Page 64 of Just Between Us

Levi’s eyes are slightly narrowed like he doesn’t believe me. “Kai, are you sure everything is okay?”

“Everything is fine, besides the splitting headache,” I add a small laugh for good measure. “I’ll see you later and thank you for tonight.”

When I settle into the car, Daniel looks at me through the rearview mirror. “Hey, Kai. You weren’t having fun?”

I shake my head. Tears I didn’t realise were welling in my eyes, spilling out, running down my cheeks until I taste the salt.I wipe one away quickly. “Ah, yeah, I just don’t feel so good tonight,” I say.

I lean back in the leather seat and close my eyes. When I wake up, this will all be a dream.

Chapter Sixteen: Kai

9 YEARS AGO

Kenny was into something dangerous.

He lingered in dark corners with men we all knew not to mess with in the neighbourhood. A few months before, he had been picked up by the police for questioning about a drug syndicate and if he was picked up again, it would mean prison.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Si asked me.

We had been best friends since pre-school, but he’d gotten swept up with the guys in the neighbourhood and had dropped out of school a while back. He wasn’t a bad person, but he did what he needed to make sure his siblings were fed every day.

I nodded, looking at the brown bag in Si’s hand. I didn’t bother to ask what was in it exactly, just that it was enough to get him arrested and put away for a while—at least until the twins were old enough to know how to protect themselves or at least speak up if something was up.

“Okay,” he said. “Izzy has a cousin who works as a sergeant. He’ll tip him off. It won’t come back to you.”

I could feel my heart in my throat. This was it. If it worked, Kenny would be gone, and I would have to move away.

“Thanks, Si,” I said quietly.

He smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.“He’s a dickhead. Don’t feel bad. Kenny deserves this for everything he’s done.”

I nodded but the knot of guilt still sat at the pit of my stomach. I reminded myself that I was doing this for my sisters and my mother. But I was also doing it for myself. I couldn’t let him take them away. I couldn’t let him continue hurting me.

“I know,” I said. “Text me when it’s done?”

“Sure,” my friend said. “And if you need anything else, let me know, okay? Anything. I mean it.”

I knew he did, but I didn’t need anything else. Once Kenny was gone, I could handle the rest.

Three nights later, a police car arrived at the door, and they took Kenny away in handcuffs. I watched them drag him down the stairs as he screamed that he hadn’t done anything. Before he was pushed into the back of the car, I looked over the balcony and met his eyes. I couldn’t help it—I smiled.

The judge gave him ten years and for those ten years I wouldn’t have to worry about him and if he ever did come looking for me—I’d kill him myself.

***

March blooms into April, the holidays passing in a strange blur. Levi and Cole go to Tuscany with Levi’s parents and that gives me time away from them. They both check in a few times to make sure I’m okay, especially after the charity gala and I tell them I’m fine—that they shouldn’t worry about me but as much as I’ve tried to ignore it, I know I’ve fallen for both of them.

I feel like an idiot.

Adam’s words have continuously played in my head over the last week. I’ve never been ashamed of where I’m from or how I grew up but the way he looked at me made that resolve falter. That world isn’t mine and as delusional as my heart wants to be about whatever is happening with Levi and Cole, I can’t be delusional about this too. I know what I have to do even if I don’t want to.

It’s six p.m. and Marie’s birthday so a few of us from the office are out at a fancy bar to celebrate. Jenna and I got her a cake written Aries Queen! because Marie insists she is the embodiment of what an Aries is and I’m such a Taurus man even though I have no idea what that means.

The days are longer and outside, the sky has turned a cotton candy pink with bursts of orange as the sun sinks into the west. Jenna holds Marie close, but I can feel her looking at me every few minutes. After the charity gala, I went into her room and just lay next to her in bed, unable to speak and I know she’s worried.

“I bumped into Levi earlier,” Connor begins at our table. Music plays from the speakers and a few people around us dance. “I did invite him, but he said he was tired.”

My heart stutters and I feel a slight twinge of disappointment and relief at the same time. Across me, Jenna meets my eyes. I smile, trying to look unaffected.

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