Page 79 of Pallas & Kawehi

He knew she was in there if she wasn't in the front room of the house, but he didn't need to ask if she was okay. He knew she wasn't.

No one called back to him. He closed the wooden door and double locked the door.

His heart was aching for her.

She should be happy that Nick was served with the divorce papers. If she was upset, then something more happened.

He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew that he'd be there for her through anything.

The floor under his feet creaked a little as he moved down the hall. He wasn't about to rush in and startle her, but he was also walking softly so that he could listen for her.

The silence was stressful.

While Kawehi wasn't nearly as gregarious as her cousin, since he'd been spending time with her, he realized that she was almost always humming as she moved around the house. Since the beach day with his team he'd spent hours and hours at her home, whatever worked with their schedules.

There wasn't a note of music being played or the sound of her feet moving across the floor.

He moved into her bedroom doorway and slowly swung the door open so he could see the whole room.

Kawehi was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed, and her cell phone in her hand.

Her hair wasn't pulled away from her face, hanging down on either side, shielding her face from his view.

"Honey?"

"Please, Pallas..." Her voice was thin, shaky.

"Kawehi-"

"I don't want to talk." She kept her gaze down on her cell phone as if she was refusing to look at him.

That was just fine. He didn't need her to look at him. Not yet.

He just needed her to know that he was there.

"Can... can you go?"

He took a step into the room, and she lifted a hand, holding out her palm in his direction.

"I don't... I can't talk. 'kay?"

"You don't have to talk to me, sweetheart. You don't have to say a word. I'm just... I'm worried about you."

She shook her head. He couldn't see that movement, but the long strands of her hair moved a little. "I'm okay."

"Great. Then I can sit here with you."

"I don't want you to..." Her head shot up and he had to hold himself still. Her face was a mask of pain. The tears that streaked down her face were dry in places and wet in others. "How did you know?"

He didn't see any reason to hide the truth. "Axl called me. He said Maile was worried. She couldn't get a hold of you."

Her shoulders hunched forward even more. "I didn't take her call because there's nothing to say."

He took another step forward before she nailed him with a look. "And she's supposed to be working. I didn't want to bother her."

"I doubt she'd consider it a bother, 'Wehi. Your cousin loves you."

"She has to pay attention." She swallowed and it was an audible gesture. "She's already doing me a favor by taking my shift. I'm not going to call and cry to her on the phone."

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