imprisoned in you | k.p • b.b

VII

It seemed, Kai Parker's resolve was only strong when it had something to do with self-benefiting evil, because he could no more stay away from Bonnie than he could maintain his good graces with her—and that was a tricky playing field, considering she had them both trapped there.

After letting out his frustrations in the cellar, Kai was left silent with a raw throat and trembling hand. The mess of shattered glass at his feet would've concerned anyone else, but after a moment of staring he grabbed a faded broom and swept it to a corner. It helped him calm down, the stillness of it all.

When he headed back up to the main room, it was with a bottle in hand. It was bourbon, unopened, and good quality, considering that was the only valuable thing the Salvatores ever seemed to own. Bonnie didn't seem like she'd returned yet, with the state of the first floor untouched, and he figured sharing was the only peace offering he knew.

He'd seen her drink it before, once.

He didn't enjoy the silence that came after, as he waited for her; he didn't know what to do in it. At least, even if Bonnie hated him, there was someone, a voice, for him to argue with. To speak with. It certainly didn't hurt if it was going to be hers.

God, he was lonely.

So he stayed there, postured at the couch and half checking his injuries with magic, half-planning what he would say. If he wasn't so silent in his glooming, he wouldn't have heard the sound of the door click upstairs, and the timid, uneven footsteps that came after. Bonnie's emergence made him sit up silently, trying to keep the nervous smile off his face as he considered what was the best way to coax her into a chat.

The choice to descend was a begrudging one. After taking who-knows-how-long to collect herself, Bonnie wanted nothing more than to never see Kai Parker ever again. The thought of him was unnerving, in a way it had never been before. Maybe because she was figuring out there was more to him than just a raging murderer—and that yet, he still chose to be that person.

No, he was that person. Bonnie needed to remind herself of that. Glimmers of empathy here and there hadn't changed what Kai Parker had done. And it certainly didn't change that he deserved the same pain that he'd caused others.

And she was still the only one strong enough to dish it out.

So she picked herself up, let the flushed skin of her anger fade, and exited her room to face whatever Kai had done. He'd been strangely quiet as far as she knew, but she couldn't really say she'd been listening for him. She was more focused on calming her shaky hands, or the aching feeling on her wrist left by the siphoning.

She was trying to decide if it was her own imagined pain, or just the newest side effect to the bastard's wrath. Phantom siphoning.

What she didn't expect to find, was Kai Parker looking at her from the couch as she paused at the top of the stairs. She didn't let her gaze linger, letting that sharp inhale escape her before looking away and stepping down. His lips parted with that inhale, hoping to speak, yet all that came out was a quiet choking noise when she immediately ignored him.

He tried again, but the same sputtering sound came, and before he knew she was downstairs and passing him to grab her jacket when he blurted out,

"I found this."

She stopped as she stood up straight with her jacket in hand, looking over just to catch him raising the bourbon. She rolled her eyes without missing a beat, but said nothing as Kai's disappointment set in. So he pushed further, before she could turn away,

"It's an apology, for what I did—what I said. I didn't mean it B-"

"You didn't mean to siphon me this time, Kai?" She cut back in that quiet, harsh voice, and he hadn't even thought of a suitable reply before she continued, "because only the last dozen times were on purpose, right? The ones where you drained me for fun."