Page 24 of Kael

He paused, mug halfway to his lips. "Outside?"

"To the dock. Just for a little while." I crossed my arms, trying to look confident. "I need air. Real air. Not just open windows."

Kael studied me for a long moment. "You're sure you're ready?"

"I'm sure."

He set down the mug and walked toward me. His hand came up, and I flinched slightly—old habit—but he just tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Alright," he said softly.

He walked over and opened the double doors that led to the backyard with no further argument.

I hesitated, wondering if he would close the door before I could step out, but Kael wasn't like that. Not with me.

The sun hit my face like a warm hand.

I closed my eyes and let myself feel it. The breeze off the water carried the smell of salt, earth, and green foliage. I could hear birds in the mangroves and the gentle lap of waves against the dock.

I opened my eyes and walked to the end of the dock, Kael following a few steps behind.

I sat on the bench. He sat beside me.

We were quiet for a long moment.

"I forgot what this felt like," I said finally.

"What?"

"Being... normal. Just sitting outside enjoying the breeze without feeling like there's a monkey on my back."

Kael didn't say anything. He just watched the water.

I turned to look at him. "Really, I think I asked you this before, but why are you so good to me?" I felt my throat tightening at the question.

He stared into my eyes for a second. He was so intense. "Because I saw you laughing at a gas station with Maya once, and I couldn't forget you."

I stared at him. "That's it? That's your reason?"

"That's the beginning of it." He turned to look at me. "The rest is... watching you fight. Watching you survive. I can see you feel weak, but you keep going. You're not weak, Bria. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

I felt tears prick my eyes. "I'm not strong. I'm a mess. I'm—"

"Everybody is a fucking mess."

I watched the water for a long time before I spoke again.

"I wasn't always like this, if that isn't obvious. I'm smart. My parents were loving. I had a good childhood," I said, breaking the silence. I picked at a splinter in the dock beneath my hand. "I didn't wake up one day and decide I wanted to be an addict."

He stayed quiet.

"Darius liked to party. I met him when I was seventeen. Every weekend there was a club, somebody's birthday, somebody renting a section, somebody with money to blow." I laughed, but there wasn't anything funny about it. "The first time he offered me cocaine, I told him no."

I smiled faintly. "He called me scared. Said I needed to loosen up. So I did."

I shrugged one shoulder. "It wasn't even that great the first time. It just made me feel... uncontrolled. I didn't like the feeling of not being able to catch my own thoughts in my head."

The breeze lifted my hair across my face.