Page 2 of Kian's Devotio
Emery was practically bouncing in her seat. She grabbed Karalee’s hand and held it tight in hers.
Karalee was quiet the whole way back to their house, but he watched her, and she studied all of them.
He could tell that she was nervous, but as Ailith talked to them all, her nerves slowly went away and by the end of the drive, she was answering his ma with more than one word.
Once they arrived home, Karalee was brought inside, her eyes wide with wonder. Ailith asked her if she would like a bath and some clean clothes. Karalee gave a soft nod, and his ma had helped her bathe and then had gently combed out the snarls in her hair.
She fed her and made sure she had food to take home for later.
Kian knew that his ma was not happy about the state of the house Karalee lived in and talked to Karalee’s mom about having her stay for a few nights.
Karalee’s mom swayed and Kian could see from the back seat of the car that her eyes were glazed and red.
Karalee stood next to Ailith and stared at the ground, unmoving.
When the mom waved her away, her words naughty and rude, making Kian not like the woman at all, Karalee ran back to the car, came home with them and that was the beginning of their beautiful friendship.
Kian would be with them more than he was ever with his friends.
Not that he had many. He was quiet and reserved and didn’t like how most of the boys treated the teachers or the girls.
So, he stuck to himself or played with Reid if he didn’t want to play by the girls.
Which Reid didn’t mind and they would often play the same games with the girls in their big backyard.
Kian was always glad that Reid would play along with the girls and Kian wanted to be close to Karalee and Emery anyway.
They got in trouble sometimes because Emery wanted to be everyone’s friend, even if they didn’t want to be hers. She wanted everyone to be nice and didn’t understand why some kids just weren’t.
He just wanted to protect Karalee from anyone trying to bully her or give her a hard time, and he did.
Emery wouldn’t stand for it either and she had once gotten into a screaming fight with a much older boy that was in 6th grade.
Kian had come to stop it, not afraid of the older boy and not once backing down from the fists that had flown. Since his father was tall, he was as well, and he was almost as tall as the older boy.
The boy stopped picking on Karalee when Kian came around. After that, it was rare for someone to say something rude to her.
Karalee had shyly hugged him after that and his little heartbeat so fast in his chest.
He hugged her back and from that day on, he was always near them.
He would read a book while the girls played with Barbies or would swing on the swings while they played at the playground.
He always wanted to be close to her and he knew that she loved it.
As they grew up, Ailith had practically adopted her and Karalee was at their house more than she was at her own.
His ma took her to the dentist when they went, or to the doctor if Karalee ever needed it.
She had figured out how to get Karalee insurance so that she never had to worry, and she would even go so far as to buy her school clothes and supplies for school.
Karalee also got money from the tooth fairy, which delighted her to no end. She had her own stocking on the mantle, her own pile of presents under the tree and when Santa came, he never forgot Karalee. Not once.
Karalee would go with them to their gran’s when they went, and their gran loved her as much as she did them.
Karalee had her own bed in Emery’s room, her own shelf of soaps in the shower, her own dresser and a part of the closet that was full of nice, clean clothes. The two girls were thick as thieves.
They even finished each other’s sentences. Emery taught Karalee how to crochet and Karalee taught Emery how to cook after she'd asked his ma to show her how.
