Page 104 of Make Her Bleed
Because the Kai you remember is still in there. He wouldn't do sweet things like this if he was gone.
I know it's true, which is what hurts so much. The Kai I love is locked up behind all that hostility and, if I could have one thing for my birthday, it would be for him to come back.
I miss the man who took me to see the lights on Christmas Eve, the guy who played with me instead of watching the football game on Sunday, the man who held me when I had a nightmare on camping trips and held my hand on rollercoaster rides.
I miss the real Malakai Harris. I miss Uncle Kai.
It takes a minute to pull myself together and I slip the note into my bra for safekeeping. I walk out of the room and head for the kitchen where I see a huge stack of pancakes with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and melted chocolate on them. Another note is propped up next to the plate and the words break my heart yet make me grin like the Cheshire Cat.
The perfect pancakes for the perfect girl.
xoxo
-Nico & Kai
I knowNico made the pancakes, but only Kai would know the way I like them.
Screw butter and syrup! Pancakes should be sweet with a little bit of health in there for balance.
I stand there with happy tears streaming down my face.
Kai may be unhinged, but he has shown through his actions today that I do actually matter to him. He remembers things no one else would, like pancakes and bows and my love of music. Every single one of his gifts has a reason behind it, even enlisting Nico to make my birthday pancakes.
Kai is a shitty cook unless it's eggs or barbecue on the grill.
My birthday has proven that the real Kai is still in there. I'm not crazy even if he is. I'll bring him out, one day at a time. I'll do whatever it takes to have the real Kai back.
* * *
I siton the bench in mysafe spaceroom eating my pancakes happily as I watch a bit of tv. Other than when I was in the hospital, it feels like it's been forever since I've watched tv. Probably last summer. Before Kai took me, I was always busy with homework, friends, and reading books that have been stuck on my to-be-read list.
Now, I can enjoy some soap operas that I used to watch with my friends back in Little Rock. We were so obsessed withAs The World Turnsand I need to find out if anyone will figure out Rose is masquerading around as Lily while Lily is stuck on that deserted island.
Holden, Lily's husband, has to realize that's not his wife, right?
I bite on my nails as I watch the episode, setting my pancakes off to the side.
Lucinda, of all people, seems to see that Rose isn't Lily, but the episode cuts off.
"No!" I scream as the news flashes on.
"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you an urgent news update," the robotic voice says.
I groan. "I don't give a shit! Put the show back on!"
If I had popcorn, I would've thrown it at the tv. This is bullshit. I haven't gotten to watch this show in so long andnowthey choose to interrupt it? I bet it's something stupid like a car accident or a political scandal I have no interest in.
Just give me Holden Snyder and maybe a bit of Simon Frasier. That bad boy is very scrumptious.
"In Royal City, the police were called to this scene a few hours ago. The body of an eighteen-year-old girl was discovered less than a hundred yards from the football field of Royal City High. The details of the investigation are being heavily guarded by the Royal City P.D. but my sources say the murder shows eerie similarities to the double homicide of Stephanie James and Teigan Harper twenty years ago." A picture comes on the tv of the beautiful brunette in the picture in Kai's office.
Kai was responsible for Teigan's death. Oh, god. Did Kai do this?
"Ms. Harper's father was convicted and is weeks away from his day of execution. He has remained adamant that he was wrongfully convicted and that the real killer is still at large."
The picture flashes back to the reporter, my heart racing.
"The victim, a student of Royal City High, Kaylee Masters—"
