Page 147 of Until We Burn
The dim lights melt down on him like honey; it spills through his black curls, his dark lashes, and unsheathes across the strong ridge of his nose, and his soft, full lips. He stares down at me with so much relief and wonder I feel like I’m made of more than flesh and bone.
Kai brushes my lip with his thumb, coaxing a slow smile from me. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Kai murmurs, “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”A soft breath escapes me as I smile, and run my fingers through his hair. “Where are the boys?”
This time, Kai avoids eye contact with me.
“Kai?” My worry stirs before I cup his jaw, willing him to look at me. “What’s the matter? What happened?”
Has bàba done something? What if Gregory and Jonathan have already gotten their revenge?
“The Vipers.” Kai forces himself to look back at me. That’s when I see the tears in his eyes. “They broke into the arena and, um…” His brows furrow as he struggles to churn the words out. “T-They wrecked the zambonis and trashed our locker room.”
“No,”I gasp.
“All of our jerseys…they’re slashed to pieces, Di. Every one of them.”
“Oh my god.”
A choked sound breaks from his throat. Kai shuts his eyes, and he starts to cry.
“Wallace got beat up because of us.”
My heart sinks. I wipe away the tears streaming down Kai’s face with rage and regret shaking through my fingers. He doesn’t deserve all of this pain. Not after everything he’s endured the last several years for simply doing what he loved.
The tears I’ve been holding back come undone, too.
“I’m sorry, Kai.” I kiss his cheek and his forehead, until his tears mesh with mine.“I’m so sorry.”
“He only has a few broken ribs,” Kai whispers. “The doctor said he’ll be fine, though. Rowan and Luke are still at the hospital with him. I wanted to stay, but Rowan wanted me to get some rest.Captain’s orders.”
He scowls and heads towards the couch. I follow him, my hand still wrapped in his. Kai tears out a tissue from the box, and his arm twines around my waist before he draws me onto his lap. He lifts my chin up and dabs the tissue over my tears, his touch delicate and careful as it always is. I fight back the sob in my throat.
You beautiful, loving boy.Out of every heart I have to break, why does it have to be yours?
I struggle to breathe through the ache splintering me in two. I simply close my eyes and lean my forehead against Kai’s, sinking into the arms that wrap around me, so strong and so steadily.
I won’t break the news to him today. I can’t. Not when he’s so beaten down like this.
“Wait…” Kai blinks up at me in confusion. “Why did you want to come over?”
I go still. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t know the Vipers hurt Wallace and trashed our locker room. You came here for a reason, though.” An ember of hope flickers on his face. “Did you want to talk about us?”
I shake my head. “Kai, this isn’t the time. You’re stressed and?—”
“No,”Kai insists. “Who knows what else the Vipers want to do to us? We need to have this conversation sooner rather than later. I can’t keep wondering where we stand with each other, Di.”
I swallow hard.
He’s been cut down so painfully in the last several hours, I want to scream at the fact that I'm the one who has to give the killing blow. But as painful and heart wrenching and unfair as it is, Kai has a point. Whether this conversation happens now or later, nothing will change the outcome. This fire has been burning long enough, and it’s time to put out the flames before it takes us down.
“A-Aright,” I give in. I force myself to look back at Kai, tracing and remembering every inch of him before I have to say goodbye to him forever. “Let’s talk about it.”
He winds his fingers through mine before he kisses my hand, and lets it rest over his heart.
