Previously: Kai shares some more information and Hilary gets excited for a surprise party with her family
If anyone has tips for dealing with family (that don't include murder) let me know
The first thing that hits me is my mom's cooking. Inhaling is like ascending to another realm. Immediately, I am home. The door opens to a small entry where my parents keep their shoes, coats, and other outdoor gear. Turning left from here will bring us to the front living space, which is connected to the dining room. Right goes to the guest bathroom, the family room, and the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms. The kitchen sits at the back of the house, a long bridge between the family room and dining area. I take Kai's hand and bring him through to the living room where I anticipate the group to be.
A shout of surprise echos from everyone and there are more people than I expected to see. Amongst the familiar faces of my family are a few friends from school I haven't spoken to in years. I recognize Max and his mom, Judy, from the dinner party.
"Wow," I say as my mom rushes up to hug me. I drop Kai's hand without much thought to return her tight squeeze. It doesn't last as long as I'd like, as she pulls away and turn towards Kai. I watch, unsure of how he'll react to the attention. My mom is a warm person. She welcomes others easily, almost instinctively knowing what they need. Throughout my childhood, I took note of how she adjusted to fit the people around her and yet never once lost herself. It's something I still can't manage. However, Kai is...not a warm person. Despite the time we've spent together, no matter how comfortable I get in his presence, he's never shaken that cold wall. At least, not with me.
Kai stands straight, ridged as my mom opens her arms. A step closer, she comes to a stop for a second, adjusting to enfold his stiffly offered hand into hers. Her open smile never falters.
"Welcome home," she says. "It's so nice to finally meet you."
Kai introduces himself smoothly, but it's clear he's out of his element and not as comfortable as he's trying to portray. It's endearing, in a way and I smile fondly as my mom pulls him in and introduces him to everyone. As I take a step to follow, the twins appear at my side, one at each shoulder. They're the oldest of us, but even so, they still look like they're in their early twenties. Tell me how that's fair.
"So, that's Kai Hiwatari?" Queen says. At the same time, her mother appraises him behind his back. A lingering once-over that reveals her thoughts too easily.
"Please, not again," I whisper, having gone through this with Emily already. "You don't have to say his full name every time you speak about him."
"We were surprised to hear that you were getting married at all," King muses. "Who'd have expected that?"
It's too early to have my mood ruined. Leaving them there with a pointed glare, I follow the crowd to the kitchen that's just off the dining room. I have to break through the bodies surrounding him in the too-tight space to insert myself at his side. When I was younger, it never made sense to me that our house was where everyone gathered. It was modest, some would say small, as opposed to the house the twin's lived in. It was practically a mansion compared to my home. Over the years, though, I understood – it wasn't about the amount of space.
Almost instinctively, Kai's arm wraps around my waist and pulls me closer. I bite my lip, pushing back the warm feelings, but my smile still breaks through.
"The food is buffet style, so take what you want," my mom tells Kai. She pats his shoulder gently.
Kai nods, kindly allowing her to guide us here and there. Occasionally, he looks dumbfounded by her mothering. He glances down at me discreetly but I can only laugh to myself. Heading a business meeting of a multi-billion dollar company, no problem.
Dealing with a woman no taller than five feet as she tries to feed him? Send in the rescue squad.
As my old friends come up to greet me, I'm forced to let him go as my family pulls him deeper into the house. The conversation veers off of the surprise party to catch up on our lives, and my attention is pulled over to where my mom and aunts are fluttering around him. Of course, I had reservations about letting him meet my family. I don't want them to get attached only for him to leave. It's one thing if they think I'm getting married and then it turns out I'm not. It's another for them to lose a son in the process.
My mom laughs at something Kai says and I sigh. There's no avoiding it now.
"Hilary, come sit with us," Emily calls. She's sitting at the dining table with Judy and Max, her belly rounder than the last time I saw her. Breaking from the conversation I wasn't paying attention to anyway, I head over to their group.
"Was this you?" I ask, taking a seat next to her across from Max.
Her eyes slide to me, unimpressed. "You still can't lie and that surprise face you made was horrible. It's shocking Kai finds anything attractive about it. I have no doubts he told you. Now, it's only a matter of who told him," her focus shifts to the blonde man with an accusatory tone.
Max doesn't bother with denial. Smiling, he holds up two fingers, a peace sign asking for forgiveness. "I give. He worked it out of me. I'm sure Hilary can attest to how scary he can be," Max winks a bright eye at me. "And I thought the surprise face was cute,"
A giggle escapes from me before I can contain it. He's just as charming as the first time I met him. "Oh, Kai can be very scary," I agree, nodding enthusiastically. "Thank you for coming. I'm sure seeing you makes him more comfortable."
Max leans forward, hands under his chin. "It's nice to see him like this," he says. His gaze glides to Kai, soft and thoughtful. I recall his nickname from the dinner, Sly Kai. They've clearly known each other for a while. Though they couldn't be more different, I sense a closeness between them. I'll have to get Max alone so I can pick his brain about Kai's past some more. He's probably a wealth of information and doesn't seem like the type to mind sharing. I see Emily staring at me from the corner of my eye as I study him.
Max," she says without breaking our mutual gaze, "why don't you go attend to your friend. He's looking a little overwhelmed."
Max sits up straighter. "I think he's fine. Kai can stand to be the center of attention for a minute,"
"Just go," Emily insists, finally looking at him. Softer, she adds, "It's what you're here for."
I wait, eager to see how he'll respond to Emily's demands. The energy at the table rises, like a large wave ready to crash. But then it doesn't. The energy breaks and we get his easy smile instead. "Sure thing," Max says, standing to leave the table.
The table is silent until Max is standing at Kai's side, detaching him from our mother's circle. After that, Judy picks up her drink, a dark red wine. She must have brought it herself since it's not my mom's usual taste. "Emily, where's your other cousin – the dark-haired one,"
Emily's face pales. "Queen? Why?"
"We had a discussion earlier about women in the workplace. She's got some...interesting views."
I have interesting views. Why don't you talk to me, I think sourly. Emily and I share a look. It's a common game Queen plays. She finds what makes a person tick and then puts pressure on it until she's bored, leaving the person rightly furious. Emily's right to be wary.
"She's around," Emily says slowly. She's desperate to appease her idol but doesn't want her to leave the table.
Judy stands. I'd already settled with this as soon as she asked about Queen but Emily sits up, eyes wide with pleading. "I think I'll go find her,"
"Judy, I -" Emily starts but she's already gone. A heavy breath leaves her as she panics.
"And then there were two," I comment as Judy disappears. The house isn't that big. She'll find Queen soon enough.
"I wish I could drink," she replies wearily.
"Serves you right for chasing Max away,"
Emily sneers. "You're already engaged. What do you need Max for?"
"I want to make friends with Kai's friends. And Max seems so sweet,"
"He is," Her eyes drift to where Judy went. "I'm going to go make sure Queen doesn't say anything to her."
I blink at the empty table, only their plates left as evidence that I wasn't alone. So much for this being my surprise party. I look around for Kai, the one person who is guaranteed to give me attention. Max has managed to get him away from the parents and into a conversation with Michael. His shoulders are more relaxed now than they were before as he talks freely. Despite what I want, I can't bring myself to interrupt what will probably be the only comfortable conversation he'll have all evening.
Somehow, even at my own party, I end up playing hostess. After clearing the plates, I look again for my friends and see them gathered in the living room, trying to discreetly peek at King as he sits at the family piano. It's nothing special, but he tinkers with the keys gracefully. I venture over, hoping that my presence will kill any fantasies before they start. It's the one thing I can do to save them.
"Queen busy playing with Emily's emotions?" He says as soon as I'm close enough. I've never been able to figure out how they know who's approaching.
He smirks as I slide in next to him. His cool complexion really does remind of Rick but he's so much slighter and leaner the comparison ends there. "Emily is unusually easy rattle today. Normally, it's you. Must be the hormones."
"It's not nice for Queen to take advantage of that, you know,"
"I'll be sure to tell her,"
"What about you, any nasty plans for the evening?"
"If I did, would I ruin them to warn you?"
I'm aware of King's calculating gaze. It's an unspoken fact between the cousins that King is the lesser of two evils; he's just not as ruthless as Queen. Whether that's because he doesn't get as much joy from it or for some other reason is up for debate. What we do know is, he's just as clever as she is and still very much at her whim.
"It is my party," I remind him, trying to be persuasive. "It could be your gift."
His fingers still on the keys, ending the melody on a deep note. "We got you a coffee table book on castles in Europe. I'm sure your new friend will find some of them familiar. And this isn't your party - it's Emily's." His eyes glide across the room.
I don't have time to deconstruct everything King said as I follow his lead. Emily stands with Michael, wrapped around his arm. Max is no longer there, leaving Kai with only the two of them. It might as well just be Emily since Michael has a glazed look in his eyes, his mind drifting away by the second. Emily speaks rapidly while Kai nods in an endless cycle.
King closes the piano lid and leans in close. "You'll never win because she no longer cares about beating you. Her sights are a bit higher now. You're the only one still stuck in the past," he whispers. Then he flashes that white smile and leaves to join Emily.
She glares at him as he interrupts the conversation by cutting in front of her. He stands too close to Kai, capitalizing all of his attention. King's chin tilts up in a pleased smirk as Kai replies to whatever he said, but he doesn't step back to create a space between them. My face flushes hot. Of course, Emily arranged this to get closer to Kai. She's always looking for investors in whatever project she's starting and probably sees him as a bottomless bank account for her to feed off of. And I was foolish enough to just walk him in here like it's no big deal. I'm so stupid.
I stare expectingly at Kai, waiting for him to sense my eyes like he always does. He can't be that engaged in whatever they're talking about. They can't be so interesting that he forgets about me.
He doesn't look. Judy joins their conversation, probably fed up arguing with Queen. Kai steps aside to make space for her, nodding along to something she says. Emily laughs too loud. Michael and King exit, meaning the conversation has officially moved to business, which Michael has no interest in and King can't manipulate the way he likes.
It's only been an hour but I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go back to the city, where it's just the two of us. At least when his friends ignore me, I can convince myself it's because they're his friends. Not that they ever have.
My friends from school approach to let me know they're leaving and they hope I enjoy the gifts. My capacity to care enough to listen to their excuses is at zero as I walk them to the door. I wave as they pile into their single car and drive off. I wish was them. Before closing the door, my eye catches Spencer's car. The sky has darkened considerably and the wind's picked up since our arrival. It gives me an idea. Alone, I walk around to the kitchen, avoiding Emily and her group in the dining room so that Kai doesn't see me. Most of the others are gathered in the family room. They ignore me as I pass through, absorbed in their own little worlds. In the kitchen, my mom stands at the sink, washing dishes. I pick up a dish towel to hurry along the drying process. The window in front of the sink looks out into our backyard. Normally, the groups would have spilled out to the garden, but the clouds have darkened to a threatening color keeping everyone indoors.
"He seems nice," my mom says, passing me a plate.
"He is,"
"Your father likes him as well,"
I chuckle humorlessly. "What's not to like? He's rich, handsome, smart, capable. Everything I could hope for."
She knows exactly what's got me upset. "You shouldn't be upset with him. Emily has a way of catching people off guard. He's probably just trying to be nice."
"It would be nice if he didn't leave me on my own at our party,"
She leans nudges me with her elbow, careful to keep her soapy gloves away. "You'll have plenty of time to be the center of his attention. Right now, he's just trying to figure everything out. It's a crazy bunch we've got here."
I want to correct her. Our family is actually quite tame compared to what he deals with on a regular basis. We should be a walk in the park but I let it go. There's no way I can tell her even a little of what his grandfather's said to me, much less what he was doing when he said it.
When she finished with the dishes, she takes off the gloves and leaves them at the sink while I putting the plates away. Coming behind me, wraps her arms around my waist in a gentle hug. "It'll work out. Just be patient and strong." Once I nod, she lets go and rejoins her sisters in the family room.
Judy and Emily are still dominating Kai's attention. I could pull him away, but then what would my excuse? Besides, as long as he's distracted, he won't notice me sneaking two plates of food and a thermos of hot tea to a certain pair.
As I walk to the car with my full hands, battling the chilly wind, Rick rolls down his window. "You abandoned him to your family?"
I'm not surprised he's more concerned with Kai than with me spilling food all over the place. "He'll live. These are for you,"
Rick looks at the plates and then back at me.
"Come on, my mom is actually a really good cook and you'll be out here for a while,"
Sighing, he reaches out and accepts the plates, passing one over to Spencer. While they're taking the first bites, I climb into the back seat and lean into the front to put the thermos in the cupholder. As I sit back, I see Spencer's green eyes watching me in the rearview mirror.
"I just need a minute," I say, "it's a bit warm in there."
They share a look before shrugging and continue eating. There's a low rumble of thunder overhead to contrast the quietness of the car.
"What do you guys do while Kai's away? It must be boring, just sitting here,"
"We don't need to be entertained like children," Rick says around a mouthful of food.
"Read, mostly," Spencer mumbles at the same time.
"You guys can come in, you know. I'd love to introduce you to my mom. There's more food, too," They're nearly finished with what I brought them and I know they can eat more. At that one dinner, Spencer packed away nearly three plates.
Spencer rotates his head so that he's actually looking at me and not just my reflection. "We appreciate it, but we'll stay here."
I nod lamely. Inside, I know my offer was more selfish than I implied. "I should go before it starts to rain," I say but I don't get out right away. I just need a few more minutes of peace. My mood is beginning to match the weather outside and there's no time for that. Finally, pulling it together enough, I step out and go around to the front. Rick rolls down his window again to pass the plates through. "Thanks for letting me hide for a little bit. Enjoy the tea."
Before rolling up the window, Rick nods. It's a small gesture but I take it for what it is: you're welcome. The wind is faster than it was when I came out, blowing my shirt in rapid waves. I've missed the small window of dry weather as the rain starts to come down in quick droplets. It gain speed by the second as I jog towards the front door, holding the plates over my head as a shield.
The door doesn't budge with I turn the knob. I try again, a feeling of unease settling over me. It's weird for the door to be locked, especially when we have guests. Someone had to purposefully turn the lock after I went out. From inside, I can hear my family singing along to the piano. A quick, lively song that drowns out my incessant knocking. The rain increases, coming down harder, splattering in sharp needles against my exposed arms and legs. I go around to the front window to see if I can get their attention, but immediately my feelings are validated as Queen stands in the window, as if she were waiting just for me. By now, I'm soaking wet. She's clearly won, so I point to the door, begging her to unlock it.
She slowly shakes her head, the sharp angles of her black bob sweep across her pale cheeks. There are only two ways this can go: either I suffer through the embarrassment of having everyone see me wet like a sopping rat or I play Queen's game.
Not ready to give in to either of those options I leave the window, pretending to go back to Kai's car before darting around to the back of the house. Hopefully, my sad walk was enough to convince Queen that I'd given up. All I can think about is being warm again. The back door is just off the family room and I yank on it as soon as my hand can wrap around the cold metal knob. Queen appears in that window, wagging her finger side to side.
"Don't you have something better to do?" I snap, slamming my fist against the wooden part of the door.
She points to her ear. "Sorry, can't hear you,"
Growling, I continue around the house. If I can find Emily maybe she'll have enough mercy to let me in. The rooms are empty as I duck in and out of the windows. Finally, I find them. Despite the sing-a-long happening in the living room, Emily and Judy still have Kai cornered in the dining room. Well, they're sitting at the table, but he might as well be cornered from the way Emily is relentlessly keeping him tied in a conversation.
I wave, trying to catch Emily's attention through the window. Her eyes drift over at the movement and then narrow once she sees me. I point to Queen, who's standing at the edge of the kitchen, waiting to see what she does. Emily shakes her head and waves me away, returning her attention to what Judy is saying.
I'd to rattle the windows if I weren't so concerned about Kai seeing me this way, with my hair plastered to my face, shivering and outsmarted.
Tired of playing, I return to the back door. Queen's always willing to trade for a favor. I never like being put in the position to "owe" her, and I'm even warier of it now that I'm connected to Kai. There's no telling what she'll ask for and the damage she can inflict if a favor goes undelivered is immeasurable.
Leaning against the door frame, I see her examining her nails through the window when I come up. "You win. Open the door, Queen. It's not funny anymore."
She smiles again, shaking her head. "It must be the music," she laughs. "I still can't hear you."
Just as I start to promise her what she wants, her smile fades, a dark glower taking its place as she looks behind me. I turn to see what she sees, only to find Rick standing there. His glare could only rival Kai's, not to mention the large muscles make him more of an immediate threat. His focus is solely on Queen, almost as if he doesn't see me at all.
"Open the door," he says. The deep tone leaves no room for arguing.
I hear a click of the lock being turned and then Queen disappears from sight. With chattering teeth, I pull it open and hold it, in case Rick wants to come inside. Like me, he's soaking wet. He doesn't say anything else before leaving the backyard. I let the door close behind me. Everywhere I go, I leave a trail of water. My first stop is to drop the dishes off in the kitchen sink. Kai was previously sitting in the chair facing away from the kitchen, but the group isn't there anymore. I can only assume that they've joined my family in the living room. Still, I feel his presence in the house like a buried landmine, just waiting to be found.
My next stop is the bathroom. The stairs let out into halls that goes in two directions. One hall leads to my parent's bedroom and the other has my bedroom and bathroom. The spaces between contain a multitude of pictures in mismatched frames, our family history out on display.
In the bathroom, I warm up with a quick shower. The water is scalding but just what my frozen bones need. I don't spend too long in there before reluctantly getting out and wrapping a towel around myself. My clothes are a heap of wet lumps in the sink and completely useless. I hope against all logic that my parents have some of my clothes from my school days still packed away. The wet clothes will have to wait until I find some dry ones.
I open the door for the bathroom to go across to my old bedroom turned office and jump back when a shadow moves in the corner of my eye.
"You come from a long line of happy ever afters," Kai says as he walks down the hall of pictures.
"What are you doing here?" I hold a hand to my chest to steady my heart, only to remember my towel.
Kai spares me a glance. Quickly, he sees my state of dress - or undress, more accurately - a turns away, returning his gaze fully to the pictures. The wall has always made me happy. Who wouldn't be cheered at seeing a bunch of smiling faces?
Instead of answering my question, he continues from where he left off. "Is everyone in your family happily married?"
"No," I answer. "Emily's parents are divorced. I think the twin's parents love each other, but maybe not like they used to. Or maybe that's just their family," I trail off.
"Your parents are still happy,"
"Yeah," I smile, "that's true."
"And you believe in it - happy ever after," he says. He's stopped in front of my parent's wedding picture.
"I do."
His head turns to look back at me but stops halfway. I get the sense that if he had looked, I would have seen him laughing at me.
"I believe it's hard work," I urge, "but I think it's totally possible to find one person that you can work with, and living in happiness until the end."
"Okay," He sounds unconvinced.
I step forward, further out of the bathroom. "More than that, it's what I want. I want the happily ever after, the totally sickeningly sweet love story, the absolute knowledge that the person I'm with is going to be That Person for the rest of my life -" I break off, needing to take a breath. From his back, I can't tell what his reaction to my speech is. I sneak a longing glance at my bedroom door.
Kai points to a picture higher on the wall. "Are these your grandparents?"
I know the picture well. It was also taken at my parent's wedding. "Yep. They're the ones that waited to move in together,"
He nods, returning to the picture. "And they were happy,"
"Yeah," I sigh. I can't tell if he was asking or just repeating what I say, but all of the heat from the shower has left and I'm still standing in a towel. "Just give me a minute," I say, shooting into my bedroom and closing the door. The bed's still here, but all my posters and decorations have disappeared. I open the closet quickly, paranoid about leaving Kai out there for too long and even more curious about how he found me. Inside the closet is just boxes and boxes of storage and a mostly empty rack. Fortunately, I do find a folded pair of pink sweats close to my size. Thank you, mom.
When I open the door again, Kai is still standing alone. He looks at the pictures as if this were an art gallery and these pictures were meant to say something about humanity. I lean against the door frame as he slowly goes to each one, giving it its own time.
"Do you believe in happy ever after?" I ask quietly so as not to startle him.
Kai shrugs in a noncommittal sort of way. "Happy is what you make it. For some people, a happy ever after is one other person and that's it. For others, it's being left alone."
I roll my eyes. That's such a typical Kai answer. It doesn't make sense, though, when he's chosen to surround himself with people like Spencer and Rick and Rei and Mariah.
"Is this your room?" He continues, turning on his heel swiftly and careening towards me. Before I even realize what's happening, I put out my arm to block his entry. Keeping him out of my room is an impulse.
Kai stares down at me, his eyes searching my face for any emotion and thought it might betray. Fortunately, the only thing going on in my head is the age-old house rule No Boys Allowed. I realize I'm actually an adult now. And it's probably more suspicious to keep him out than to let him in. Dropping my arm, I welcome him with a grand wave.
"Please, feel free," I say with more bravado than I feel, "though don't expect to find anything."
"So, no embarrassing stuffed animals on the bed?" He jokes, looking around at the bare walls and neutral bed spread meant for a guest.
"Not anymore. Not that I'd be embarrassed if there were. I loved all my stuffed animals. There should be a box of them at the top of the closet if you feel like hunting for them."
"I'm a little disappointed," he says coolly, circling the small space. There was barely enough room for a small bed, a dresser, and a desk. "I was hoping by coming here, I'd find all sorts of secrets about you. Turns out you're exactly who you say you are."
Even though there's nothing for him to find, I'm still nervous seeing him in my old room. "Meaning?"
"You're a good girl from a nice family," he answers. Pulling the discarded towel from the foot of the bed where I threw it to change, he shakes it loose and wraps it over my still-damp hair. "And you're right about cousins,"
I hadn't realized how much his comment at the restaurant bothered me until he says that. As soon as I understand, a weight that I have been lugging around lifts and I feel warmer inside, though I'm sure that's just the towel.
"Thank you," I whisper.
We sit the silence that rises between us awkwardly. I take the towel and start rubbing my hair in slow circles to dry it. Despite it being awkward, I tally this up as one of the real moments between us. We're not acting for an audience – Kai's being nice because he can be.
He clears his throat and steps away. "We'll leave whenever you're ready."
"Are you sure? We haven't been here that long or even opened the presents yet. We can stay if you're not ready-"
"Hilary, for once put yourself first,"
I hide behind the towel to keep my smile to myself.
"Plus, I don't think I can deal with Emily any longer. She's driving me crazy."
There's nothing I can do to hide my laughter.
Hello again! Thank you to everyone who has stopped by. It make me so very happy.
Just as a quick note, I will be taking a brief break at the end of the month from updating. There will be a chapter on 03/24 (or 25 depending where you are and when you get the updates) but no update on 03/31. I should be back the following week. Thank you for understanding! I've enjoyed every interaction I've had with the readers and look forward to more!
Please be safe until next week - Konix