Page 147 of Heir

He nodded. “I promise. And Blue will be there.”

I sighed, relaxing a little.

“You’re comfortable around Blue,” Kai commented. I didn’t answer. It was obvious.

“You guys have an interesting friendship.”

“Nothing has ever happened between us. There’s no romantic relationship,” I reassured him. I wondered if he would be jealous of my friendship with Blue. I hoped not. I didn’t want to be put in a position to choose between him and Blue. I wouldn’t be able to pick.

“I know,” he said softly. “I just think it’s interesting.”

And I couldn’t fault him for that. Blue and I were completely different. On the surface, we shouldn’t have been as close as we were.

But we’d bonded through tragedy, and I supposed that solidified our friendship, even now.

“Did Blue ever mention his little sister to you?” I asked.

“Yeah. Alina, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I remind him of her.”

Even though I couldn’t see him very well in the dark, I could tell he was frowning. “How?”

“I don’t know, I guess… she had the same quirks as me. She was also pretty isolated in school, not knowing how to connect with others. I was friends with Blue first, but I also became really close to her. She was only two years younger than me.”

We’d found kindred spirits of sorts in each other. For the first time, I didn’t feel like… I didn’t feel like such an alien invading this planet, trying so hard to conform, yet not being able to.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” I said. “I’m kind of odd.”

Most people called them quirks. It didn’t matter what you called it, the meaning was still the same. I was different from other people, and all these little quirks about me that my mom hated so much became even more obvious the older I got. I thought over time, she resented that I couldn’t be like the daughters of her society friends.

“Who the fuck called you odd?” he asked sharply. I smiled a little at the vehemence in his voice.

“My mom. It’s okay. I’ve learned to accept it. But with Blue and Alina… my quirks were okay with them. No, more than okay. They didn’t care. They loved me anyway.”

“Of course they did,” Kai said. “You’re easy to love.”

Did that mean he loved me, too?

I shook my head at the fanciful thought.

“Did he ever tell you about her?” I asked.

“Yeah, he told me she died of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”

“Blue and I were friends at first because we lived in a pretty isolated place. My childhood home stood on the border separating the rich from the poor—something my mom always hated. Blue lived about one block away, but it felt like his house was a world away from mine. He grew up in a single mother’s household too, but it was warm. And there was always food. His mom worked two jobs to support her kids and was always kind to me. Always had a smile, and she probably knew my mom wasn’t feeding me at home because she always had a plate ready for me when I visited.

“It was truly the happiest time of my life. We didn’t live near the school. I think Blue was friends with me at first because he was bored. No other kid his age was around, and he was trying to get away from caring for his sister. I was friends with him because I was lonely, and it was the first time in my life someone had wanted to hang out with me. So that’s probably the origin of our friendship. I’m sorry. I don’t know if I’m explaining this right.”

“You’re doing just fine,” Kai said, his voice gruff.

I looked out the window. “Then his sister got diagnosed, and I was the only one at school who knew about it. He sought my comfort, and I felt… I felt important. Vital to someone. I think that’s when we really got close. He loved me because I reminded him of the sister he lost, and somewhere along the way, he began to love me for me. And that’s why we’re friends.”

I looked off into the distance, not really seeing anything.

“I’m a lot of work for some people,” I said. “I have tried dating before, but I don’t know why I always have such a hard time connecting with others.”

Until Kai.

---