Chapter 8
The front door of the cabin is unlocked, but I hesitate on the doorstep for almost five minutes.
Past the screen door I can hear the rumblings of Kai’s and Kiki’s voices.
They chase each other throughout the cabin, their voices fading in and out before finally disappearing altogether.
With a deep breath, I tighten my hold on my bag and open the door.
If I thought the cabin seemed impressive from the outside, it’s nothing compared to the interior.
Right off the front door, a large white sectional takes up most of the living room, with enough space to seat at least a dozen people around the mounted flatscreen—a TV so large it seems impossible for the wall to be able to hold all its weight.
Behind the living room area is a startlingly white kitchen, complete with stainless-steel appliances so polished I can see my reflection gawking back at me as I walk past.
To the left of the kitchen, the sliding door to the deck is propped open.
Art of various styles adorns each wall. Painted landscapes of beaches and coastal towns dotted with brightly colored buildings—places I’ve only ever seen in postcards.
Some impressionist pieces of… well, I can’t really tell what.
Beside the door, a large glass bowl holds three sets of keys—one for each of the cars parked in the driveway.
I’d known the Thompsons were wealthy from the fact that Kiki and Kai each had their own cars, but it doesn’t take much to seem wealthy in a town like Millcreek.
We were able to make do with just Papi’s coaching salary and the occasional jobs Mami took cleaning homes, and people around here are in a similar boat.
But like most things when it comes to Kai, this feels like something pulled straight out of a movie.
I pinch myself and close my eyes, prepared to wake up back home to Mami pounding on my door, telling me it’s time to get ready for school.
When I open them, I’m still here, watching Kai come down the stairs tucked away behind the living room.
“Sorry about her,” Kai apologizes as soon as he sees me, running a hand along the smooth, shaved side of his head. “She’s just in a weird mood today.”
I highly doubt that, but I also know Kai is just trying to be nice and spare my feelings, so I don’t argue as I follow him into the kitchen area.
There’s an array of snacks spread out across the counter.
Bags of chips and cookies, along with several liters of soda and bottles of what I recognize as the cheap tequila Papi would buy from the local gas station on rough days.
I swallow hard at the sight of it. I still remember the stench of it on his clothes that night. The one that changed everything.
“They’re going to come for me,” he’d told Mami, who had started sobbing the minute he came through the door reeking of alcohol.
We’d all known from the slump in his shoulders and the bags under his eyes what was going to happen.
It was obvious from how the cops stopped by our house for questioning that he was their prime suspect.
That it was only a matter of time until they gathered enough evidence to arrest him.
As much as we argued and begged him to please, please, please do something, he was gone by morning. All over the news by noon.
Kai must notice my unease. He follows my eyeline until he spots the alcohol on the counter, letting out a quiet groan before stomping toward the bottles.
“I told them not to pull this shit,” he mutters more to himself than to me as he scoops up as many of the bottles as he can and shoves them into the empty freezer.
“The only reason Mom let us stay up here alone is because we promised we wouldn’t be drinking. ”
Looks like I’m not the only one breaking my mother’s rules tonight.
“Want anything to drink? Or eat?” he asks once the alcohol is safely out of view.
“M’fine,” I mumble, giving him a weak smile. Even if the sight of the tequila hadn’t made my stomach churn, it’s still uneasy from the bumpiness of the last stretch of road to get here.
Kai nods, leaning against the fridge door as he scans the room. “Well, you can go get unpacked if you want?” he offers, gesturing to the staircase.
I nod eagerly. A few minutes of privacy is all I need to reset and shake off all thoughts of Mikey and Papi and Mami waiting for me back home.
Once I’ve cleared my head, Kai and I can go back to the easy comfort that’s always drawn me to him.
If I’m lucky, Kiki might notice that—how easily we’re able to relax into one another—and decide I might be worthy of staying after all.
Kai leads the way up the stairs, pointing to several of the framed photos along the way.
“This was from our parents’ vow renewal last year,” he says as he gestures to a photo of him, Kiki, and two people who must be their parents smiling together on the beach.
They’re carefully posed in front of an arch made of multicolored orchids, a pink and purple sunset stretched out across the calm, crystalblue water behind them.
It’s the kind of photo you see inside empty picture frames—a promise that you too can have a life as fabulous as theirs.
“Our first summer here.” The next photo is of the family posed on the front steps of the cabin.
The string lights are missing, and there’s no deck extending from the house.
There’s dust on the windows and holes torn in the screen door behind them, but their smiles say everything.
That they and this house are full of possibilities.
“And the dance recital Kiki made us all sit through that summer,” Kai explains as he gestures to the last photo before the second-floor landing.
A middle-school-aged Kiki is dressed in a Little Mermaid–inspired ensemble, complete with a floor-length purple sequin skirt and seashell clips woven into her copper locs.
She’s at the center of a makeshift stage in what must be the backyard, the photo capturing her pointing and shouting directly at Kai, who’s dressed as a crab. “I missed my cue.”
I’m unable to hold back my laughter at the thought of crab-Kai getting chewed out by his sister.
Something eases between the two of us as we laugh together, Kai’s shoulders slackening and his smile carefree as he gestures for me to follow him down the hall.
He rattles off the room assignments so quickly I miss the boy’s name from earlier.
The two of them will take the bunk beds in Kai’s room, while Kiki and Carla will take the master.
“And you’re the lucky visitor who gets the guest room all to herself,” he says with a smile as he opens the door to the last room at the end of the hall.
It’s the smallest of the three rooms, but with its queen-size bed, desk, and plush armchair in the corner, it’s still bigger than my room back home.
I set my bag down on the edge of the bed and collapse facefirst into the mattress.
The comforter is so soft it feels like it melts beneath my touch as I run my palms along it like I’m making a snow angel.
The mattress could swallow me whole if I let it, and I’m very tempted to do just that.
Sink in and disappear. The scent of lavender clings to the sheets as I bury my face and let my eyes slip closed.
I’m midway through a deep whiff when a chuckle makes my eyes fly open.
“They’re pretty great,” Kai says before I can be mortified by him catching me acting like I’ve never been in a nice house before.
For the most part, I haven’t. But that’s just another thing that sets me apart from him—and there are already enough tallies in that column. I don’t need to add any more.
He slides onto the bed like it’s nothing.
Like we aren’t lying horizontally together.
Like his hand isn’t resting barely an inch from my thigh.
Like his lips aren’t impossibly close—a breath apart from mine.
I can see the moment it clicks for him as he looks up at me.
When he realizes just how close we are. In the silence I swear I can hear his heartbeat, thrumming just as loud as mine.
I blink and suddenly he feels even closer.
So close it feels foolish not to lean forward and close the distance.
But the door is open, and his sister is probably down the hall, and, and, and…
There might be a thousand reasons I shouldn’t kiss him but my heart only wants to listen to the ones that say I should.
I’ve already crossed one line to be here.
And who knows if I’ll ever be allowed to see him again come Sunday night?
Maybe Mami will lock me away in my room and never let me leave again, even for school.
If I’m going to kiss my freedom goodbye, I might as well have fun.
I sit up slightly, bracing myself with the hand resting between us, and lean forward when a familiar voice cuts through the silence.
“We’re gonna watch a movie,” Kiki announces, not looking at all fazed by catching her twin brother in a compromising position.
Kai and I fly to opposite ends of the bed—him moving so quickly he goes toppling over the edge and onto the ground.
Kiki’s smirk doesn’t so much as crack as Kai hits the carpeted floor with a quiet oof.
Carla suddenly appears over Kiki’s shoulder, wearing a smile just as fiendish as her best friend’s.
“You guys coming?” she asks with an arched brow as she looks at Kai before settling on me.
“Oh, uh, yeah, for sure,” Kai says, sounding as flustered as I feel.
We both leap up, following closely behind Kiki as we head back down to the living room. The flutter in my heart doesn’t stop, though.
Foolish as it might be, my hope for this weekend has been renewed.
There’s definitely something going on between Kai and me, and even if Kiki’s initial reaction to me being here wasn’t all that happy, maybe this movie invite is a step in the right direction.
I doubt I’ll be leaving here BFFs with her and Carla or anything, but I can’t help but feel like this is a chance to show Kai that I can be as much a part of his world as any other girl, even with my past. That this weekend could change everything.