asylum [kai parker] editing/rewriting

Twenty-One

S I M O N E
When I wake up -or in my case, get up- Kai isn't sleeping soundly on the motel bed.

When I first notice it, I panic slightly. But then I realize how much of a gift this is.

Kai is gone.

Then the door opens and I realize I've spoken to soon. "Morning sunshine," Kai smiles brightly before stopping, "or do you prefer kitten more?"

I don't answering because I don't feel like it. Kai doesn't deserve any more of my time considering I'm still stuck in the hell either way.

"No answer? Kitten it is." Kai says and throws the bags he has been holding on the small table next to the couch. It only takes me a glance to realize it's good from the nearest grow dry store. Kai pulls a bag of pork rinds, opening it immediately. "You should eat."

"You should let me go. There's plenty of things I should do but don't want to." I say blankly, not adding any emotion for Kai's sake.

"It'll only make you die faster," He pauses before adding, "starvation." Just to prove what he was talking about.

"Rather die than be here...with you." I thought that I'd gotten through to him in are argument yesterday. But he is back to his normal, psychotic, annoying self.

"Harsh words. But you don't mean them." Kai denies and eats his pork rinds noisily.

"Try me." I mutter under my breath and stare straight at him for a full minute before grabbing the remote to turn on the television.

Kai snickers slightly at our staring contest, probably thinking he won even though I wasn't even playing. "What do you want to do today?"

"I'm guessing you already have everything planned. So my opinion doesn't matter, does it?" I narrow my eyes at his childish expression.

"You know me so well," he throws a pork rind at me, pretty satisfied of himself that he'd got it into my hair.

It doesn't matter because I chuck it right back at him, little surprised that he catches it immediately.

"I'm not kidding, kitten. You should eat," he gestures to the food. I notice he has a couple fruits- ones I like.

"Did you figure out my favorite foods when you stalked me?" I ask jokingly, not realizing I'd get a serious answer.

"Yes." Kai says, munching loudly as he eats.

I pull an apple out of the bag and take a bite of it. However, since I haven't eaten recently, it tastes better than usual. "Did you poison it?"

"Oh! You caught me!" Kai says theatrically before shaking his head after realizing I'm not amused. "No, I would rather be the cause of your death. Not poison. That's the most pathetic, unoriginal, uncreative way to kill someone-"

"Of corse you would know." I roll my eyes and turn to the television before putting on a soap opera. In this case it just so happens to be Criminal Minds. Maybe I can learn something from this.

"Wrong." Kai points to the screen as the main people begin to classify a psychopath's mind, wants and needs. "Wrong again..."

Rolling my eyes, I continue trying to watch by ignoring all Kai's comments.

But the sadness returns when the commercials start. There, on a short news segment, is both our faces. You can barely see Kai's picture- and you can tell he didn't mean for it to be taken considering he isn't looking at the camera, and it's not a mug shot. But beside his is my school picture. Kai continues chewing, stopping when he talks, "well...that's too bad." He stands up. "Grab your things. Oh wait, you don't have any."