Consumed » Kai Parker

Thirty Five

I tap my pencil against the edge of my textbook, frowning at the tiny words typed across the page.

"Stupid psychology," I mumble, throwing my pencil onto the book in frustration and leaning back onto my desk chair.

My phone buzzes on the wooden desktop and my eyes dart over to the lit-up screen. I straighten up in my seat and grab it, looking down to see who had messaged me.

Kai

Haven't seen you since yesterday. Come by my apartment.

I smile to myself, swiping the screen and quickly typing in my passcode so I could reply.

Can't. Studying :/

Within a minute, his response appears in a gray bubble on the messaging screen: Nerd. 

I roll my eyes, replying: Dork.

Kai: Shut up and come over.

I laugh quietly, sending a reply: Passing my psych exam > hanging out with you

Kai: Making out with me > studying

"You got me there," I mutter to myself, but nonetheless reply: Studying is actually way more fun.

Kai: If you won't come to me I can easily come to you. Campus is just a few min away 😉

I chew on my bottom lip, quickly responding: I have to study and you're gonna distract me.

Kai: That's the plan. See you in a few.

I sigh, putting my phone back down onto the desktop and try to delve into the world of psychology. But the words on the page don't register with me as a certain witch takes over my thoughts. God, he isn't even here yet and he's already distracting me.

What if one of my friends, or my sister, walks in and finds him here? Caroline is the only one I wouldn't particularly mind, since she has been the most understanding. But Elena and Bonnie, they helped to practically kidnap him the other day. Caroline, at least, didn't seem too fond of the whole plan.

Wait, Elena has a shift at the hospital right now, I remember and sigh quietly in relief. As for Bonnie and Care, I'm not positive about what's on their schedule for the day but hopefully Kai and I aren't interrupted.

Liv barging in isn't something I'm too worried about, since it's pretty unlikely to happen. I tried to visit her at the bar last night but she wasn't there. The bartender I found instead told me that she was taking a few days off, for "personal reasons." So I went to her dorm.

I stood there for a moment, waiting patiently until eventually the door slowly opened to reveal Liv. My heart dropped when I saw my best friend. Her blonde curls were unbrushed and unruly, hanging around her pale face–paler than usual.

Bags were underneath her blue eyes. They looked dull, like the ocean in them had grown murky. Her clothes were wrinkled and she had her arms tightly folded over her torso.

"Liv," I breathed, reaching for her hands. She cleared her throat, lifting her head to look at me in the eye.

"How are you holding up?" I asked, frowning. "I'm so sorry about what happened, I–"

"Don't," she shook her head. "Don't be sorry. This is just...the way of my coven." She laughed bitterly. "It was either going to be me or Luke, I always knew that. But I...I never expected him to merge with Kai," she wiped the back of her palm over her eyes to catch tears threatening to fall and my face fell at the sight.