Page 57 of Severance

Without another word, I move across the bed and push him onto his back before straddling him.

“Our past stays in the past?” I ask him hesitantly. It’s the only way that we can move forward into this new chapter in our lives.

Kai grips my face in his hands and looks up at me with his soft brown eyes. “As long as we stay in the now and our future is our forever.”

I respond to him silently as my lips crash into his and that’s all the response that he needs. He knows that what we have is forever.

What started as two kids entangled in a web of chaos will end as two adults entangled in a web of possession.

He doesn’t possess me… his soul possesses mine.

Kai

The soft breeze is warm as it carries wisps of Dahlia’s honey-colored curls across her face. My eyes move past her, to the large white house that stands in front of us. It’s a nice, modest home on a few acres of land, fit for the all-American family.

Standing here today, it all feels unreal and the reality of our situation leaves an unfamiliar nervousness inside of me. I never imagined that I would one day be meeting our daughter. I never imagined that we would have a daughter that we would have to go meet.

This wasn’t the way that things were supposed to be, but it was our reality and we were facing it head-on.

It was a hard pill to swallow, after we uncovered the truth about our daughter and the secrets that everyone had been hiding from us. We both felt betrayed and the unknown weighed on us. Dahlia’s mother threw her a bone, almost as if it were a peace offering, and she gave her word to talk to the family that took our daughter in.

Mia.

Our daughter’s name is Mia.

When Dahlia told me what her mother had offered, it wasn’t even a question. Without hesitation, she demanded that her mother call them immediately.

Meeting our daughter wasn’t a question.

Gently squeezing my hand, Dahlia catches my attention and my worried eyes flash back to hers. “You ready to go in?” Her voice is quiet as she struggles to keep her emotions concealed.

With a quick glance at the house, I look back at her with a reassuring smile and a quick nod. “I’m ready.”

In an unsettling silence, we step up to the front door and Dahlia lightly presses her dainty finger on the doorbell. My palm grows sweaty in her hand as we wait, for what feels like a lifetime, for them to answer the door.

In actuality, the door is slowly pulled open within a matter of seconds. A short, thin woman with slick blonde hair, cut just above her shoulders stands in the doorway with a small smile on her face.

“You must be Dahlia and Kai,” Bonnie says softly, as her eyes scan over the two of us. “It’s so nice to finally be able to put a face to your names.”

Dahlia gives her a small smile and I nod curtly, unsure of what we’re supposed to say to this woman. We fall into an awkward silence as I stare at her uncomfortably and Bonnie slowly steps backward, opening the door further. “Please come inside. I’m sure you two have many questions.”

My face hardens and the awkwardness in the air shifts to something more hostile.

No, we came here to talk about the fucking weather.

Dahlia pulls on my hand as she starts to follow Bonnie inside and cuts her eyes at me, silently checking me. This isn’t supposed to be an unpleasant encounter but fuck me if it doesn’t feel like it.

None of this feels right because none of it feels real.

We follow Bonnie into their quaint home and the silence follows us inside as she leads us into their living room. Dahlia takes a seat on the couch, pulling me down beside her as Bonnie sits down on the loveseat across from us. Her eyes are wide as they linger on us and Dahlia shifts uncomfortably under her gaze. I break through the silence, clearing my throat and Bonnie snaps out of her trance.

“Oh, my goodness, I’m being so rude.” She laughs nervously. “Please forgive me, this is just a bit of a shock for me. I didn’t expect her to look so much like the two of you.”

“Well, she is our daughter,” I remind her sharply. Dahlia drives her elbow into my ribs and I suck in a breath, wincing slightly from the blow.

“Please excuse him.” Dahlia shoots me a pissed off glance. “We’re still trying to process all of this.”

Bonnie nods understandingly before giving me a nervous look. “Of course. This is new territory for all of us. We were under the impression that the two of you wanted nothing to do with Mia, so I’m sure that you can understand how shocked we were when your mother called me.”

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