𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘

CHAPTER 23

Kai

It had been a long time since I had a good day. With my luck, I hadn't expected the day to turn out this way. But day by day, I find my morals, my goals, and my emotions, fall with the walls that I spent years putting up. All for a boy who showed me what ice cream was. For a shit-tempered kid who was soon to be my comrade, another pawn in this silly little game that forced my hand.

Day by day I wanted to turn and run from him, from all of this. Because every time I walk through the arch of U.A., I realize that maybe I'm playing the wrong set of cards.

Those were the thoughts that creased my mind on my way home, making me second guess every decision I've ever made despite me doing so anyway. I knew life wasn't simple, no such thing as a straight path in life. But now I was being thrown down a mudslide, with no way of turning back now.

No turning back now. Should've known that when I opened my front door. I was used to it being pitch black inside, but lights illuminated the floorboards. Instantly, my heart started racing and I could feel sweat fill the creases in my palms and in between my fingers. My parents were the last people I wanted to see.

I hesitantly stepped inside, slowly turning to close the front door in the quietest way possible. Turning back, I grabbed a handful of my shirt in my hand, tussling my fingers through the fabric with anxiety. I headed for the staircase, tiptoeing to avoid making a sound.

But damn my mother's hearing.

"Where are you going?" Her voice like icicles on my neck made me stop halfway up the stairs. I turned slowly to find her pink eyes piercing my skin at the base of the staircase. When did she get there? Her pale skin was wrapped in a rich red robe, her hair pulled back into a braid. The wrinkles on her face showed in the faint light, aging her ten or so years. A chill ran up my spine as a line formed on her pale lips. I didn't answer for a long while, nearly forgetting the question in that time.

"My room." I replied, removing my hat and straightening my posture. It was the little things I remembered to do in her presence: Straight posture, direct eye contact, confident answers.

She eyed me, her eyelids falling over her pupils. "Why are you sneaking around?" Questions weren't questions whenever I spoke to her, they were demands for answers. But even a smartass like myself couldn't find a way to lie my way out of this one. A snake like my mom could smell a lie from two countries over.

"I didn't want to bother you or dad." I planted a hand on the railing, tightly gripping it to support the weight I felt grow heavier and heavier on my shoulders with every response.

"We've been waiting for you, Kai. Come down, we have things to discuss." She quickly dismissed the conversation with a whip of her braid and headed towards the kitchen. Her robe, too big for her, dragged across the floorboards before disappearing into the next room.

I hesitated like I usually did before taking a step down the stairs. I let my mind run on the miles of questions that piled into my brain before letting them rest when I reached the kitchen.

There, my mother stood with a glass of wine in her right hand, propped against the island in the center of the room.

My father was there too. His hair was neatly slicked back, not even his stray hairs pulling away as they usually did. He sat on a barstool on the far side of the island, his elbows resting on the quartz countertops. He wore a black suit, nothing out of the ordinary. Must've just gotten back from a deal.

"It's late." His deep voice sounded throughout the room, cutting my thoughts short. I felt my body tense up and my fingers curl into fists. I hadn't even realized what time it was. My eyes shifted to their corners to examine the clock that was displayed on the wall to my left.