Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
SERENA
I wake to the sound of a buzzing phone. The room I’m in is unfamiliar in the dim light of the television. The sunlight streaming in from the window earlier has dimmed to an early evening glow. I’m pressed up against a warm, firm body, and my own stiffens in fear as I try to get my bearings. The arm around my shoulders gives me a brief squeeze before I hear Kai’s familiar voice. “Hey there sleepy head. Have a good nap?”
I relax into his hold as the memories from the last few hours come back into focus. Dom leaving me trapped, alone at his house. Kai showing up and stealing me away. Checking into the motel. Falling asleep while watching Supernatural . “You were sleeping pretty hard there ReRe. You drooled more than Archie.”
“I don’t drool!” I push away from Kai’s chest and level an offended glare at him.
Kai smirks and gestures to the wet spot on his shirt, right where my face had been resting, causing my cheeks to burn in embarrassment. Kai chuckles as he reaches for his phone. When he sees the number on the caller ID he sits upright, expression turning somber.
“Who is it?” My stomach pitches in worry at his sudden change in demeanor.
“Your mom. Do you want me to answer it?”
I bite my lower lip, debating how to handle this conversation with Mom. Then I remember her worry over me was the reason Kai came to check on me in the first place and nod, giving him the okay to answer. Kai answers the call on speaker and holds the phone between us.
“Hey, Ms. Laura.”
“Oh, thank goodness! I was worried you weren’t going to answer. Have you talked to Serena? Dom is here saying she isn’t at the house, and he can’t get in touch with her. He’s very worried.”
My mouth runs dry at Mom’s words, and Kai and I exchange a wide-eyed stare. Dom is with my mom. Panic surges through me at the thought of him being so close to my mother. What will he do? What can he do? He knows I’m with Kai—there’s no way he hasn’t checked the cameras at his house. How much can we say to her without triggering a reaction from Dom? Is she safe inside the walls of Whispering Grove?
“Kai, are you there?” Mom’s voice comes through the speaker, pulling us both from our shocked silence.
“Yeah, Ms. Laura, I’m here. Uh, yeah, I talked to Serena. She’s okay, and she’s safe. There is no reason to worry.” Kai glances at me, his look clearly asking how much he should tell Mom. “Laura? Be careful with Dom. He can’t be trusted.”
Mom is silent for a beat while she absorbs Kai’s words before responding, “Oh, okay. That’s wonderful. Tell her I said to give Arianna a hug from me and to enjoy her visit. Have her call me when she gets the chance, okay?”
Kai furrows his brows in confusion, giving me a look that says “do you know what she’s on about?”, clearly worried about Mom’s mental state. I, however, know exactly who she is referring to.
Arianna is her best friend from high school and my surrogate aunt. She was a huge part of our lives, up until she took a travel nursing job to work in a rural hospital desperate for nurses, right before the accident.
She was the person I would go to growing up when I had questions too embarrassing for a teenage girl to talk to her parents about. She helped me navigate getting on birth control before losing my virginity to my first boyfriend. She also would come visit as often as possible and helped as much as she could in the beginning when Mom was adjusting to life post-accident. Now her visits are down to a few times a year thanks to her travelling, but there is no doubt that she will help me if I need it.
Mom is telling me I need to see Arianna if I’m in trouble. She is currently working at a hospital not too far from here. I give Kai an encouraging nod to go along with Mom’s lie.
“Will do. Write this in your journal, okay? We’ll talk later.” Kai hangs up the call, turning his attention to me. “What was that about?”
I tell Kai what I think mom was trying to suggest we do, and he nods his head thoughtfully. “Do you feel safe going to her to report your abuse? I’ll take you right now. What hospital is she at?”
I think for a moment, trying to figure out if I do feel safe enough to go to Arianna. I know she will believe me. She will advocate for me. But will her help be enough? The idea of going to a hospital, the bruises littering my skin tangible proof of my stupidity, and being examined under the harsh fluorescent lighting by a stranger sends my stomach rolling.
Kai must sense where my mind is going. Gently he cups my face, making it so that I have to look at him when he says, “None of this is your fault, Serena. None of it. Dom tricked you. Manipulated you. Used his charm and pretty-sounding empty promises of a happily ever after to isolate you. Abused his position of power to control you. This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong.”
Kai’s face becomes a shapeless blur as tears pool, obscuring my vision. I know he’s right. I do. But there is a small, but very loud, part of me that won’t stop yelling that I was so stupid for falling for Dom’s pretty words when my gut kept screaming “No!” at so many points along the way.
Kai pulls me into him and lets me break, his warm embrace the only thing keeping me together at this point. I don’t know how I still have tears left to cry at this point. They don’t stop coming but Kai only continues to hold me as I let my grief of the life I lost wash over me.
Eventually, the seemingly never-ending tears do come to an end. When I pull away, Kai’s shirt is soaked. “Shit, I’m sor—” I don’t even get the word out of my mouth before he’s pressing a finger to my lips, hushing me. With a shake of his head, I let my apology die on my lips.
“Let’s eat something and come up with a plan, yeah?” Kai motions to the pile of snacks on the desk, and my stomach lets out a loud rumble in agreement.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Let me splash some water on my face.” By the time I exit the bathroom, looking mildly less like a puffy-faced chipmunk with allergies, Kai has popped some microwave popcorn and spread a cornucopia of junk food across the desk. I take in the spread of candy bars, fruit candies, trail mix, toaster pastries and popcorn and can’t help but laugh. Kai turns when he hears my muffled snort and grasps the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Sorry, options are limited. I tried to get a variety of snacks, but it’s not exactly a four-course restaurant meal.” My mind flashes back to my first date at that fancy restaurant with the words on the menu I couldn’t pronounce and how uncomfortable I was in that element. Seeing Kai doing his best to take care of me, even with such limited options, causes an epiphany to come crashing through me. This is what he does. This is what he has always done. He may not have ever taken me out for a fancy meal or weekend retreat, but he has always taken care of me in his own way. I must get too caught up in my head because Kai’s brows furrow in concern.
“If this isn’t enough, I’ll go out to find us some food… I think there’s a gas station a few miles down the road. They might have some hot opt?—”
I cross the room and steal Kai’s move of hushing him with a finger on the lips.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” Our eyes connect and the energy between us becomes taut with the electric need that was present the night at the hospital. The reminder of the feeling of his lips on mine causes a flush to creep up my face, but before my mind can get carried away with that memory, Kai’s lips turn up in a slight smirk. Without warning he sticks his tongue out and licks my finger like a dog, causing me to squeal in surprise.
“Come on, you need to eat.” Kai offers up the bag of popcorn, and I snatch it out of his hands greedily.
We don’t talk while we eat. We just stuff ourselves with junk food while only half-watching the Supernatural reruns on the TV. I know Kai wants to figure out our next move. I know he wants me to report Dom’s abuse and get checked out at a hospital, but my mind won’t stop spiraling over the what ifs if Dom gets away with it. What if he continues to escalate? What if he hurts my mom? What if he goes after Kai? I have no home to go back to any longer. Where will I live?
“Hey, ReRe, where’d you go?” Kai’s hushed question startles me from my thoughts.
“Nowhere…everywhere? I dunno, Kai. I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared. He took everything from me and I’m afraid he is going to go after you next…” When my confession leaves my lips, I realize it is my biggest fear. Knowing what Dominick is capable of, him hurting Kai in any way is what scares me most. I guess we have that in common. Our only concern is the other’s safety.
“That’s why we are going to do this right, ReRe. I’m not going to let him get away with this. We will take it one step at a time, okay?” The certainty in Kai’s tone settles my worry some. The conviction in his eyes tells me there is only one option here and he will not stop until Dominick is punished.
I take a deep breath, trying to infuse myself with some of his confidence, and nod my head in agreement. “Okay, so what’s the first step?” I look into his eyes, ready to take this leap, putting all of my faith into him.
“Let me document your injuries.”