Hiraeth ↭ Kai Parker

5. Only Eternity

"Because we're the only ones in this world." Kai stated. "It's not rocket science, Indi." 

He was met by a blast of wind knocking him from the bike. As he stood and rubbed his aching head, Indi peddled away from him.

"What are you feeling, Indigo?" Kai muttered, jogging after her.

Watching her fade from his view sent his heart rate spiking.

Irrational fears such as her suddenly vanishing crept up into his soul. He didn't register what his body was doing to the road reaching up to meet him. He heard a strangled voice screaming her name. 

It took him a confusing second to realize that it was his voice, tearing from his vocal cords and calling for the only shred of sanity he clung to. Indi was more to Kai than he wanted to admit. From the time he met her as an infant, the second her tiny finger looped around his own he knew he could never live without her; not really.

When he didn't know or understand anything else he could look to the girl with sea green eyes. He could look to his fiancée and she was and would always be. Even if it didn't matter now, even if she hated him, the dangerous emotion sent his voice screaming, pleading for her to come back. 

He wasn't in control, not really. It was as if his subconscious had forced his conscious to scream out for her but to not let himself make himself stop. It was confusing. He felt like he was staring at his crumpled form.

His pathetic form, reaching out into the air as if he had any magic to pull her back. His eyes weren't even open; they were screwed tightly shut as he screamed so desperately. Had there ever been a time he screamed for someone? 

Honestly, Kai couldn't ever recall. He screamed when he was being beaten by his father for simply being born. Maybe he screamed when he was born? Scowling, he crouched next to himself, he was hallucinating, surely. 

Or maybe this was another version of this hell? Indi only mentioned that they were trapped for all eternity with only one another for company.

 If they died, they'd come back the same as they currently are; a never ending eternity, reliving the same day over and over. Maybe she forgot something? Indi could be forgetful and rash, look where it led her.

To Kai's shock, he felt himself being lifted and cradled, warm, dainty fingers intertwined with his own and he felt the thundering power of a racing heart. His eyes snapped open, his lips parted as he saw sea green peering at him in realization and something else he didn't understand. 

She had come back. At the sound of her name passing from his lips, the reason she was trapped, she still turned around and came back. Kai knew for certain no one would come back for him or, at least he had been certain because even after what he did, Indi came back. 

He clamped his mouth closed, his eyes closing as he rested his head against her collarbone. He felt warm, in a panic he opened his eyes but found that he wasn't taking her magic. 

He just felt warm and logic said it was because of their bodies being pressed tightly against one another. Neither were wearing jackets so maybe that was why he felt warm so quickly and easily.

"You left." Kai found his voice hoarse and his throat aching. 

How long and loud had he screamed? And why? It wasn't like he'd never see her again. Even if she had left, he had eternity to find her. So why had he reacted like this?

"You killed your siblings." Indi murmured, her arms were clinging tightly to him. 

Her head rested on top of his as she peered at the still spinning wheels of her bike. Her legs ached from how quickly she had peddled. The sound of her name being screamed and distorted form his lips was something that haunted her. She never wanted to hear that sound again.

"Only four of them." Kai corrected, his eyes slipping closed as he enjoyed the warmth he was feeling and from wherever it was he was feeling it from.

"Right, that makes things better." Indi sighed, lifting her head and untangling herself from him; she stood and tugged him up with her.

"Why are we standing?" Kai pouted. "I was warm and comfortable where I was at."

Indi blanched quickly moving around him and picking up her bike so she could ignore the flutter of her heart. 

"Since we're trapped here for eternity, we need some ground rules." Indi concluded, climbing onto her bike and looking at him. 

He tilted his head before climbing onto the front of the handlebars. The bike wobbled and Indi groaned after a passing moment, their positions were reversed and Kai was pedaling toward town.

"Like don't go to your house?" Kai easily peered over her. Her head bobbed up and down. "What other rules do you want? Shouldn't not having rules be a form of self torture?"

Indi jostled as he hit a rock, her grip tightened on the handlebars. "I guess? Look we're the only ones in this entire world and that's horrifying."

"It is?" Kai was caught off guard.

"Yes." Indi stressed. "It'll drive us insane and don't you dare say you already are." She cut him off before he could even bring up that point.

"I'm a sociopath, there is a difference." Kai replied, doing better to avoid even the smallest of rocks littering the road.

"I'm aware." Indi drawled. "But some of the rules can ones you come up with." She offered.

"You don't leave." Kai was quick to answer. "You don't leave me no matter what, that's my one rule."

Indi gnawed on the inside of her cheek. "That's a pretty weird rule." She admitted.

"You're pretty weird." Kai shrugged, placing his feet on the bike pedals and coasted down the slight hill. 

"You make me scream and I don't even realize it. I don't know why but you have to stay with me. Like you said, don't want you going insane."

"That's not what, never mind." Indi shook her head as they reached the town. Kai peddled them toward the movie theater.

"So what is your list of rules?" Kai inquired, parking the bike inside the movie theater despite Indi's short lived rant. 

It had taken a moment for her to remember that, no one cared. No one was there to stop them from doing whatever they wanted. He found the silver lining, now it was her turn.

Indi peered at him from across the candy counter. He was already grabbing different sorts of candy and the popcorn machine was going. She crossed her arms and thought. Kai made one rule and despite what he might think it wasn't that easy of a rule to keep. 

Still, it was only one and Indi realized she should only make one rule. The problem was, what was the one rule she made? Her initial plan of ignoring him and living in solitude was tossed out of the window. 

The echoing of how painful his voice sounded as he screamed for her sent a shiver down her spine. She rolled her shoulders and relinquished whatever thoughts and plans she had prior to that haunting sound. Pulling herself up onto the glass counter she stole a box of skittles and opened them.

"My one rule is no stealing magic. You want to learn, I'll teach you. You want magic, we can go on some epic adventure and find magical objects for you to steal from but under no circumstances do you steal my magic."

 Indi peered at him as he joined her, their shoulders bumping together as he dropped the boxes of candy next to them.

"Don't leave and don't steal your magic." Kai hummed. "Great." 

He clapped his hands, slipping from the counter and gathering the candy once more. He headed toward one of the theater rooms only pausing in the doorway to gesture with his head for her to hurry along.

"What the hell," Indi muttered, slipping from the counter and lazily following after him. "It's only eternity."