Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
KAI
A fter my run-in with Serena, instead of heading to class like I had planned, I drive home instead, the need to do something to help my friend burning a hole in my chest.
When I get home, I notice a well-dressed Caucasian woman standing on the front porch of the Malcolms’ house, greeting couples, as balloons advertising an Open House dance in the wind on the mailbox. They had a big house showing the previous week, so I can only assume whatever offers came from it didn’t pan out. Which means Serena’s house is still on the market. As I turn to head inside my own home, an idea hits me like a lightning bolt. It’s crazy, impulsive, and probably financially irresponsible, but the pull of it is irresistible. I veer to the left, cut across both front yards, and bound up the stairs to the house next door.
I don’t miss the assessing look the woman, whose name tag reads Chelsea, gives me as I approach her. “Can I help you?” Her question comes out guarded and skeptical.
“Yeah, I live next door, but my parents are thinking of buying this house for my Grams, I was wondering if you had a flyer with the price and details on the house?” Chelsea the Realtor visibly relaxes when I mention my parents are interested in buying the house.
“Oh, yes, I do! Here, let me give you the flyer and my business card. Would they like to take a tour too? We have an open house going on right now. A house like this won’t stay on the market long. It had an offer last week that unfortunately fell through, but I have no doubt we will have more after this showing.”
I take the flyer from her and immediately start backing down the stairs. “Oh, yeah, that’s a great idea. Let me just see if they’re home. Thanks for the flyer, ma’am.”
“Like I said, tell them this house won’t sit long! If they really are interested, make sure they know they need to get their offer in a.s.a.p.!” I toss Chelsea the Realtor a wave while I jog across the lawn back to my house, a manic excitement flowing through my system as a plan starts to come together in my mind.
“Let me get this straight. You want to use your inheritance from Grams—that’s supposed to be for your education—to buy Serena’s house?” I sit across the dining room table from my parents, the flyer with the house listing laying flat between us, my pops staring at the asking price with a pained look on his face.
“Yes. I have the money for the down payment, but obviously getting the loan will be an issue. I’ll make the payments to you guys, like I’m renting it. I can still keep an eye on your house when you’re traveling, but I’ll have my own space.” I try to keep my voice cool and even. I am doing my best to make a level-headed case for buying the house, but the longer we talk about this, the more my panic about letting this slip through my fingers grows.
“Kai, baby, I know you’re ready to get your own place, but you can rent an apartment. Grams wanted you to pay for college with that money.” Mom makes a move to grab the flyer, and I flatten my hand on it, preventing her from tossing it.
“I’ve got a full ride scholarship, Ma. I haven’t touched that money, and I won’t need to.”
“Kai, you can’t know that. Sometimes things happen –“
Frustration rising, I stand up, throwing my arms up in the air. “I need to do it for Serena!” The words explode out of me before I can stop them.
“MALAKAI!” My pops jumps up from his seat, ready to tear me a new asshole for losing my cool on my mom. “Watch your tone, young man! I raised you better than that.” Pops is a master at using the I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed tone, and the anger building in my chest deflates under his withering gaze. I toss a sheepish look at my ma as I sit back down.
“Sorry, Ma. I just…it’s just…something I need to do.”
“Kai, baby, tell us what’s really going on. Why do you need to do this for Serena? I know you have feelings for her, but buying her house isn’t how you win her back.” My mom reaches across the table to hold my hand, like she used to do when I was younger and had trouble with bullies in school. Just the feeling of her soft, warm hands holding my own brings a sense of calm over me that settles into my bones and eases my racing mind. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her cocoa butter lotion, before voicing my biggest fear.
“I don’t think Serena is safe with her boyfriend.” The sharp inhale of my mom’s shocked gasp is the only sound she makes. Shifting forward to lean his elbows on the table, my dad is the first one to speak.
“What do you mean you don’t think she’s safe with her boyfriend, son?”
“He’s threatened me, telling me I need to stay away from her. When he saw me with her again, he escalated their relationship by proposing to her after she was attacked. He’s convinced her to move her mom into an assisted living facility and sell her house. Last time he saw me leaving her house, after I saw the for-sale sign, he threatened to hurt her if I don’t stay away. He’s a textbook narcissist, and I think he’s dangerous.” When I open my eyes again, my parents are a blur, and I realize there are unshed tears clouding my vision. Instead of burying my face in my hands, hiding my weakness, I let them see the fear shining in my eyes.
“Kai, you need to go to the police if you think she’s in danger. You need to tell them about how he’s threatened you.” My mom’s voice rises an octave as her righteous fury builds. She stands, ready to hunt down her phone to call in the cavalry.
“Ma, he is the police.” I don’t need to say any more. Mom sits back down in her seat, as if the admission is physically weighing her down.
“I saw Serena today and she looked…broken. I think he pushed things too fast trying to lock her down, and she’s realized it but doesn’t know how to slow it down. I want to buy her house so when she needs a safe place to land, she will have one. I know how much she loves that house and the memories of her dad she has there. I don’t think selling it is what she truly wants. If we buy it, we can make sure she can get it back once she leaves him.”
“Kai, what makes you think she’s going to leave him?” My dad’s question sends a bolt of fear through my heart. I don’t even think before I respond.
“Because I will die before I let that asshole lock her into an abusive relationship. I will not let him rip away everything she knows and loves. She is my everything, and I will do whatever it takes to get her back.”
My parents exchange a long look, a silent debate raging between them. Mom thinks of Serena as a daughter, and I know—like me—there isn’t anything she won’t do to make sure she’s safe. Dad turns to me, resignation written on his face.
“And in the event this doesn’t work out like you hope, you’re gonna be living in the house that reminds you every day of the girl who got away. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in.”
Taking in a deep breath, I close my eyes and picture the worst-case scenario. Serena doesn’t leave Dom. They get married and have babies, and I wind up living in a house that will always remind me of her. No, that’s not the worst-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is Dom seriously hurts Serena or she winds up dead because she has nowhere safe to go because I didn’t try hard enough for her.
“I know, Pops. But it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
“Alright, son. Let's go buy a house.”
Mom calls Auntie Shay, who is a realtor, letting her know they’re planning on putting an offer in on a house and need her to help negotiate. Then—as a unit—we march next door to “take a tour” and put an offer in, well above asking. Refusing to leave anything to chance, we make an offer that will be impossible to refuse.