Consumed » Kai Parker

Nine

It's three in the morning when my eyes half open to the darkness of Kai's living room, moonlight pouring through the slits of the blinds. I wrap the afghan around myself tighter, attempting to fall back asleep and ignore the eeriness of the dark, empty room.

Getting back to sleep proves to be unlikely when my stomach growls and uncomfortably twists. I realize my last meal was twelve hours ago and sigh. Being trapped in this world with Kai has significantly thrown off my eating habits.

Despite my tired body protesting with the movement, I sit up on the couch and swing my legs over, untangling myself from the afghan and standing up. My feet carry me in the direction of the kitchen, hunger being my only motivation to keep walking and not fall back onto the couch. Upon entering the doorway, I plan to immediately raid the fridge when the sight in front of me leaves me frozen to the spot.

Kai is crouched over the counter, one hand tightly gripping the wooden edge. The other is curled around the handle of a knife, the tip of the blade pressed against his chest. Inches away from piercing through his heart.

"Kai," I whisper in fear, slowly walking over to him. He doesn't respond to my voice, or maybe he doesn't hear me, due to the heavy, loud breaths currently being forced out of his lips.

When I reach his side, I cautiously raise my hand towards his chin, despite my trembling, and turn his face towards mine. His blue eyes are looking at me, but they're glazed over, like he doesn't really see me standing here.

Beads of sweat coat his face, sliding down his neck and disappearing in the collar of his black T-shirt. The muscles in his jaw move back and forth, as his eyes suddenly trail down to my hand holding his chin. His eyebrows pull together when he sees my grip.

Kai removes his tight hold on the counter top and uses his currently free hand to squish my fingers in his grip, cocking his head. I suck in a breath, trying to yank my hand free from his painfully tight grasp but he doesn't let up.

When his distant gaze meets my wide-eyed stare, I'm struck with the realization that Kai isn't fully awake. He's sleepwalking, but I have no clue how to safely pull him out of it.

"I give up," He deadpans, turning his head away from me to look down at the knife in his hand. His fingers tighten around it, knuckles whitening.

Gradually, he begins to push the knife into his chest, the blade plunging about an inch into his skin. I gasp, using the hand he wasn't squeezing to quickly grab the knife handle, stopping him from pushing it in deeper.

Kai chokes out a laugh, raising goosebumps along my skin. His grip on my hand loosens, so I immediately pull it free. With both of my shaking hands, I tug the knife free. The crimson blood covers the tip, slowly dripping down the silver blade.

Suddenly, Kai is grabbing me forcefully, his forearm going against my throat while his other hand wraps around my left arm. He shoves me against the fridge, sharp breaths exhaled through his nose.

"I said I give up," He hisses through gritted teeth, leaning in closer to me. "He wins."

"Kai, stop!" I cough. "You're not thinking clearly, you need to wake up."

His forearm only presses itself tighter against my throat at my plea. Dots color my vision, my lungs fighting to take in more air. I wrap my fingers more securely around the knife I took from him and lift it, sinking it into his upper arm. Kai gasps, harshly yelling out at the blade cutting into his skin, an intimidating mix of anger and pain contorting his features. His hold on me weakens considerably and I push him off of me, pulling the knife out of his flesh and backing away.