up. The time to act was nearing.

  “I didn’t think it would go this far,” she answered, her voice becoming stern and severe. “I thought you would figure it out before anything happened.”

  At this, we felt the room begin to shake again. The three of us sprinted quickly into the kitchen where my mother and Jon were now facing each other. They were positioned several yards away from each other, each on one end of the room.

  “Get out!” Jon snarled as he shot out his arm at us. With the movement of his arm, a large blade of ice came propelling at us through the air.

  I immediately shot up an ice shield as we stepped back towards our mother.

  “He’s right,” she agreed with her fuming third son. “This doesn’t concern the three of you.”

  None of us were swayed by her words as we took our stances behind her.

  Jon looked worse than I had ever seen him before. His demeanor was that of a large, muscular beast. His muscles were tight, and his jaw was clenched. Every trace of color in his eyes had fleeted, and there sat two threatening and hostile white spheres. His pale skin had become unrecognizably white, whiter than a perfectly designed snowflake.

  He stood there ready. Ready to attack.

  “Do you have any idea how far it’s gone?! Do you have any idea how I feel about her?!” he screamed as his arms shot in and out of intricate and powerful motions, producing more blades of ice and daggers of frozen water that came at us with unrelenting speed.

  My mother was able to dodge most of them with ease but had to create momentary shields of her own to prevent the knives from making their blows. The three of us could only hide behind the woman in fear, only able to produce small shields and dodge the slowest of his bullets.

  “You have a choice, Jon,” she reminded him as she began to shout as well. “You don’t need her.”