Chapter 68
ALEX
Kai turned the key, the quiet click sounding far too loud in the stillness.
My stomach dropped hard, like the floor had just fallen out from under me. I could already picture it - his mum taking one look at me, seeing everything I was trying so desperately to hold together, and asking the kind of gentle questions that made my skin crawl.
The door eased open.
Warm light spilled out into the cold night, soft and golden, and before I could even take a breath, she was there.
Kate stood in the hallway, halfway through wiping her hands on a tea towel. Her expression shifted the moment she saw us - not shock, not alarm, not that sharp, pitying look I’d been bracing for.
Just concern. Immediate, instinctive, quiet concern.
“Oh, love…” she breathed, and it wasn’t even clear who she meant - me or Kai - because her eyes kept tracing over both of us.
“Alex is going to be staying with us for a few days,” he said, his eyes meeting Kate’s with a quiet, wordless understanding. Something passed between them, I could tell - Kai was telling his mum something without telling her. A whole conversation in a single look. A warning. A request. A promise.
Kate’s expression softened instantly, like she’d been waiting for that look, like she already knew what it meant.
I froze in the doorway, every muscle locking tight. My hand pressed harder to my ribs, my breath tight in my throat. I hated this - being seen, being read so easily, being… cared about. It made everything inside me feel too exposed, too fragile, like one wrong look would shatter me.
Kate’s gaze flicked over me, softening even more when she saw the way I was holding myself. But she didn’t gasp. She didn’t ask what happened. She didn’t even let her eyes linger on the bruises I was trying to hide.
She just stepped back, opening the space for me like she was welcoming someone who belonged there.
“Come in, sweetheart,” she said gently.
I nodded, forcing a small smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. My chest felt tight, my ribs aching with every breath. Kate stepped back to give me space, but she didn’t look away - not in a way that made me feel exposed, just… present.
“I’ll put the kettle on,” she said softly, waiting for me to step inside before she moved. Her gaze dipped for a moment, landing on my socks, and her expression faltered, just for a heartbeat, before she smoothed it into another warm smile.
“Kai, honey,” she said, turning to him, “why don’t you get Alex some clothes?”
Kai gave a quick nod. I didn’t argue. I didn’t have the energy to.
He offered me a soft smile - the kind that said I’m not leaving you, I’m just going upstairs - before heading toward the staircase.
Kate gestured towards the kitchen and I followed her through.
I sank onto one of the chairs, my ribs protesting the movement whilst Kate moved around the kitchen quietly, putting the kettle on like this was any normal evening, like I wasn’t sitting there trying to hold myself together with shaking hands.
The silence stretched, gentle but heavy, and something inside me twisted.
“I’m… I’m sorry,” I murmured, staring down at my fingers. “For all of this. For showing up like-”
“Alex.” Her voice cut through mine, soft but firm enough to stop the apology in my throat.
I looked up, startled.
She shook her head, stepping closer, her expression warm but unwavering.
“I said you were welcome any time. I meant it.” She smiled and passed me a cup of tea. I took it gingerly.
The words hit something deep inside me - something bruised and fragile - and for a moment I couldn’t breathe around the lump in my throat.
I nodded, unable to speak, and wrapped both hands around the cup just to have something to hold onto.
Kai’s footsteps were soft on the stairs, but I still heard them - that familiar, steady rhythm that always seemed to anchor me whether I wanted it to or not.
Kate had drifted back toward the counter, giving me space without actually leaving the room, and I sat there with the warm cup between my hands, trying to breathe past the knot in my chest.
Then Kai reappeared in the doorway.
He had a small stack of clothes folded neatly in his arms - a grey jumper, joggers, a pair of thick socks.
All his smallest sizes, but still big enough that I’d drown in them.
His eyes found mine instantly, and the soft smile he gave me wasn’t pitying or worried or anything that made me want to shrink.
It was just… gentle. Familiar. Safe.
“Got you some stuff,” he said quietly, stepping into the kitchen.
Kate glanced over her shoulder, her expression warm but careful, like she didn’t want to overwhelm me. “Good lad,” she murmured, then turned back to the side, making a cuppa for Kai.
He set the clothes on the chair beside me, not pushing them into my hands, not making a big deal of it. He crouched slightly so he was more level with me, his voice low enough that it felt like it was meant only for me.
“This is becoming a habit.” He said it with that soft, crooked smile - the one that always hit me harder than it should - and my cheeks warmed instantly, traitorously.
“Thank you,” I murmured, forcing a small smile as I took the clothes slowly, careful not to jolt my ribs.
Kai’s smile softened even more, the corners of his eyes creasing just a little. “You don’t have to thank me.”
But I did. I just didn’t know how to say it properly.
He didn’t push. He just stayed there for a moment, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him, close enough that the panic in my chest eased a fraction.
Kate placed a hand on the counter, glancing between us with that same quiet understanding she’d had since the door opened.
“Why don’t you get changed, sweetheart?” she said gently. “You’ll feel better once you’re warm.”
I nodded again, because arguing felt impossible.
“Will you be alright?” he asked, that gentleness settling over his words like a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded, even though the movement tugged at my ribs. I stood slowly, hiding the wince that threatened to break through. He noticed - of course he noticed - but he didn’t call me out on it. He just stayed close enough that if I swayed, he’d catch me without making a scene.
“There’s a bathroom, through there.” He gestured down the hallway. “On your left.”
I nodded again, the third time in as many breaths, because speaking felt like too much. I took the clothes from his hands, the fabric soft and warm against my fingers, and stepped toward the hallway.
The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt safe rather than empty. My footsteps were slow, careful, each one sending a dull ache through my side. I could feel Kai’s eyes on me until I turned the corner - not hovering, not anxious, just… making sure I didn’t disappear.
The bathroom door clicked softly behind me, and for the first time since stepping out of the car, I was alone.