Page 62 of Catch Me
“It’s . . . Just look.”
I texted it to him, and he sucked in a breath. “What the fuck? This isn’t...This isn’t real. Who did this?”
“I don’t know, but they just started one for Sen. They must have a following, because it’s already getting attention.”
He came into view of the camera again. The expression on his face was completely new to me. Kai was always composed and spirited, but he looked broken.
“Sen,” he said softly.
Sen looked up at him, obviously worried. Kai passed him the phone, and Sen’s mouth fell open. His hand came up to cover it, and I saw tears form in his eyes.
“Tell them,” I urged.
Kai just shook his head. He was crying, and this time, Sen was the one who pulled him against his chest to comfort him. People in the chat were demanding information, but both of them were obviously unable to say anything.
“Add me,” I told him.
He quickly did it, then a sob tore from his chest. Watching Kai fall apart was almost unreal. I understood it, though, and it would just make this become even bigger.
My face showed up on the video, and I was surprised that I looked a little shaken too. After clearing my throat, I leaned forward.
“Last time we were on a LIVE together, I brought up Kai’s family business. Someone followed him and saw a post about his dad. For everyone who doesn’t know, they found out he has early onset Alzheimer’s when Kai was two years old. Everyone says he’s the best person to ever grace this world.
“This person started a fundraising campaign for Kai’s family—for the business, for medical bills, and whatever they need. Uh...” I sniffed, trying to avoid falling apart. “Over a hundred thousand dollars have been donated so far, so you can understand Kai’s reaction just now. His dad is everything to him, and I’ll be the first to tell you that he’s going to be just like him. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting his dad, so I’ll say that Kai is the most incredible person I know.
“Another campaign was just started for Sen. They think that he deserves it after everything he went through and for being brave enough to come on here and tell you his story, to try making a difference. I’m going to post the links for both of these fundraisers so that you can check them out and donate if you’re able to.”
I took a few deep breaths as something settled into my bones. It was the thing I’d been unable to say to him this whole time, and even though I knew he’d refute the way I felt, I needed to say it.
“Sen.” He looked up at me and nodded. “Ever since that day at Camp Dumont, I’ve felt guilty for leaving you there.”
“Travis—”
“Let me finish, please. I told my dad we couldn’t leave you, but obviously, we weren’t able to do anything. If I could’ve kidnapped you and hid you from your family, I would have. I feel guilty because I didn’t try to find you, and after a few years, it faded from my mind—the boy I kissed at camp, the one who gave me hope just through his smile. And it’s fucked up because it was that kiss and my admission to the counselor that got me out of that place, but it was what condemned you to more pain. At night, that memory from camp haunted me. The sound of your dad hitting you... Anyway, I know that it’s not my fault, really, but it eats at me. You never would have accepted anything from me, but now there’s a fundraiser and you don’t have a choice.”
He shook his head. “Don’t.”
“I’m going to add one hundred and fifty thousand to your campaign.”
The chat exploded, and it was moving too fast for me to read anything, but there were a lot of capital letters and exclamation points. He dropped his face into his hands, and his shoulders shook. Kai looked up, and when he saw me smile, he shook his head.
“And I’m going to do the same for your family’s campaign, Kai.”
“Fuck,” he cried. “We didn’t...We didn’t ask for anything from all of you. We don’t deserve this. There are so many other people.”
“You do deserve it. So do those other people, but that doesn’t change it. Are you home now?”
“Yeah, I need to talk to my mom. I don’t think we can stay on here. God, thank you. Everyone. I can’t even...Thank you.”
Sen wasn’t able to pull himself together, and none of us were upset about it. Kai said another brief thank you before their camera shut off. I didn’t want to add anything, so I ended my feed as well.
This had never been about them gaining something like this, and I hadn’t even thought to do it. I was overwhelmed and relieved in so many ways.
When my phone rang, I immediately answered it. “Hi, Seneca.”
“You’re an asshole,” he said through his tears.
“Like I said, you guys deserve it.”
