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He had broken it once before and I was going to be the one to break it this time.
Kai stirred slightly as I lifted his arm and rolled away from him. It took everything in me to force my body to move. Tears stained my cheeks as I stood along the edge of the bed and watched him for a moment. If I woke him, he’d never let me leave. He would promise me we would figure it out, and I couldn’t do that.
I couldn’t take any more promises that would never be guaranteed.
As I collected my things, I put my clothes back on and grabbed one of Kai’s sweatshirts from the floor. I had to leave with a piece of him if I couldn’t have all of him. My phone was in my purse and I pulled it out to check the time. It was a quarter till midnight. We must have fallen asleep early after our dinner had prematurely ended.
I looked at Kai one last time and allowed myself a few heartbreaking seconds to study and memorize his face. I wanted him imprinted in my memory. My heart cracked in two and I wiped the tears away from my cheeks. This was the way it had to be if I wanted to keep him safe from the devil himself.
Stepping out of his bedroom, I opened up my text messages and sent one to Giana. She was a perpetual night owl, so I was hoping she would still be awake at this time. I could have taken an Uber home, but I didn’t want to be alone. Not when my heart was falling into pieces on the floor. And I couldn’t call my sister. Sutton wouldn’t understand or she would blame it all on Kai.
Winter
Hey. Are you awake?
Giana texted me back almost immediately. I walked through Kai’s condo until I was reaching the door that would let me out into the building. I couldn’t help the tears as they began to fall again.
Giana
I am. What’s going on? Is everything okay?
I swallowed back the emotion as I quietly exited his condo and closed the door behind me. I waited until I was successfully out of the building before responding to her. My hands hastily wiped the tears away from my eyes. I needed to hold myself together. I made this decision for us, so I needed to accept it and move forward. My feet hit the pavement and I put distance between myself and Kai as I walked down the sidewalk through the dark.
Winter
Can you give me a ride home?
Giana
Absolutely. Where are you?
There was a coffee shop about two blocks away from Kai’s place. I sent Giana the address and sat down on the stoop as I waited for her to come get me. I should have just taken an Uber. It would have been more practical and I wouldn’t have been burdening anyone else.
It only took her about ten minutes to get there before an unfamiliar car pulled up. Giana hopped out of the passenger’s side and I noticed there was another girl sitting behind the steering wheel.
“That’s Harper, Nico’s girlfriend,”she signed to me as she motioned to the car. “She’s cool and harmless. Get in.”
I stared at her for a moment before my shoulders sagged in defeat. I climbed into the back seat and the pretty blonde up front turned to look at me. She flashed her bright white teeth at me as she smiled.
“Hi, Winter,” she said with a tenderness to her voice. “Giana told me about you. I hope you don’t mind that I’m the one driving and not her. She’s had a little bit to drink this evening.”
I forced a small smile in return. “It’s nice to meet you, and of course, it’s fine.”
Instead of getting back into the passenger’s seat, Giana forced her way into the back seat with me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she flicked the overhead light on while she rolled her eyes in response. She reached up to the front of the car, handing Harper her phone with my address already in it. Harper was news to me and I couldn’t help the curiosity of hearing that Nico had a girlfriend.
She wasn’t familiar with the area since she needed directions to drive fifteen minutes from here. Giana settled back in her seat and Harper began to drive as G turned to face me.
“Why did we just pick you up on the corner of the street? I know Kai lives around here.”The expression on her face matched the exact tone I got from the way she signed her words to me.“Were you at his place?”
I nodded. “He was asleep when I left.”
Her eyebrows drew together.“I’m so confused. So, he didn’t do anything wrong?”
I shook my head at her. “I ran into his father earlier today and he made it clear that I needed to walk away from Kai forever.” I paused for a moment as I took a deep breath. “He made it clear that if I didn’t listen to him, he would make it happen himself.”
She stared at me for a moment as she processed my words. I could have signed back to her, but the words just came tumbling from my mouth. Harper remained silent in the front seat, but I knew she was listening to everything I was saying. A part of me didn’t even care at this point.
“Does Kai know what he said to you?”she signed with a suspicious look on her face. One that was also mixed with a touch of anger.
