I CAN'T SAVE US ↠ KAI PARKER

09. I need you

My eyes shut closed in pain as soon as they hit the light, the sun was way too bright compared to the darkness inside Sage's house. I kept them closed for a few seconds until they adjusted to the light and I was surprised to see the RangeRover parked a few meters from the house. It took me a few minutes to realize where we were, it was sort of swamp, that explained the strong smell of moisture inside the house. I hurried to the car as soon as my brain began associating swamps with alligators, I knew I was being silly but I still got quickly inside the front passenger seat as soon as I reached it.

"Any chance there are alligators around this area?" I asked Kai and he just chuckled.

"Yeah, very big ones. One time Sage almost got bit by one, did she warned you about the little snakes that sometimes come out of the shower?" he said in a funny tone making fun of me and I just rolled my eyes at him.

"You're just jealous animals don't go near you anymore," I told him putting my seatbelt on and placed my bottle of water in the cup holder afterwards.

"Actually that makes me feel more powerful, being on top of the food chain and all" he said as he began to drive us out Sage's property "and why would I want an alligator to go anywhere near me anyway"

"But what about little fang?" I teased him and he frowned at me confused.

"Little fang?" he asked, his eyes focused on the road.

"It's the dog I just made up for you. Shame, he was really adorable and you two were inseparable, you loved his puppy kisses" I explained to him and he just laughed, nodding.

"You named my non-existing dog, little fang?" he chuckled and then he hummed "It's funny, I've actually never thought of having a dog before"

"Never ever? I don't believe you, didn't you want a puppy when you were little or a pet?" I asked him a bit shocked from what he said.

"Not really," he said and his hands tighten around the steering wheel a little more, like he's suddenly tense from where this conversation was heading to.

"Was it because of your parents? Mine didn't let me have pets too, my mom was allergic to cats and dogs. They did let us have a goldfish once but my little brother took him out of the fishbowl thinking he would drown" I told him and he smiled a little, his grip on the steering wheel getting a little more loose and I was glad Jer's tragic past with Mr. Fish, helped him relax a little.

"My parents... well, let's just say my relationship with them is-was- a little complicated" he said clenching his jaw before he speaks again "My father and I... we didn't really get along"

"Oh, I'm sorry" I told him not sure of what to say, not that it would help anyway.

"Don't be, the bastard put me through hell for forty years" he said toneless but I can tell it's coming from the side of him that seemed to be burdened with so much darkness and maybe this was the reason why. The rational thing to do was to drop the subject before things got more intense but I wasn't ready to move on yet. I wanted to know more about him, his motives, his past, his everything.

"What about your mother?" I asked him and he just scoffed.

"You mean the woman who stood by the man who treated me like crap and did nothing about it? But I guess, I get it now..." he said bitterly letting out a chuckle "I mean her only real purpose was to give birth to more children, other than that, she was useless"

There were so many questions rushing through my head, what did he mean by that? Was he physically abused as a child? Why would his parents treat him badly? But I knew I couldn't ask him any of those questions, I didn't know him that long to be inquiring about such sensitive topics. It was rude and I didn't want to upset him. Now I didn't know what to say at all.