Kai pulled on black leather gloves as he walked over to his motorbike. It was a dangerous looking thing, all pipes and sharp angles. In one powerful movement, Kai straddled the bike and I watched his long leather jacket flutter into place on either side of the machine. He switched the ignition on and pressed the lever on the left handlebar. The engine roared to life, and I started doubting my ability to see this through. Kai's motorbike looked as intimidating as him.
"I didn't know motorbikes had GPS," I asked dubiously.
"Yeah, BMW GS bikes don't usually come with a GPS, but I got one fitted."
"Why do you need one? Do you get lost easily or something?" I baited.
Kai only shook his head. "I got the R1200 because it's made for rough terrain. I've been in some sticky situations in the past. Best to be prepared. You ready?"
Sticky situations? That definitely didn't sound like he was doing legal things. Did BMW even offer a service of fitting a GPS into their models? Unless Kai got it done illegally, which was highly likely. Must've cost a lot of money either way. I walked up to the beast of a bike and realised I wouldn't be able to sit on it as smoothly as Kai. To start with, it came up to my waist. I'd probably have to pole vault to get on it gracefully.
"See this?" Kai pointed to a small grey lever sticking out near the bottom of the bike. "Put your left foot on that and use it to push off the ground."
"Ah, right. Okay, but are you sure I won't break it? Not that I'm saying I will, or that I want to. I'm just concerned that, you know, it might break? Plus I don't have that kind of money for repairing it and everything," I replied nervously.
Kai raised an eyebrow and I sensed a rebuttal coming.
"Are you trying to say that you're overweight?"
"What? No! No, I'm just worried that I might break the pipe by standing on it! This isn't about me, I'm worried for your bike."
"That 'pipe', is a footpeg. If it can remain intact after being used countless times, by people much heavier than you, then I'm pretty sure it won't break now. Look, it's normal to feel nervous, just accept the feeling and get over it. There's no need to hide behind words."
I smiled sheepishly. At least I got him to talk for longer than five seconds.
"Ready?" Kai asked, clearly amused.
I smiled again as I nodded in response to Kai's question, but it didn't reach my eyes. Who would've thought that the first time I'd sit on a motorbike would be to visit Mum at the hospital? Kai's face softened slightly, and I caught his expression before his stoic mask snapped back into place. I placed my foot on the peg, using it as leverage, and swung my right leg over the bike gracelessly.
"Hey, that wasn't so bad. You could've just told me it's like sitting on a horse!" I said as I tried to get comfortable on the seat.
"It's not the same as a horse. Horses are unpredictable, they don't stand still and they smell."
"How would you know?" I asked, intrigued by the breadcrumbs of information Kai was dropping.
"I know more than most," he said cryptically.
I frowned and thought about how to ask him more without sounding nosey. Of course he'd be careful with his answers though, for all he knew I could go to the police and tattle. I'd already threatened him with that the first time we met. The memory of that night made my stomach drop like I was sitting on a rollercoaster. I shook my head, trying to focus on the present task at hand: surviving a motorbike ride.
My knees were touching Kai's hips, and I didn't want to get any closer. I tried to move back further, but I'd probably have to hold Kai's shoulders at some point because I was already struggling to maintain my balance, and the bike wasn't even moving yet.
Without warning, Kai pulled my arm forward and put it around his waist securely. My chest smacked into the wide expanse of his shoulders as I slid forward. My back arched as if someone had thrown cold water down my hoodie, and I was glad Kai couldn't see my face.
This was way too close for comfort.
"If I lean right, then you lean right. If I lean left, you lean left. Simple. You have to move with me."
He let go of my arm and started tucking his laces into his boot. The rational part of my mind was trying to understand why Kai wasn't tying his laces up, while the other part of my mind was begging me to acknowledge the fact that he had defined abs. I tried not to concentrate on how firm his muscles felt, and wiggled back a little, trying to create some distance between us. I briefly wondered how many girls had sat behind him like this. But before I let myself react to that thought, I cleared my throat and formulated a question.
"Okay, so um, what if you lean forward?" I asked nonchalantly, but my heart was beating furiously.
"Then hold tight," Kai replied as he reached down to the side of the bike.
Thankfully, my arm was too short to go all the way around his abdomen, but I could still feel his muscles contracting as he moved. I quickly distracted myself with thoughts of falling off the motorbike and getting grievously injured.
"Here, wear this."
I took the black helmet from Kai, and put it on without argument, glad to move my hand off his torso. As soon as I'd adjusted the chin strap, I hesitantly placed my arm back around Kai's waist, keeping my grip light. I was just about to ask where his helmet was, but I heard a low chuckle.
"It suits you," Kai said lightly.
Kai Aleron just laughed? If my hand wasn't on his abdomen, I probably wouldn't have believed it, but it was true. His vibrating muscles confirmed it. I'd finally made Kai laugh. Instead of relishing the moment though, I was wracked with nerves.
"You might get pushed forward when I slow down, so grip the bike with your legs."
I tried to focus on his instruction rather than the weird sensations in my stomach.
"The helmets have in-built mics that work through Bluetooth, so we can talk without having to shout. I'm gonna test it out, if you can't hear anything let me know."
Kai pulled his helmet on and snapped the sun visor down. There was a little crackling sound and then his deep voice filled the helmet.
"Testing."
"Affirmative," I replied.
"Affirmative?"
"Oh sorry!" I cleared my throat lightly and began in a machine-operator voice. "Message received. Testing successful. All systems are go."
I heard Kai holding back a laugh, but he continued the joke, "Lift off in 3, 2, 1..."
I heard the sound of revving as Kai moved off the curb, and the slight wobble sent adrenaline coursing through my body. I instantly latched onto Kai with both hands like a child. He slowly increased the speed and I clung onto him, not caring if I was squeezing too hard. This was going to be a long journey.
"I will catch you if you fall off, but try to stay on the bike." Kai's words did nothing to calm me, but I was glad to hear his reassurance. But, I probably wouldn't have loosened my hold even if he told me that he couldn't breathe.
The speakers in the helmet made it seem as if Kai was behind me, and I felt overwhelmed by the sound of him breathing. He sounded like a wolf. I felt the bike steadily increase in speed, and I closed my eyes tight, instinctively pulling Kai even closer. The wind was cold but somehow Kai was still warm, so I absorbed as much warmth as I could.
"We're halfway there, you doing okay?" asked Kai. His voice sounded a little strained, but the bike was steady so I didn't question it.
"Why didn't you get a seat belt installed?" I retorted with as much indignation as I could manage.
Kai's short laugh temporarily disabled my fear, but he made a right turn, and I stuck to him like glue so I wouldn't have to lean. I tightened the grip of my legs blindly, uncertain of what I was squeezing, Kai or the bike. The bike leaned towards the right, and I nearly screamed as Kai tilted with it and took me with him. It felt like we were going to fall off. As the bike straightened, I let go of the breath I'd been holding.
"Alright?"
That one word warmed me to the core. Kai could've said anything and it would've made me feel the same, but I wasn't ready to feel this way. Not with him. I nodded in response before remembering that there was a mic in the helmet.
"Ah, yeah I'm fine," I said in my strongest voice.
"Five minutes away now, hang in there."
I looked over Kai's shoulder at the open road ahead and let his steady breathing calm me. Kai turned into the hospital's parking lot, and this time I expected the tilt so instead of freaking out, I moved with it.
Kai centered the bike into a parking space, and switched the ignition off. I stayed stuck to his back, clinging like a koala bear with my helmeted head resting on his broad shoulders. Kai didn't move or speak. I didn't want to let go of him. I didn't want to go into the hospital.
Realising that I couldn't sit on his bike forever, I released my hold on Kai. He got off the bike in one quick motion, and turned to stand in front of me.
"Let's go," he said tapping my helmet gently.
I pulled it off and handed it to Kai without replying. He offered me his hand, and I took it gratefully. A quiet voice in my heart wished that he wasn't wearing padded gloves, but I ignored it. This guy was dangerous. For my heart and my life.
I jumped off the bike bike clumsily, glad for Kai's support. He didn't let go of my hand, and I squeezed his gloved fingers before letting go.
Staring at the ground, I made my way towards Eastbourne hospital without looking back to see if Kai was following me or not.
I searched the waiting room wildly.
"Joshua!" I ran up to my brother and hugged him tight. He was sitting right near the front, and I hadn't noticed him because he looked so haggard.
Joshua held me tight, and I fought to control my tears. He wasn't a hugger. Something awful must've happened. Not wanting to create a scene, I took a deep breath and fought to remain calm.
"Is Mum okay? What happened? Can we see her?"
"They're still running tests on her. Look you better sit down, and what took you so long? I called you nearly two hours ago!"
"Fine, I'm sitting, now tell me what happened to her! I've been so worried, is she alright? Can I see her?"
Joshua spoke carefully, as if his words were stones and I was glass. "She was admitted into the hospital about four hours ago, and they haven't even let me see her yet. Holly, she had a heart attack."
I felt like I'd been punched right in the chest. Joshua put his arm around me before continuing.
"I came down for breakfast and she saw my injuries. I didn't want to tell her what happened, but you know how Mum gets. She demanded to know and I ended up telling her everything. The drugs, the threat from Tom... everything. And then she— she just lost it, Holly." Joshua looked haunted as he ran a hand through his hair.
"She started shouting and saying stuff that made no sense. Like how she knew we were never safe, and that we had to hide. I tried to tell her that I would protect you guys, but it was like she didn't hear me. You know when Mum gets like that, I calm her down, but this time she didn't even let me touch her! Next thing I know, she's lying on the ground holding her chest." Joshua's voice broke, and he covered his face with his hands.
"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault," he whispered in horror.
"No, Joshua you—"
He stood up abruptly, and almost ran out of the waiting room.
I sat on the plastic seats alone, feeling like a child again. Confused and scared, waiting in a Greek airport for a plane to take me away.
"Holly-bear?" said a deep voice.
The air in my lungs was forced out with one harsh exhale. I stood up slowly, not ready to believe what my heart screamed at me.
I knew that voice.
That name. No one called me that name. No one except...
"Dad?" I asked in a whisper.
It couldn't be. Dad was in Greece. It was better that way, he said.
I lost all energy in my legs as my eyes came to rest on him.
Dad's face held so many emotions, and each one battled for dominance on his face.
His tear-filled eyes broke my heart, and I felt myself falling.
For anyone who doesn't want to look up BMW R1200 GS, the image below is Kai's motorbike ;D
This chapter hasn't been edited to the best of my ability, so please make me aware of any mistakes, or anything that could be described in a better way! I always appreciate suggestions for improvements so please feel free to comment!
Holly's Dad is here! Why? How? Who called him? :0
Thank you for your patience and your readership! <3 Don't forget to vote for this chapter if you enjoyed it :)
The wound is the place where the Light enters you~ Rumi