Nearly eight weeks later, against my better judgment, Kai and I had become friends. Sort of. In a few classes, he always sought me out, and we ate lunch together with Malin. He had this sarcastic sense of humor I really appreciated, and for some reason, I had opened up to him. He kept flirting with me, calling me nicknames, and I didn’t mind it anymore. Maybe it was because nobody had paid me much attention in so long, and I kind of craved it. He was also hot. I wished every day to stop finding him attractive, but that wasn’t happening—it was the exact opposite.
“So, are we doing the Parkson Party this weekend, baby?” Kai was walking me back to the lockers, carrying my heaviest books. He was also quite a gentleman.
“I don’t really do parties,” I replied, raising an eyebrow at him. He was wearing designer jeans with a tight dark grey Henley. His tall frame towered over me as usual; he was a head and a half taller, and sometimes I had to stand on my tiptoes just to gossip quietly with him. I could tell he always found that cute.
“Come on, baby, Malin wanted to go too. I can’t just go with Malin…” he waved a hand at her name like it was an annoying fly. “If you’re not there, it’s not as cool.” He seemed to really mean it. He put my books in the locker and stretched his long fingers. “I’ll be there to protect you from the evil Skylars,” he added, making an evil sorcerer hand gesture with sound effects. That’s what he liked to call my neighbors.
He’d been over to my house to study and watch movies a few times. Even though he’d tried to kiss me now and then—not aggressively, but he’d tried—we mostly hung out as friends. He somehow understood my pace and knew I was going through things, and he knew the Skylars had a lot to do with it. He didn’t push, and I appreciated that. I was starting to enjoy being around him. A lot.
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“They’ll be there? Then it’s a hard no…” I sighed, slamming my locker shut harder than intended.
“Yeah, since Miro is dating…or screwing the youngest Parkson girl, they’ll probably all be there.”
“Kai, I can’t go… I just won’t.” My voice broke.
“Baby, are you ever going to tell me what they did to you? My mind has taken me to some pretty awful places thinking about it.” He was always serious about this particular subject—it pissed him off, and I could tell.
“I’ll tell you someday, but not today.” My voice was small, a pang of hurt coming back just thinking about Jax and that day. I suddenly felt really small, and the mood dropped. Kai noticed instantly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“I won’t let them get to my favorite human, you know that, right?” I just nodded, feeling an overwhelming sadness at the comfort Kai was giving me.
Jax had been the one to protect me from everything and comfort me when I felt sad. For so many years, we had cried together, and he always knew the right things to say to make me laugh again.
When my mom died, he had stayed in my room for days, just hugging me and whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
I suddenly had to push back tears at the realization that I still missed the bastard and would give anything to have him back in my life. I hated myself for still feeling this way. Four years later, and I still hurt. I was so angry at myself for not being able to let him go. Maybe a party with Kai was the place to start. I wasn’t getting over Jax by staying inside. I cleared my throat and stepped out of Kai’s embrace.
“It’s cool… I’ll go.”
“Seriously, baby? That’s great!” He picked me up and spun me around the hall, nearly knocking over one of the band geeks. As I was spinning, I saw Jax in the corner, shooting daggers at us with his eyes.
What was his problem with me?