Deception. Betrayal. Mistrust.
It seems the closer Rayne gets to the truth, the more she finds herself wanting to run away from it. It's complex and terrifying-more than she ever fathomed.
New family members, good and bad, pop out at her like a br...
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𝗞ai wondered how many hits to the head it'd take to be put out of his misery.
Fingers aimlessly drumming the circular cafeteria table, the other permanently smooshed to his cheek with the viscosity of his palm, he stared at the irritating faces of his parents, wishing he were five tables down with Blake and Emiko. Even if they had taken a step away so Blake could breastfeed, he knew the energy with them wouldn't be as properly dreadful.
"Kai, are you even listening to me?" Valeria snapped her fingers in his face.
He lethargically pulled his eyes away from the three girls and boringly glanced at his mother. He watched her eyebrow tick in suppressed frustration as he signed that he was, in fact, not deaf nor blind and that this lack of intrigue in the conversation had nothing to do with his temporary disability.
"Can you attempt to be civil with your mother?" Samuel sighed.
His father ran a hand through his thinning brown hair and looked around the room, avoiding the carefully placed eye contact of his wife and son.
"I'm sitting here, isn't that enough?" Kai emphasized his exasperation with a few gestures.
"You haven't paid attention to anything she's said."
"And you two haven't listened to me my entire life," he scoffed, "Entertaining this little pity party of yours is all the empathy for your emotions I can scrounge up and offer. If that's not enough for you, then I'll gladly head back to my room—head back to my husband—who, thanks to you, ran off after you put your manly mitts all over him."
Valeria hit the table hard enough for him to hear it but not to disrupt the room. He wanted to curl his lip and show her how disgusted he was by her obvious insensitivity toward his injuries and their discussion, but when his eyes found her face, he couldn't help but feel small.
Instead of standing his ground like he'd planned when he accepted their apologies on Mason's suggestion, he slouched in his chair and shut his mouth.
He knew what his mother was indirectly saying with her actions.
As far as he knew, neither of them had an understanding of Mason's past, leading to their ignorance in regard to how wounded Mason would be after being touched by a trusted friend. Even if it was done endearingly, his trauma refused the presence of a male. It wasn't like they had a right to know of his past, but Kai knew he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't recognize them.
The entire reason he had a cut across his face was because he'd done the same thing.
"I never would have touched Mason if I knew better," his father pleaded.
"I know," Kai looked at the girls again, noting Emiko's disappearance, "I'm sorry."
"Son, I don't want your apologies," Samuel shook his head, "Especially not when you have every right to be upset with me. You were protecting your husband, and that's nothing less than admirable."
