Chapter 17
Present
“Wait, wait, wait…” She managed to speak through the laughter bubbling out of her. “So, you actually played the clarinet?”
I chuckled, pulling up the picture proof from my camera roll and holding my phone out like evidence. Eight-year-old me playing the godforsaken instrument.
Natalia broke into another fit of laughter, her head tilting back against the booth couch. When she came back, she was wiping actual tears from her eyes. “What did you do to your parents to deserve this type of punishment?”
My chest shook with laughter. “Says Lisa Simpson.”
She gasped.
I smirked. “Mhm. I know all about how you got your scholarship to NYU, Miss Saxophonist . Captain of the cheerleading team, debate team and choir.”
“ Oh, my God …” Natalia’s face turned red before she hid it behind her hands. “How did I not get bullied?”
“You were too pretty,” I replied honestly, stealing one of the fries off her plate.
“Oh, shut up!” She waved me off, returning to her food, still giggling.
We were just down the street from Mount Sinai Hospital, at a somewhat fancy dinner on Madison Avenue that served nothing but trashy fast food. The place was packed with tourists, though my eyes were still stuck on Natalia’s blushed face as she munched on the cheeseburger.
Her laugh had softened, and for a moment, she just looked at me. Her soft, brown eyes – intense like a shot of expresso – carried that same temptingly sweet look that always pulled me in.
The diner’s low hum felt like static between us.
I stole another fry off her plate and dipped it into my milkshake, just to see her reaction.
“You’re the worst.” She shook her head, though her smile didn’t falter.
I smirked, tossing the fry into my mouth. “You let your guard down.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is?”
Leaning back into the booth’s couch, I gave her my most unapologetic grin.
Natalia rolled her eyes and picked at her fries, but her expression shifted. Something quieter crept in, softening the edges of her amusement.
“Trevor…” Her voice was lower. “We’ve been here all night. Aren’t you tired?”
“Are you?” I didn’t even have time to hide the concerned frown taking over my face. She shook her head softly. “Me neither.”
It wasn’t a lie. Not entirely.
Mentally, I was exhausted.
Physically? I was still running on my high from winning the game.
And emotionally, the weight pressing on my chest felt a little lighter, knowing Kali was going to be okay.
You needed someone to be there for you. I had to be there for you.
Natalia had a way of doing that without trying, like she didn’t even realize she was keeping me steady.
She tilted her head, clearly unconvinced. “You don’t have to act like you’re bulletproof, you know?”
I held her gaze, trying to figure out if she was teasing me again like in the library last week. She didn’t tweak.
“It’s not pretending,” I returned, my voice low. “It’s just what I need to do. I have a lot of responsibilities with my family since I’m taking over soon. And Kali doesn’t help…” I trailed off, not wanting to get angry again.
I expected Natalia to argue back with me. Instead, she softened. “You’re allowed to let someone else take the wheel sometimes.”
“Let someone else take the wheel…” I repeated, the words foreign in my voice. “Doesn’t really work for me.”
“Or you’ve just never tried.” She smiled sweetly, the kind that could make a man kneel if he wasn’t careful.
“You think I should?” My voice was deeper; smoother.
The air shifted.
Her chest raised with shallower breaths. “Maybe...”
“Doesn’t sound like you’re convinced.”
“I just think… It could be good for you. That’s all.”
“Now you know what’s good for me?”
Her pink, pillowy lips parted before she hesitated. “I could guess.”
I hummed in an understanding way, rubbing a hand over my jaw and nodding slightly as I leaned in. “What if I don’t like people guessing?”
I asked in that voice I knew made her panties wet.
Deep. Dark. Dangerous. Smooth.
I watched her pupils dilate.
A pink blush accentuated her cheekbones. “Then don’t listen.”
“And if I don’t want to stop listening?”
Natalia took a sip out of her strawberry milkshake, shrugging. “I guess that’s up to you.”
“What if I already decided?”
Her manicured fingers paused on the glass. “Decided what?”
Shrugging too, I leaned onto my forearms on the table between us. “You’re the one who told me to let someone else take the wheel, amai .’
“I didn’t mean me.”
My voice was low; almost daring. “You sure about that?”
She cleared her throat. “What does that even mean?” When I raised an eyebrow, she pressed. “What you just called me.”
I smirked darkly.
甘い
I cocked my head. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“You’re deflecting.”
“Maybe I just like to keep you guessing.”
“ Trevor ,” She pressed, her voice soft but insistent.
“It means…” I leaned back and glanced around the diner thoughtfully. “Something fitting… ”
“Fitting?” She sounded unimpressed, but I could tell she was trying to decipher my response.
“ Mhm . But if I told you… It might ruin the fun.”
“Not an answer.”
“Sure it is.” I leaned forward again, holding her gaze as my voice dropped just low enough to make her nervous. “It means whatever you want it to mean, amai .”
Natalia didn’t look away.
Neither did I.
Both caught between temptation and something we shouldn’t admit out loud.
She was close, her plump lips slightly parted like they were begging me to do something about it.
But then her expression shifted, a small vulnerability creeping in.
It hung between us. The same way as the diner’s low hum .
And I felt that familiar pull urging me to get even closer…
I shrugged casually, leaning back and faking nonchalance. “Fine.” I almost laughed at the glint in her eyes. “It’s just a word for little nuisance ,”I said with a straight face, biting back a grin and watching her try to process it. “Fitting, don’t you think?”
I let her chew on it, enjoying the way she processed the insult.
Finally, she scoffed. “You dick. You think that fits me?”
Instead of answering right away, I reached for another fry.
The lie was already out there, and for now, I was content to let her believe it.
“Are you saying I annoy you?” She pushed, raising a brow; her voice sin . I couldn’t help chuckling. “You’re the one that can’t stay away from me.”
“I happen to like a little chaos.”
“Is that why you keep testing me?” Her caramel eyes turned to slits.
I shrugged. “Maybe I like seeing how far you’ll let me push.”
“I’m not your toy, Trevor.” Despite her sweet smile, I caught the clear warning beneath.
She might let me play with her if I got her in the right mood…
But it’d never be mentally or emotionally.
“Not what I meant, amai . You’re just not so easy to figure out.”
“Is that why you keep trying?”
Another dark chuckle worked its way past my chest. Shit. Maybe.
She shook her head slightly. “You won’t win.”
I shook my head too. “Never said I was trying to.”
We looked at each other for a moment; neither backing down.
She took a deep breath, leaning back into the booth “But hey, what do I know? I’m just the Lisa Simpson to your Squidward.”
I couldn’t help but laugh again, shaking my head. “Squidward, huh? That’s charming.”
“Just calling it like I see it.”
Her pink aura was infectious, making my chest and head lighter.
But it didn’t last long before the gravity of everything started to creep back in. The sound of the diner clattered around us; forks against plates, the murmur of strangers, the bell above the door as it flipped open and closed.
“About earlier,” Natalia cleared her throat. “I know our families don’t get along for whatever reason–”
I shook my head, waving her off. “Don’t worry about that.”
“Really?” She sounded surprised.
“It’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
She searched my face for a moment.
“Okay,” She said, finally, with a soft smile.
I wanted to promise her I’d figure it all out. But words like that tasted bad in my mouth when I didn’t know if I could keep them.
I reached across the table and stole another fry from her plate.
“Trevor!” She slapped my hand, but the laughter bubbling behind it made me chuckle.
“I thought you were done,” I reasoned, feigning innocence.
“What’s the word for giant menace ?” She challenged, raising a brow.
I smirked. “恋人.”
She copied me, though she slightly butchered it.
It was around five in the morning when we got the call from Sandra that Kali had woken up. Technically, it was against the rules, but she was long past respecting hospital guidelines when it concerned my family.
I slowly opened the door to Kali’s room, holding it for Natalia as she entered with a package of white roses, she insisted on buying from a flower shop down the street.
A knot formed in my throat when I saw my sister’s face.
Her eyes filled with tears as her hands reached out. “Nat?”
Natalia immediately placed the flowers on the dresser before moving to Kali’s size and hugging her gently.
She reached for Natalia instead of me. It didn’t bother me. It only made me realize how close they really were; the type of bond they shared.
“What happened?” Kali sniffed. “Why am I here?”
Natalia threw me a worried look over the shoulder; silently asking me what to do. Tell her, or don’t tell her.
“You don’t remember?” My voice sounded raspier to my own ears.
My sister shook her head, tears in her eyes. “Nat?”
“We’ll talk once you feel better.” Natalia brushed a strand of hair out of Kali’s face, softly brushing her forehead.
“No. I want to know what happened to me. Now.” When neither answered her, she pushed. “Did I get in a car accident or something? I don’t even have a license. Shit, maybe that’s why I crashed…”
“You weren’t in a car accident,” I replied sternly.
Pulling on my tie and loosening it, I walked across the room. It took a lot out of me to manage my anger.
I wanted to be there for my sister, but my mind was going a million miles an hour trying to keep up with everything I had to do.
Make sure Kali is healthy and safe.
Lecture Kali about responsible drinking.
Fill my parents in.
Find the piece of shit who dared to hurt my family and kill him. Slowly. Painfully.
“Then what–”
I rolled my shoulders. “How do you feel? What hurts?”
“I mean… My body kind of hurts. Head too. But I feel fine, I think. Just disorientated.” The expression on my face must have scared her because she kept going. “Yeah, I’m good.”
I stared at Kali dumbfounded.
She was good.
She was fucking good.
If she was fucking good, then good. We were good.
I’d nearly suffered from a heart attack, Natalia had cried her eyes out, my parents were clueless, all the surgeons in the goddamn hospital had a Glock pointed at their heads to save her.
But she was fucking good.
All because she couldn’t put the bottle down.
God, and she was barely nineteen.
“Do you want to give us the room to talk?” The soft voice made all the smoke clear from my mind; made all the anger leave my chest.
I slowly looked at Natalia, who was still brushing her fingers over Kali’s forehead. She gave me a soft smile over her shoulder, and I nodded slightly – understanding what she was really asking.
Who was going to tell her? Her or me.
If she wasn’t here, I would’ve obviously did.
But considering they were extremely close and Natalia was a woman – a safe space considering the circumstances – I thought it better if she was the one to tell Kali.
“I’ll just be outside.”
Closing the door behind me, I made my way out of the private salon and down the hallway; too overwhelmed to sit still.
My mind was racing but my head felt underwater.
I barely even realized who it was inside the hospital room as I glanced in while walking past, before halting.
Harvard’s captain.
Broken arm in cast.
Parents sleeping in the armchairs by his bed.
A sick feeling crawled through my chest.
I couldn’t help but feel like what happened to Kali was my karma.