Redamancy | Elena Gilbert

Chapter 57

Kai was very, very annoying.

Rosalind had zip-tied his hands together for safety. Given that neither Ruby nor Bonnie wished to sit next to him, she'd placed the two in the back seat while she drove, with Kai buckled into next to her against his will (though he didn't seem to mind the benefits of shotgun leg room).

They hadn't packed very much, to ensure the car didn't feel too cramped.

Rosalind and Ruby didn't technically need any sleep, and didn't actually have to eat food. They had enough blood bags to sustain them without feeling any discomfort aside from sore-ness. Their bags were filled with just clothes and some toiletries.

Bonnie had packed a bit more, since she (and Kai) needed food and water to survive. Rosalind had done her best to mark out on a map where they would stop to use the bathroom and to have the two mortals with them eat a decent meal. Since Bonnie had claimed she would be fine not staying overnight to sleep until they got to Nova Scotia, Kai would have to deal with the same terms.

The trip was going to take around eighteen and a half hours with no stops. Rosalind figured she could push the car a bit more, since there wasn't any other traffic to worry about. She still planned to take a rest every three hours to stretch their legs, fill up the car, and give Bonnie a chance to eat comfortably.

As soon as they began the trip, Kai decided being a nuisance was the best way to proceed. Rosalind had expected it, given he hadn't had a single say in whether he went or not. But she underestimated just how obnoxious he could be.

The car radios didn't work. Thus, Kai decided to 'entertain' them by singing at the top of his lungs. Rosalind was thankful he at least switched songs between his performances. She might have left him paralyzed in the trunk if he'd dared to sing one song repeatedly.

Bonnie and Ruby were trying their hardest not to let him know they were bothered by his behavior. They failed in that. Kai knew without needing to look at them that they wished to stick a knife in his throat. He used it as fuel to keep singing more.

When he got tired, Rosalind expected he might sleep. Instead, he started talking. Over and over about his life story, about where he'd been traveling, about all the vehicles he'd crashed, all the ways he'd died. Sometimes, it was sort of interesting to hear. Kai had gone to visit Greece, Rome, and Egypt, granted unlimited access to every single exhibit by the fact there was no one there to stop him.

But, it was also irritating that he just wouldn't shut up. Every ten minutes, the conversation changed no matter where he was in his story. Whether he genuinely couldn't deal with silence and boredom or whether he was just doing everything in his power to bother them, Rosalind didn't know. Ruby and Bonnie plugged their ears and tried to sleep.

When Kai realized that Rosalind was the only one awake to listen to him, he started making random noises.

It reminded her of the second Shrek movie. Kai was Donkey. Clicking his tongue, humming, even moaning just to get a reaction out of her. He tapped his fingers on the dashboard, rubbed his heels on the floor of the car, scratched the side of the window. He put his arms (awkwardly) around her seat at least once every hour, only removing them when he saw she made no effort to shove it aside. Rosalind tried to tune him out.

What really seemed to exhaust him was getting no reaction out of her. He didn't know her. Didn't know how to really push her buttons. What he understood was that she was temperamental, she got angry easily and tended to react violently. What he didn't understand was that she was all too used to dealing with people trying to get a rise out of her with childish behavior.