Page 158 of Until We Burn
Rowan Kaneshiro flashes on the screen, making my brows furrow
Why would Rowan be calling me?
I warily pick up the phone and answer the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Diana. Is this a good time?” His voice is too calm and steady that my suspicions heighten.
I fidget, my hand rubbing at my throat. “Is everything alright?”
“I’m just calling for Kai’s sake. He’s too nice to do it himself, so I decided to do it for him and tell you that you might not be able to hang out as much in December. He has to prep for an all-star game, and I need him to stay focused.”
I pause. “The all-star game?”
“Yeah, we’re flying to Toronto for it.”
Why is Rowan talking to me as if everything is fine?—
Kai didn’t tell them about what happened.
I drop my head into my hand. Of course he wouldn’t. After everything the team has endured, Kai wouldn’t want to stress them out with his own personal problems.
I gasp in fake realization.
“Oh, right!” I chuckle. “The all-star game! I’m sorry. I have a lot on my plate, and it completely slipped my mind.”
A beat of silence passes before Rowan scoffs. “You two are the worst fucking liars I know.”
“What do you me?—”
“There’s no all-star game,” Rowan snaps. “You would know that if you and Kai were still talking.”
My eyes shut in defeat.
“I’m tired of being lied to, Diana. Tell me what the hell is going on,” Rowan demands. “Kai has been bullshitting me with how he’s feeling, and I can’t get through to him.”
I sink onto my bed and force the words out. “I broke it off.”
The line goes quiet. From the brief time I’ve known Rowan, he’s probably pinching the bridge of his nose and analyzing the thirty million ways he could’ve protected Kai from getting his heart broken.
“Let me guess: you didn’t feel the same way about him?”
“No,”I insist. “I broke it off because of what I feel for him.”
I tell Rowan everything that happened that night. He listens patiently without interrupting. When I’m done, he simply sighs.
“Well, first of all, great timing.”
“Rowan—”
“But I understand and respect why you had to do it.” His steely voice softens ever so slightly, and I can sense the frown on his face. “I’m sorry this is happening to the both of you.”
“I didn’t want to break his heart.I swear.”My fingers tremble as they press the phone up to my ear. “I really tried to protect him the best I could.”
“I know you did.”
The sound of footfalls pads behind him. I push the speaker closer to my ear, desperate to hear any morsel of Kai in the background.
Rowan speaks again, “Look, I know you and Kai were friends with benefits for stress relief. I still think it was good for him to have someone to relate to about rumors and dealing with the pressure of proving yourself to people all the time. You gave him comfort that Luke and I couldn’t really provide. Regardless of how it ended, I wanted to thank you. I never really got a chance to.”
