Page 40 of Exile

“Yes. I have the money for the down payment, but obviously getting the loan will be an issue. I’ll make the payments to you guys, like I’m renting it. I can still keep an eye on your house when you’re traveling, but I’ll have my own space.” I try to keep my voice cool and even. I am doing my best to make a level-headed case for buying the house, but the longer we talk about this, the more my panic about letting this slip through my fingers grows.

“Kai, baby, I know you’re ready to get your own place, but you can rent an apartment. Grams wanted you to pay for college with that money.” Mom makes a move to grab the flyer, and I flatten my hand on it, preventing her from tossing it.

“I’ve got a full ride scholarship, Ma. I haven’t touched that money, and I won’t need to.”

“Kai, you can’t know that. Sometimes things happen –“

Frustration rising, I stand up, throwing my arms up in the air. “I need to do it for Serena!” The words explode out of me before I can stop them.

“MALAKAI!” My pops jumps up from his seat, ready to tear me a new asshole for losing my cool on my mom. “Watch your tone, young man! I raised you better than that.” Pops is a master at using the I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed tone, and the anger building in my chest deflates under his withering gaze. I toss a sheepish look at my ma as I sit back down.

“Sorry, Ma. I just…it’s just…something I need to do.”

“Kai, baby, tell us what’s really going on. Why do you need to do this for Serena? I know you have feelings for her, but buying her house isn’t how you win her back.” My mom reaches across the table to hold my hand, like she used to do when I was younger and had trouble with bullies in school. Just the feeling of her soft, warm hands holding my own brings a sense of calm over me that settles into my bones and eases my racing mind. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of her cocoa butter lotion, before voicing my biggest fear.

“I don’t think Serena is safe with her boyfriend.” The sharp inhale of my mom’s shocked gasp is the only sound she makes. Shifting forward to lean his elbows on the table, my dad is the first one to speak.

“What do you mean you don’t think she’s safe with her boyfriend, son?”

“He’s threatened me, telling me I need to stay away from her. When he saw me with her again, he escalated their relationship by proposing to her after she was attacked. He’s convinced her to move her mom into an assisted living facility and sell her house. Last time he saw me leaving her house, after I saw the for-sale sign, he threatened to hurt her if I don’t stay away. He’s a textbook narcissist, and I think he’s dangerous.” When I open my eyes again, my parents are a blur, and I realize there are unshed tears clouding my vision. Instead of burying my face in my hands, hiding my weakness, I let them see the fear shining in my eyes.

“Kai, you need to go to the police if you think she’s in danger. You need to tell them about how he’s threatened you.” My mom’s voice rises an octave as her righteous fury builds. She stands, ready to hunt down her phone to call in the cavalry.

“Ma, he is the police.” I don’t need to say any more. Mom sits back down in her seat, as if the admission is physically weighing her down.

“I saw Serena today and she looked…broken. I think he pushed things too fast trying to lock her down, and she’s realized it but doesn’t know how to slow it down. I want to buy her house so when she needs a safe place to land, she will have one. I know how much she loves that house and the memories of her dad she has there. I don’t think selling it is what she truly wants. If we buy it, we can make sure she can get it back once she leaves him.”

“Kai, what makes you think she’s going to leave him?” My dad’s question sends a bolt of fear through my heart. I don’t even think before I respond.

“Because I will die before I let that asshole lock her into an abusive relationship. I will not let him rip away everything she knows and loves. She is my everything, and I will do whatever it takes to get her back.”

My parents exchange a long look, a silent debate raging between them. Mom thinks of Serena as a daughter, and I know—like me—there isn’t anything she won’t do to make sure she’s safe. Dad turns to me, resignation written on his face.

“And in the event this doesn’t work out like you hope, you’re gonna be living in the house that reminds you every day of the girl who got away. Think about that for a moment and let it sink in.”

Taking in a deep breath, I close my eyes and picture the worst-case scenario. Serena doesn’t leave Dom. They get married and have babies, and I wind up living in a house that will always remind me of her. No, that’s not the worst-case scenario. The worst-case scenario is Dom seriously hurts Serena or she winds up dead because she has nowhere safe to go because I didn’t try hard enough for her.

“I know, Pops. But it’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

“Alright, son. Let's go buy a house.”

Mom calls Auntie Shay, who is a realtor, letting her know they’re planning on putting an offer in on a house and need her to help negotiate. Then—as a unit—we march next door to “take a tour” and put an offer in, well above asking. Refusing to leave anything to chance, we make an offer that will be impossible to refuse.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

SERENA

Alight knocking on the door rouses me from my disturbed, fitful sleep. It takes a few moments for my brain to process where I am and why my body aches so much. As I slowly begin to unfurl from the ball I had curled myself into on the bathroom floor, the knocking resumes.

“Serena, baby. Will you let me in? Please, Kitten?” The sound of Dom’s voice freezes me, and adrenaline causes my heart to begin racing. He sounds apologetic. Contrite even, but the memory of the previous night flashes through my mind like a sick highlight reel. Dom’s hand closing around my throat, cutting off my air. The anger and accusation in his eyes during our argument. Waking up to find him on top of me, trying to enter me before I was even fully awake. The way the whiskey on his breath had made my eyes water. How I had to scream and shove at him to get him to stop.

“Go away, Dom.” My voice is raspy from sleep, my words lacking the snap I want them to have, mostly due to the exhaustion weighing me down.

“Please, Kitten. I’m so sorry. I know I was out of line. Will you come out so we can talk? I…I’m so embarrassed.” His voice catches on the last word, like he might be holding back a sob.

The remorse in his voice thaws the icy chill surrounding my heart, but I still take my time freshening up by splashing cool water on my face at the sink. My eyes are red and puffy from crying, dark circles under them highlighting how little sleep I had curled up on the bathroom floor. I lean in closer, trying to find evidence of our fight—from when he put his hand around my neck—but there is nothing. I can still feel the ghost of his touch closing off my airway, but there is no visible evidence of what he did. Maybe it really wasn’t as bad as I remember. Maybe it was my panic that caused my inability to breathe. He was drunk when he got home, and he did say he wanted to make me feel good. God…maybe I was the bitch in this situation?

When I open the bathroom door, Dom is sitting on the end of the bed with his face buried in his hands. When he looks up at me, I take in a sharp inhale of breath. He looks as rough as I feel. His eyes are red-rimmed and shadowed by dark circles, much like my own. Dark stubble dusts his normally smooth jawline, and his hair is sticking out in every direction, like he’s been running his hands through it. Before I can say a word, he’s up and on me, wrapping me in a hug so tight I can barely breathe, his face buried against my neck.