Page 162 of Until We Burn
I want to pave my own path and make my own mark in the news world.
I want to feel just as alive as I did when I was with Kai.
I want more out of this life.
Out of every piece I’ve questioned about myself, this is the one fragment that truly belongs to me.
“Pssst.” My hand falls over Stella’s, catching her attention. “Can you do me a favor after dinner?”
“Oi! You little—”Stella blows her horn at a CBC van swerving in to cut in front of her.“Ha meung!”
Her windshield wipers sweep back and forth to ward off the heavy rain pelting the car.
A green Toyota honks at Stella when she tries to lane change.
She flips him off. “I hate you!”
My phone buzzes. Every media outlet in the city is chasing after the Stanton Rhodes story. It clogs up the roads with idiots desperate to get the scoop but they’re also blinded from seeing where I’m going and what I’m about to do.
Stella’s car eases towards the curb of Kai’s apartment. A sharp pain clenches around my heart, as memories of that night come rushing back in full force.
I nod. “This is it. You can park in?—”
A car door slams shut.
I peek over Stella’s shoulder and see a tall figure approach the apartment doors with a DHU Griffins duffel slung over his shoulder, a single suitcase rolling behind him, and a hockey stick braced in his other hand.
Kai.
I eagerly pat Stella’s arm. “Stop here! Stop here!”
“Wha—here?”
The car stops. I unlock the door and push it open. Heavy rain beats down my hands and pools around my heels.
“Diana, be careful!” Stella shouts.
“It’s fine!”
I shut the car door. The rain soaks into my hair and drenches my silk red dress until I’m shivering.
“K-Kai!”
The heavy rain drowns out the sound of my voice. Kai keeps on walking. I huff, striding faster towards him with my arms trembling around me.
“Kai, w-wait!”
He whirls around. His eyes widen at me.
“Diana, what the?—”
He drops his duffel bag and hockey stick and rushes towards me. Shrugging off his jacket, he wraps me into it, drawing us under the awning. The faint lamplight illuminates the rain dripping down his shocked face.
“What are you doing here?” he shouts over the storm. “You’re going to catch a cold!”
“I need to talk to you!”
“To me?” Kai’s chest softly rises and falls. Curiosity and awe transform his rain-slicked face as he takes me in, hands brushing over my cheek, my hair.
