It's All Relative(105)
But they were in love. Deeply in love.
Kai watched the clock as he ceaselessly roamed the room, wondering when she’d come back. He wished he knew exactly where she was. Even though his stomach felt like it had been turned inside out, he still needed to know she was okay. The window showed a dark sky outside, with movement in the inky black that suggested it was still snowing. Kai wouldn’t get through the night if he didn’t know if Jessie was out there or not. He needed to know she was safe.
As Kai strolled out to the lobby, he wondered where to go first. The lights were low since most of the guests were sleeping. It was pretty late, but the bars were still open, so Harmony and April might not even be back yet. Walking up to the glass front doors, Kai tried to peer out to the parking lot, to see if he could spot Harmony’s car. It was dark though, and the thick snowflakes obscured his vision. While he couldn’t differentiate between the colors of the cars in the dull orange parking lot lights, all of them looking varying shades of gray, Harmony’s had a wheel cover on the back and dark, bug deflector on the front. None of the vehicles he saw matched.
Sighing, he turned back to the lobby. If the girls weren’t back yet, maybe Jessie had somehow managed to get the front desk to give her a key, and had snuck into the room, waiting for them to come back. He had to know, and that meant, he needed into Harmony and April’s room. Determined to be the suave, sexy, flirtatious man who could get any woman do to anything he wanted them to do—which was going to be stretch for Kai—he started walking up to the front desk. He didn’t expect the girl who had checked him in earlier to still be there, but he was hoping her replacement would cave into a set of sea-green eyes. Eyes that Jessie loved.
Shaking that thought out of his head, he stepped up to the desk. It was empty, but a small placard proclaimed that the person on duty would be back in fifteen minutes. Kai sighed. They were probably using the restroom or grabbing a bite to eat and would be back soon, but he really didn’t want to wait. He needed to be doing something constructive. Not wanting to stand there, looking forlorn and dejected, he decided to wait in the common room.
Looking around the room full of empty chairs and tables, all surrounding a low-burning circular fireplace, filled Kai with a melancholy loneliness. Turning away from yet another fireplace, he looked around for the most comfortable chair in the place, so he could rest his aching body. He found it immediately and smiled when he did. The plush, padded chair looked like you’d sink into it so far, you’d have to be helped back out. Comfortably nestled into the chair was the woman Kai had been hoping to find. She was sound asleep, and her long, curly locks flowed over the arm of the chair as she used it as her makeshift pillow. Sighing and shaking his head, Kai fondly gazed down at his exhausted cousin. Her face was pale, her lips slightly parted as she released shallow breaths. Her cheeks were red and splotchy, like she’d fallen asleep crying. Kai hated that she had.
Kneeling before her, he brushed a strand of hair across her cheek behind her ear. She twitched at his touch, but didn’t wake up. “I’m so sorry, Jessie, for everything,” he whispered. Leaning over, he softly kissed her cheek. “I love you so much,” he said in her ear, knowing she wouldn’t hear it.
Jessie stirred and made a noise but didn’t say anything and didn’t open her eyes. Kai’s eyes drifted down her body, then he scooped her into his arms. He couldn’t leave her out here alone all night. It wasn’t safe, and Jessie meant everything to him. He couldn’t abandon her. Family didn’t abandon family.
Careful to not wake her, he lifted her up. She grumbled something under her breath and ran her arms around his neck, but she still seemed asleep. Pausing, Kai took a second to enjoy the feeling of her body in his arms, but that feeling was the source of all their problems. With a heavy sigh, Kai walked her back to their room.
He fumbled with the room key in his pocket, but eventually he got the door open and staggered inside. Kai was getting tired now, too, since she was safe and secure, and he no longer had to worry about her. Gently closing the door with this toe, he walked her to the bed. He laid her down, then removed her shoes and adjusted the covers around her. Jessie sighed in contentment, stretching before turning away from him and curling into a ball. Kai listened to her low, even breaths, happy that, for once, he could take care of her.
His hand trailed down her back for a second before he yanked it away. He couldn’t shut off his feelings for her. He couldn’t stop how much he loved her. And now that he’d had her, freely and soberly, he knew he would always want her. Swallowing a painful lump, he took a step away from her. There was no future for them. At all.
Mind made up, Kai grabbed the pen and the pad of paper sitting on the desk and wrote Jessie a note. He didn’t want her to worry when she woke up and found he was gone; he knew how awful it was to not know if the person you loved was all right. After finishing his note, Kai quietly gathered up all of his things. Once he was finished packing, he glanced back at Jessie’s sleeping body.
Knowing what he had to do, and knowing it would break both of them, made a tear roll down his cheek. “I’ll always love you, Jessie. Always.”
More tears followed the first, and he quickly opened the door and walked through it before his resolve completely left him. Walking to the front desk, he was relieved to see that the night person was back. She blinked sleepily, then opened her eyes wide when she saw a guest who was obviously checking out.