Chapter 34 #2
We both freeze. Slowly we turn toward the sound. There, leaning casually against the doorframe, is… someone. His arms are crossed, his gaze fixed on us, one brow raised. Who could that be? I stare, blinking.
Everything is so blurry all of a sudden.
“Who is that?” I whisper loudly to Sue, squinting.
Sue chokes on her drink, turning it into a cough. “Adeline, that is Kai.”
“Kai?” I say, tilting my head as I study him. “No, it’s not. That’s not Kai. That’s…” I wave my hand in his direction. “Some kind of angel?”
Kai’s expression doesn’t change. “Angel?” he repeats, his tone flat. “Adeline, how much have you had to drink?”
I ignore the question, leaning closer to Sue. “Do you see him? He’s glowing. Angels glow, right?”
Sue is biting her lip, clearly trying not to laugh. “Yes, Adeline. Angels glow.”
“That’s what I thought.” I nod sagely, then turn back to Kai. “Hey, can I touch your wings?”
Sue loses it, doubling over with laughter, while Kai just stares at me, unamused. “It’s me, Soreya.”
Sue stops laughing.
“Kai?” I squint harder, as I lean forward until I’m practically falling out of my chair. Then it hits me, and my stomach flips the way when I hear that he called me that. “Oh my god, it is you! You’re real!”
“Yes,” he says dryly.
I’m out of my chair before I even realize it, stumbling toward him. “Kai!”
“Adeline…” he starts, but I’m already poking him in the chest.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, right? Because you look fine. Too fine. Which probably means you’re not fine.”
Kai just stares at me. “That’s your logic?”
I gasp, clutching his sleeve now. “Oh my god, what if you are hurt? What if you’re just covering it up because you think it’ll make you look tougher? That’s exactly what you’d do!”
Behind me, Sue snorts into her glass. “She’s not wrong.”
“Not helping,” Kai says without looking at her.
I keep going, words tumbling faster now, half under my breath. “Maybe you’ve been in some kind of fight. Or maybe you haven’t slept in days. Or maybe you’re secretly bleeding out somewhere—oh my god, Kai, are you bleeding out? Do you need a bandage?”
Kai catches my wrists before I can start patting him down for wounds. “Adeline,” he says slowly, like he’s talking to someone who’s half-feral. “I am not bleeding out.”
I blink at him, suspicious. “You’d say that even if you were.”
Kai lets out a slow, exasperated breath. “Adeline, you’re drunk.”
“No, you’re drunk,” I respond in the best way I can think of, poking him in the arm this time.
“And you’re done for the night,” he says, rolling his eyes.
But I’m already throwing my arms around him, hugging him tightly. “You’re so warm,” I mumble against his shoulder. “Like a big, grumpy radiator.”
He goes completely still. “Adeline,” he says finally, his voice tight, “let go.”
“No,” I mumble. “You’re comfy.”
I hear Sue gasp, “Adeline, you should… stop,” she manages.
“But I can’t stop,” I reply, tightening my grip. “Please don’t let me go! Don’t leave.”
Kai sighs deeply, then bends down and scoops me up like I weigh nothing. I let out a squeak as he hoists me over his shoulder, my arms dangling.
“Hey! Put me down!” I protest, thumping my fists lightly against his back.
“No,” he says, walking out of the room. “You’re done here.”
“You can’t just take me away like this!” I say, smacking him a bit harder now. Or a lot, I can’t really tell.
“I can,” he says. “Sue, hide the champagne or finish it off, I don’t care. Just get it away from here before Adeline finds her way back.”
Sue just nods quickly, her eyes wide as she watches the scene unfold. There’s something in her expression—a flicker of disbelief, maybe even awe.
Worry.
“Good luck, Mr. Kai. She is… lively tonight,” she says after taking another long sip, still watching with that same stunned expression.
“And I t-totally wo-nn that!” I manage as I point at her with a grin so wide it makes my face hurt.
And with that, he carries me out of the room, leaving Sue to laugh herself breathless as I dangle over his shoulder, still protesting. “You’re not an angel,” I mutter as we disappear down the hall. “You’re just mean.”
Kai’s only response is a low, resigned sigh, so I’m guessing he agrees.
***
My arms and hair dangle limply over his shoulder as he carries me through the house. I’m still talking. “Even your back is nice. Do you work out?” I sigh, poking his back half-heartedly, and he flinches.
I’m confused for a few seconds, before I say, “Come on, talk to me.”
Kai doesn’t respond, but I feel his grip on me shift slightly, and I wonder if it’s because he’s considering just dropping me on the spot.
“You know,” I continue, tilting my head to try and see his face. “I’ve been thinking–” I start, but before I can even finish, he shifts me off his shoulder and sets me down. No, not sets. He lets go. Completely. I drop to the ground with a very loud thud.
“Hey!” I yelp, looking up at him in disbelief. “What was that for?”
Kai crosses his arms, his expression mildly amused. “You wanted to be put down.”
I scramble to my feet, wobbling slightly but managing to stand. “See?” I say triumphantly, pointing at him. “I’m fine. Totally fine.”
My victory lasts approximately six seconds. Then the world tilts. I wobble, take one unsteady step, and proceed to collide with the wall before sliding down it.
“Oh no,” I groan, my cheek pressed against the plush carpet. “This is good. This is nice. You just leave me here. So soft. So… comfy.”
Kai sighs heavily, and I glance up at him from the floor, watching as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Are you done?” he asks, his tone clipped.
“Done with what?” I mumble into the carpet, before rolling onto my back and waving a hand at him. “Now go away. This is my spot.”
I watch as he crouches down slightly to get a better look at me. “What am I going to do with you, huh?” Kai rolls his eyes and reaches down to grab my arm, pulling me up with ease. When I look down, I’m suddenly aware of how high up I am. It feels like I’m flying.
“As I was saying. I was thinking about your name. Oren… it means tree, doesn’t it?” I say with a slight slur.
“Yes,” he says shortly.
“Somehow it seems fitting,” I murmur, almost to myself. Then I look up at him—well, at the side of his face. “Do you wanna know what mine is?”
Once again, he doesn’t do as much as react, but I know he’s listening.
“Mallory,” I say, smiling faintly. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Kai,” I say after he doesn’t respond, my voice softer now. “I’m sorry.”
And of course, that gets his attention. He glances down at me, his brows drawing together. “For what?”
“About your sister,” I say absent-mindedly.
Kai stops dead in his tracks. I feel his whole body go rigid, his arms tightening slightly around me. For a moment, I think he’s going to drop me again, but he doesn’t.
“What about it?” he asks, his voice low and controlled, but there’s an edge to it that wasn’t there before.
“It must have been very painful for you,” I mumble, my eyes barely open now.
Kai doesn’t say anything, but after a beat, he starts walking again. His steps slower this time.
“I just know what it’s like losing someone you love,” I slur, my head resting against his shoulder. “It never gets better, does it?”
“No,” Kai says quietly. “It doesn’t.”
I don’t respond for a few long seconds, mostly because my thoughts aren’t entirely in focus. The next thing I know, we’re at a door. Kai pushes it open, the hinges creaking softly.
“Goodbyes never get easier,” I murmur, my voice barely audible now. “We just get better at hiding the pain.”
For the first time, Kai glances down at me, his expression unreadable. But there’s something softer there. It makes me smile, a hazy, sleepy grin.
“Cute freckles,” I mumble, poking his nose gently with my index finger, before yawning, turning to my side, and stretching my arms out around the pillow.
“Adeline?” Kai’s voice comes after a pause.
I crack an eye open, half-asleep, half-drunk. “Hm?”
“Why did you do it?”
My brows pull together. “Do what?”
“Why did you drink tonight?” he asks quietly.
I sigh, my face sinking deeper into the pillow. “My mum died today. And I wanted to forget,” I murmur. “I just wanted to forget how much it hurts.”
It’s silent for a while, and Kai says nothing.
“Kai?” I ask against the pillow.
“Yeah?”
“What does ‘Soreya’ mean?” I finally ask him the burning question that’s been torturing my thoughts for longer than I want to admit.
He’s silent again, and for a moment, I think he hasn’t heard me.
“Nothing. Go to sleep.”
“Not until you tell me. I’ve been wondering for a long time,” I slur, looking up at his beautiful face again. “Is it something bad, is that it?” I ask, frowning.
I hear him sigh, and then I feel a hand brush a hair away from my face. “Don’t look at me like that, Soreya. You’ll make me tell the truth.”
I’m about to interrogate him some more, but I feel myself slowly succumbing to the exhaustion tugging at my eyelids. Kai’s lingering gaze is the last thing I see before I am overtaken by peaceful darkness.
***
The first thing I notice when I wake is the pounding in my skull. A dull, merciless drumbeat that makes me regret every single sip from last night. My mouth is dry, my limbs heavy, and when I blink at the ceiling, it takes a second too long for the world to steady.
Hungover. Badly.
I roll onto my side, groaning, and reach for my phone on the nightstand. The screen nearly blinds me, but I squint through it anyway.
Eight missed calls from Lilia. Five from Bea. One from Kym.
A few messages from Naomi and Sam.
A stab of guilt twists through me. I don’t even think about it—I just start typing, thumbs clumsy, sending off quick reassurances. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’ll explain later. Lies, half-truths.