Page 55 of On The Edge
I’m shocked frozen for a moment, but when I return back into my body, I recognize Kai’s kissing me to show his possession, his protection, and maybe, just to piss Reis off a little more.
He pulls away, and turns his attention to Reisyn.
“You do anything to make her upset, and I’ll kill you,” Kai says as he pokes Reis' chest aggressively. “I’m not joking. I’ll be watching, so don’t think I won’t handle business right here.”
Reis scoffs, rolling his eyes, but Kai must take that as agreement because he climbs into the car.
Reis slams the door behind Kai, and grabs my elbow roughly. Dragging me towards the wall, he turns me around and pushes me against it so my back hits the warm brick.
“What do you want, Reis?”
“I don’t know what your angle is. I don’t know why you would be so cruel, and then suddenly come back into our lives, acting like you’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t know how you could break us, only to say that you didn’t,” he speaks very pointedly, not mincing his words, but I can see the confusion in his eyes. His eyebrows furrow together like he’s trying to see through the fog. “You used us, and made it clear that you didn’t care about us. As you proved by not even trying to find us after we left,” he sneers angrily. I open my mouth to tell him how fucking wrong he is, but he cages me in with his arm overhead, leaning over me, and putting his finger on my lips more gently than I thought he would’ve.
“But then you do something like that. Kai jumps over the ledge, like a lunatic, to run after you and you could’ve turned your back on him. You could’ve left, but you saw him in danger and you ran toward him. Why?”
I shake my head in disbelief. That was not what I thought he was going to say.
“What?” I scoff.
“Why didn’t you run?” Reis asks pointedly.
“Because Kai could’ve been seriously hurt.” I close my eyes tightly to push out the terror my imagination brought up of the worst-case scenario. Kai, twisted neck, staring at me with unseeing eyes. Dead on the tiled floor, all because of me.
My hands come up to the sides of my head so I can try to physically keep myself together. I can’t stop seeing it. I can’t stop.
Kai laying on the ground, his arm reaching out for me, but he doesn’t get up.
Kai laying on the ground, his neck turned unnaturally to the side, and his eyes have unshed tears in them.
Kai laying on the ground, my name on his lips with his last breath.
I can’t.
“Melody,” Reis says, but his voice sounds like it’s underwater.
I can’t unsee it. Banging the sides of my head with my hands, I whimper.
“Melody, stop,” Reis says again, stronger this time. He grabs onto my arms, trying to stop me from hitting my head. “I just wanted to know why you came back. Please, stop hitting yourself.”
“Is he okay?” I ask in a small voice.
“Kai? Yeah, Mel. He’s okay. He’s perfectly fine.”
Finally, an easy breath enters my lungs as the panic recedes while I listen to his voice.
“It’s okay, breathe.” Reis steps into my space and his voice drops, becoming melodic in my ear. “It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs softly and starts humming.
He must feel my body relax, because he leans back to look into my eyes. I finally see how close we are. We look like we’re embracing, which I suppose we are.
Reis. voluntarily holding me. Comforting me.
“Just tell me why you came back for him,” he whispers, once he’s sure I’ve come out of my panic.
“Because,” I say weakly, looking at him through my eyelashes. I could lie; say something stupid or mean and push him away. But this might be a turning point for us, and I won’t give him any ammunition to keep hating me unjustly. “Because I care about him. Like I care about all of you.”
I can’t tell what he’s thinking. His eyes are muddled as he stares at me, and his expression is tightly guarded. But his gripslowly loosens until he lets go of me. It feels like hours we’re locked in this confusing embrace, not sure what to do. If we should give in, or if we should keep arguing with each other.
“Thank you,” he says more kindly than he’s talked to me since he saved me at their concert.
