Page 77 of Follow My Voice
I can’t help but chuckle nervously. “A guy named Kang.”
33Defend Me
I DON’T WANTto open my eyes.
Kang’s lips find mine again, from first kiss to second, so soft and gentle. My heart’s on the verge of collapse. I want this magical moment to last forever. Everyone talks about how special a person’s first kiss is, but no one discusses what to do when it’s over.Do I smile? Do I thank him? No, of course not.
When the kiss ends, I pause for a second to open my eyes and look at the guy whose voice has guided my way for so long, whose show was my window to the world when I lived locked inside my room. My first crush, my first friend after everything I went through, and now my first kiss.
My eyes meet his, and my nervousness and fear fade as I lose myself in his hungry gaze. His lips are red and chapped from the kiss.
And then I understand why nobody talks about what happens after a kiss. It’s a moment of deep intimacy, of shared complicity. It’s a moment in which you see the other person’s expression soften, their eyes sparkle with emotion.
Kang gently cradles my cheek. “What have you done to me, Klara?” he asks, grinning. “My heart is about to burst.”
Mine too.
I open my mouth to say this when the balcony doors swing open and Kang and I pull apart. From the look on Diego’s face, I can tell we weren’t quick enough. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to”—my redheaded friend tries to hide a smile—“interrupt, but we have a situation.”
“What happened?”
“Perla got into it with Yana.”
I tense up when I hear that name and they both notice. “Where is she?” I ask, following Diego back inside, Kang silently trailing us.
“She’s in one of the bedrooms. Ellie is with her, but they wouldn’t let me in. I think we should take her home.”
I try to remember who Ellie is before realizing she’s the quiet girl in class who never takes her eyes off Diego. I think I’ve seen a certain sadness in her face when she looks at me, as if she imagines I’m interested in him. If she only knew the reality…
We enter the house and immediately feel the booming music coming from downstairs. I’d almost completely forgotten about the party.
“Why did she get into a fight with Yana?” I ask, concerned.
Diego shrugs. “She wouldn’t tell me.”
I don’t like the sound of this at all. And it doesn’t help that something is up with Diego, who’s tense and serious as soon as I mention Yana. I hope he doesn’t still have feelings for her. I know Yana is his ex, and while he hasn’t shared the story, I have a hunch that she broke his heart.
When I get to the room, Ellie opens the door a crack so that all I can see is the brown scarf she’s wearing. She looks at Kang and then Diego. “Perla wants the guys to stay outside.”
I glance over my shoulder and smile at them.
“We’ll wait here,” Kang says, gesturing for me to go in.
Diego nods.
I enter the room to find Perla sitting on the side of a bed, gripping the edge of the mattress. “Perla?”
She looks up and gives me a tense smile. And then I see that her neck is covered in scratches.
“What happened?”
I walk over to get a better look at her neck. The scratches aren’t deep, but many of them are swollen and there are a couple faint trails of blood.
“For God’s sake, are you all right?”
Perla maintains her calm, trying to convince me that everything’s fine. “It’s just a few scratches—she got it worse, believe me.”
“What happened?” I sit next to her on the bed.
