Page 48 of Exile
Kai’s face becomes a shapeless blur as tears pool, obscuring my vision. I know he’s right. I do. But there is a small, but very loud, part of me that won’t stop yelling that I was so stupid for falling for Dom’s pretty words when my gut kept screaming “No!” at so many points along the way.
Kai pulls me into him and lets me break, his warm embrace the only thing keeping me together at this point. I don’t know how I still have tears left to cry at this point. They don’t stop coming but Kai only continues to hold me as I let my grief of the life I lost wash over me.
Eventually, the seemingly never-ending tears do come to an end. When I pull away, Kai’s shirt is soaked. “Shit, I’m sor—” I don’t even get the word out of my mouth before he’s pressing a finger to my lips, hushing me. With a shake of his head, I let my apology die on my lips.
“Let’s eat something and come up with a plan, yeah?” Kai motions to the pile of snacks on the desk, and my stomach lets out a loud rumble in agreement.
“Yeah, that sounds good. Let me splash some water on my face.” By the time I exit the bathroom, looking mildly less like a puffy-faced chipmunk with allergies, Kai has popped some microwave popcorn and spread a cornucopia of junk food across the desk. I take in the spread of candy bars, fruit candies, trail mix, toaster pastries and popcorn and can’t help but laugh. Kai turns when he hears my muffled snort and grasps the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Sorry, options are limited. I tried to get a variety of snacks, but it’s not exactly a four-course restaurant meal.” My mind flashes back to my first date at that fancy restaurant with the words on the menu I couldn’t pronounce and how uncomfortable I was in that element. Seeing Kai doing his best to take care of me, even with such limited options, causes an epiphany to come crashing through me. This is what he does. This is what he has always done. He may not have ever taken me out for a fancy meal or weekend retreat, but he has always taken care of me in his own way. I must get too caught up in my head because Kai’s brows furrow in concern.
“If this isn’t enough, I’ll go out to find us some food… I think there’s a gas station a few miles down the road. They might have some hot opt?—”
I cross the room and steal Kai’s move of hushing him with a finger on the lips.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” Our eyes connect and the energy between us becomes taut with the electric need that was present the night at the hospital. The reminder of the feeling of his lips on mine causes a flush to creep up my face, but before my mind can get carried away with that memory, Kai’s lips turn up in a slight smirk. Without warning he sticks his tongue out and licks my finger like a dog, causing me to squeal in surprise.
“Come on, you need to eat.” Kai offers up the bag of popcorn, and I snatch it out of his hands greedily.
We don’t talk while we eat. We just stuff ourselves with junk food while only half-watching the Supernatural reruns on the TV. I know Kai wants to figure out our next move. I know he wants me to report Dom’s abuse and get checked out at a hospital, but my mind won’t stop spiraling over the what ifs if Dom gets away with it. What if he continues to escalate? What if he hurts my mom? What if he goes after Kai? I have no home to go back to any longer. Where will I live?
“Hey, ReRe, where’d you go?” Kai’s hushed question startles me from my thoughts.
“Nowhere…everywhere? I dunno, Kai. I don’t know what to do. I’m so scared. He took everything from me and I’m afraid he is going to go after you next…” When my confession leaves my lips, I realize it is my biggest fear. Knowing what Dominick is capable of, him hurting Kai in any way is what scares me most. I guess we have that in common. Our only concern is the other’s safety.
“That’s why we are going to do this right, ReRe. I’m not going to let him get away with this. We will take it one step at a time, okay?” The certainty in Kai’s tone settles my worry some. The conviction in his eyes tells me there is only one option here and he will not stop until Dominick is punished.
I take a deep breath, trying to infuse myself with some of his confidence, and nod my head in agreement. “Okay, so what’s the first step?” I look into his eyes, ready to take this leap, putting all of my faith into him.
“Let me document your injuries.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
SERENA
“Let me document your injuries.”
I stand there for a moment, absorbing Kai’s words as shame paralyzes me. I can’t stand the thought of him seeing evidence of what Dom did to me. The extent of it. Dom was so angry after my attempt at running that he completely lost all pretense of caring about appearances and left marks all over my body. It’s why I haven’t been able to leave the house for days. He was keeping me in seclusion until the proof of his abuse had faded away.
Sensing my hesitation, Kai steps closer, gently cupping my face in his hands and guiding my eyes to meet his. “Serena, it’s important that we can prove what he did to you. The longer we wait, the more the bruising will fade. You’re safe here with me. I swear.”
Staring into Kai’s warm, rich brown gaze, I get lost in a sea of memories. Hot chocolate after snowball fights during the blizzard of 2012. Late night movie marathons. Our between-class lunch dates that he always, always paid for. Study sessions. Kai holding me when I got the worst news of my life the night of my parents’ accident. Him being there every single day after to check on me and make sure I was still putting one foot in front of the other. I am safe with Kai. There is no one else on earth who makes me feel safer. Slowly, I nod in agreement.
A look of relief flashes across Kai’s face. “Alright, I’m gonna run out to the car and grab my gear. I’ll be right back.”
When Kai walks out the door, I decide to strip down to my underwear while he is out of the room. I’m afraid I won’t have the courage to bare myself to him while he’s watching. When Kai comes back, he’s looking down at his camera, checking the settings. He doesn’t see me standing in the middle of the room mostly naked, save for my bra and panties.
“I know this will be difficult, but we will go as slow…” Kai’s words trail off when he looks up and sees me, arms crossed in front of my chest, trembling, trying to hide how exposed I feel. His eyes don’t leave my face, and for that, I’m grateful. He is refusing to look until I tell him to.
“Are you sure you’re ready, ReRe?” His voice is soft, laced with concern. Kai wants to nail Dominick’s ass to the wall, but he doesn’t want to hurt me more in the process.
I close my eyes and jerk a nod. Tears sting the backs of my eyelids, but I refuse to let them fall. Dominick has gotten enough of my tears. It’s time for me to start taking my power back.
When I open my eyes again, Kai is still staring at my face, waiting for me to give him consent. “Let’s do this,” I say as I drop my arms, letting them hang by my side. Kai’s eyes slowly trail down my body, his face growing darker and angrier as he follows the pattern of red-purple bruises down my biceps, across my chest, around my hips to the insides of my thighs. Dom was so rough the last time he took me, it seemed like he didn’t leave any part of my body unmarked. Kai’s jaw pops when he clenches it. I watch him, waiting to see how he will react. He closes his eyes and inhales a slow deep breath, holding it for several long seconds before exhaling. He does that twice more before opening his eyes again. I’ve seen him do the same ritual before when trying to keep his temper in check, but that was years ago in high school when he was dealing with a bully.
When Kai opens his eyes again, there is a look of steely determination in them. He lifts the camera to his face, and I hold my arms out, palms up, offering up my darkest secrets in the name of justice. I close my eyes while he takes his photos, willing myself to feel even a fraction of the strength I saw in his eyes moments ago. He’s careful not to touch me, but I feel the heat from his body as he walks around me, crouches near me, getting images of my injuries from every angle. I’m so absorbed in the quiet click of the shutter as he works, I’m startled when he speaks again.
“Are you hurt anywhere I can’t see?”