lifeline ⇾ kai parker

26┃rumor has it

"I'm not jealous. I just," he sighs, relaxing from the contact, "do you have to leave right now? Because, I kind of wanted to ask you something. Before you go play fetch in the park or whatever."

Mila rolls her eyes but a smile is once again on her face from the comment. "What is it?"

Kai pauses under her awaiting stare. All he really had to is unwind his fingers and let the silver band with its encrusted diamond fall into her palm. That action would cause him to get down on one knee, still in her mother's apron, and say the words. It would be a domino effect, but he suddenly couldn't tip over the first tile.

A notification ringing through the air breaks the tension. Mila grabs her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Kai lets his hand fall back at his side.

"I have to get going. We can talk later? When I get home?" Mila suggests. She is already walking backwards when Kai nods his head in agreement, still stuck in silence.

━━━━━

"MILA, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOUR food is getting cold." Alex questions from across the patio table of the Mystic Grill.

Mila's eyes avert from the lively sight of town square. Her surroundings were full of people making the transition from heavy to light clothing as spring flourishes and replaces the dry, icy air. However, her mind was elsewhere, even when she focuses back on the person in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," she answers, glancing down at the basket of fries and the burger she had barely touched. This was the first time in the past couple of days that she didn't have an appetite.

Alex leans forward; his forearms, bare from the rolled-up sleeves of his navy sweater, sticks against the recently wiped surface of the table. "About Josie?"

"No. I mean, yes. I'm concerned about what's going on with her but also Kai was acting weird this morning." Mila shifts in her chair with crossed arms. "He got really quiet in the middle of our conversation and he rarely is ever quiet. Seriously, he never shuts up. I didn't think anything of it at first but now... I don't know. I'm sorry. You probably don't want to hear about this."

"No, it's okay. Go on. You can talk to me," he reassures.

The sense of calmness that Alex always radiates sinks into her. She relaxes slightly, gazing at his attentive face. His eyes resembled the ocean more so from openness than color.

"Well, we recently got back together, as you know. And uh... in order to do that we made an agreement for things to be different this time, that he'd have to change."

Alex frowns. "And he's not?"

"No, he is. He's doing really well actually," Mila clarifies, sitting up straighter. "It's just-I don't know. Maybe he's starting to have doubts? He's made a lot of sacrifices, given up everything he knows just to make our relationship work this time, and maybe that's too much ask. Maybe I stripped him of his identity and he doesn't know what to do."

Her bottom lips receives a slight pressure from her teeth as she bites it anxiously. She glances down at the bracelet she had taken up wearing again, its rose charm reminding her of the red flower that adorned her breakfast this morning. She didn't have to guess where he had gotten it; the kitchen window looked into their neighbor's yard and he had left the sheers on the counter — the reminder of how mischievous he is made her smile a bit.