Chapter 10 #2
He will find his peace. And I… I will finally let him go.
No need to tell him about us.
Because to him, there is no us. And maybe there never really was.
“Sure, take your time. But before I give you that space, can you at least eat?”
“Why do you care? Are you hungry too?”
He laughs, a rich, easy sound that makes my chest tighten. Still the same laugh.
Damn him.
“If I was, would you feed me? Or just let me starve while you make me watch?”
What.the.actual.fuck
“Are you flirting with me?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I was only joking. That’s what I do when I’m nervous.”
“Flirt?”
“No. Deflect. I can’t buy you dinner, but I can… make you company while you eat?”
“You don’t eat?” I ask, my curiosity piqued as his grin fades.
“No,” he says quietly, a shadow of sadness crossing his face. “I don’t have a body, so I don’t need food.”
I sit back down, watching as he moves to my bed and lies back casually, hands resting on his chest.
“So you don’t have any… needs?”
He glances at me, amusement flickering back into his expression. “Oh, I have needs.”
My stomach twists. His tone isn’t suggestive, but the weight of his words settles deeply between us.
“But they’re not met the same way as yours,” he continues.
“For example, I get thirsty, but I can’t drink.
I feel hungry, but I can’t eat. Sometimes I’m cold, even though it’s hot outside, but I can’t get warm.
” Something about the way he says it, so matter-of-fact, so detached, makes my chest ache.
“I have to be near a source of energy that matches mine.”
“Like a human doing what you would do while alive?”
“I suppose so.”
“So you’re always in constant discomfort,” I say, my heart aching at the thought.
He exhales sharply, a ghost of a laugh. “Not all the time. I’ve found ways to… manage. That’s why you saw me at that party.”
A chill runs through me.
“What do you mean?”
“In my current form, I can only satisfy my needs by leaning against people who are satisfying their own. My thirst isn’t quenched by water, but by alcohol. My lack of energy can’t be solved with sleep…”
“But with drugs,” I finish, remembering the haze of the party. He nods, looking ashamed.
“That’s how I… exist.”
“What happens if you don’t?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t let it get that far.”
The sadness in his voice breaks something in me. His existence is a constant fight for scraps of relief.
“It must be terrible,” I whisper, my voice trembling.
“I’m not alive, love. No need to feel sorry for me.”
And just like that, my world shatters again.
The pet name. The same one he used to call me years ago. Tears sting my eyes once again, but I blink them back. He doesn’t remember. And I can’t let him see how much it hurts.
“Don’t call me that,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
“Call you what?” he asks, sitting up slightly, his brow furrowing.
“Love,” I reply, forcing the word out. It feels like a challenge, to him, to fate, to the universe that put us here.
His lips part, and for a moment, he looks… startled. Like the word triggered something profound inside him, too, or maybe that’s what I wished. But then he shrugs, leaning back again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. Just… seemed natural. You don’t like it?”
“It’s not about liking it,” I snap, my voice sharper than I intended. “It’s…” I trail off, clenching my fists. “It’s complicated. My name is Khalee.”
“Feels like a joke,” he says, and I look at him, feeling an urge to slap him.
“I don’t think my name is that funny.” Truth is, I’ve always loved it—I always thought it was unique.
What I can’t stand is when people get it wrong, and it happened a lot in school.
Especially because of Mada, who for a while insisted on calling me Kaylee just because she knew it annoyed me.
I’m not Kaylee. My name is pronounced Kah?lee.
“It’s not. But ours, together? Seems like a joke. Like ‘Kaze and Khalee go on a mission’ Could be the title of a TV show.”
He’s deflecting again. Or at least that’s what it seems like. But I don’t know what to say to that.
We both sigh at this point; however, before I can speak, my phone rings, and I see an unknown number calling. I also look at the time and realize that it’s late afternoon, so Mada should be back with Cosmos by now.
Somehow, Kaze realizes that something is bothering me.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, getting up from the bed while looking at me like he cares.
Stop heart. Just stop. I beg.
Without answering him, I anxiously pick up the phone.
“Hello, is this Miss Holloway?”
“Yes, I’m Khalee, Khalee Holloway.”
“Oh. I’m Maura from the local veterinary clinic.
We’ve been trying to call the number your sister left us, but there’s been no answer.
Cosmos has been ready for a few hours, but she hasn’t picked him up yet.
We’ll be closing soon. We can keep him overnight, but there will be extra costs, and there’s no clinical need for him to stay. ”
“No, there’s no need. I… I can come and pick him up,” I reply, still anxious and now even more worried to hear that Mada hasn’t answered the phone or picked up the cat.
“That’s OK. We’ll be waiting for you.”
I hang up the phone and hurry to get dressed and put on my shoes.
“What’s wrong, Khalee?” Kaze asks again, hurrying after me as I run down the stairs toward the back of the house.
“Wait for me here,” I tell him hurriedly, and with as much haste as I can muster, I put on my helmet, get on the old bike my parents sent me here, and take off for the vet.
The wind whips past me as I ride. For the first time in five years, I pick up this bike, and I don’t even think about it, because my thoughts are louder than the engine.
What’s going on?
And why is it that the moment Kaze appears in my life and I really need five minutes to breathe, chaos follows like it’s been waiting for him all along?
As I speed down the road, I try to shake off the growing feeling in my chest that somehow, everything is connected, and I’m the only one who can untangle it.