Hiraeth ↭ Kai Parker

9. Don't Let Me Go

"She's got magic she's scared to use so she's convinced herself and that vampire she lost her magic." Kai announced, entering his home and peering at Indi who wast sprawled along the sofa. 

He kicked off his shoes and shut the door, picking up her legs and sitting at the opposite end and letting her legs rest in his lap. She was eating the rest of the lasagna he had made the previous night. Bryan Adams softly played from the CD player that took place of a TV.

"Sounds cool." Indi muttered through a mouthful of noodles and sauce. Her eyes peered at nothing in particular.

Kai huffed. "You could be a little happy, I mean, they're out ticket out of here. With them and the Ascendant.-" He was silenced by Indi standing and moving toward the kitchen. He groaned and flopped his head back onto the sofa.

The last four months they had stayed in Mystic Falls, mostly because Bonnie and Damon had appeared out of nowhere. Kai had taken an interest in them but Indi had seemed indifferent. 

Each day he spent watching them figure things out was a day Indi seemed to withdraw into herself. She didn't speak all that much, even when he got angry and smashed his amulet did she speak. 

It was like something had happened, a light switch was flipped and try as best he could, Kai couldn't flip it back on. Hell, he couldn't even find the light switch most days to figure out how to turn it back on.

Picking himself up he entered the kitchen and stood behind her at the sink as she washed her bowl. 

"Why don't you tell me more stories about James?" His arms went to wrap around her but she ducked out of his grasp. She used magic to finish cleaning as she headed upstairs.

"Or ignore me." Kai spoke bitterly.

Resting his palms against the counter he visited her advice of not losing his temper; counting to ten and listing things he liked with each number. The only sad part was that each number consisted of moments they shared. 

It wasn't working, seeing as the source of whatever made him feel light as a feather was ignoring him. Gritting his teeth as his hands formed into tight fists; he had enough.

Spinning one his heel he stomped all the way up the staircase, down the hall and flung open their bedroom door with such ferocity it left a dent in the drywall. However, his anger vanished the moment his eyes found Indi.

She was sat with her back pressed tightly against their headboard, arms wrapped tightly around her knees and hugging them to her chest. Her face was red as water fell from her eyes. 

Kai briefly recalled her telling him they were tears and that they happened when someone was really sad or very hurt. He had seen her cry only three times in the eighteen years they'd been trapped. 

All three times had been because of nightmares but his head told him that this time, this fourth time, was because of him. He blinked back dark spots and the urge to throw up. 

He stumbled his way toward the bed, blinking rapidly and clutching at her in desperation. He jerked her tightly against his chest.

"Please."His voice wavered. "Please stop what you're doing. I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, okay? So, so you have to stop. That-that's how this works, right? So-so you have to stop." He clung to her tightly. The position was awkward but Kai didn't care. He wanted the water, tears, whatever they were called, to leave her. He wanted this feeling of drowning to leave him alone.

"Malachai." Indi's voice was thick. She felt him tense but he remained clinging to her. "Do you know what hate is?" Her voice trembled.

Kai peered at their headboard, his arms tightly wound around her. "The entire coven hates me so yeah, I know." 

He was confused more than anything. He felt her tug against him, forcing him to let her lean back and stretch her legs out and around his waist so she wasn't all bunched up. She took his hands into her own and peered directly at him.

"Then you'll understand me when I tell you that I hate them being here." Indi's voice didn't waver, her eyes were dark despite being puffy from crying. Tears still trailed down her face, dripping from her cheeks and splattering onto their intertwined hands.

"We can go home." Kai frowned. "We can make the coven pay for what they did." Wasn't that what she wanted?

Indi shook her head. "Kai, you killed four of your siblings. Them sending you here was justified. Me coming here was my own choice."

"No one in their right mind would want to come here." Kai scoffed, jerking his hands from her and standing by the bed. 

"And what about the years of abuse? The neglect? Why do they get away with that bullshit but oh, I kill four brats and suddenly I'm the monster." His voice rose as he glared down at her.

"Of course not!" Indi sat on her knees facing his anger head on. 

"They deserve whatever bad shit happens to them because they treated you so horribly but your siblings? They were just kids who didn't know or understand any better."

Kai licked his lips. "So what? You're telling me I should've killed Josuha? Newsflash, Indigo! I was going to! I was going to kill the entire coven!" He screamed, throwing his arms in the air.

Indi's entire body froze. 

Her eyes widened as her lips parted. With her sudden silence, Kai instantly froze. He was going to kill her parents, who the only worst thing they ever had done was ignore him or call him a monster. 

They never raised a hand to him or locked him away, not like his parents or other members of the coven. He was going to kill her little brothers, who were so young and just starting out at life. He was going to kill her.

Her brain struggled to understand, to comprehend what she was hearing. She had replayed that night over and over in ehr head the following months after first coming to the prison world. 

He had been so desperate to keep her away, to keep her out of sight so she wouldn't intervene or see what he was doing. Now, all of his attempts were simply ways to trick her. He was going to kill all of them, the only thing he cared about was making his parents suffer so that was why he warned her and tied her up.

"Indi." Kai trembled. 

The look that filled her eyes at his words made him feel as if he was all alone, trapped and chained in the cellar. He felt the pain of being beaten, the sting of being called an abomination.

"You were going to kill my family." Indi breathed. "You were going to kill me." Her eyes seemed to finally find his. The desperation that graced her did little to quell the disgust and self-hatred.

"I-I just wanted payback." Kai fumbled. 

He struggled to understand, to see how she saw this but all he saw were his own points. He saw his own blood staining the hands of a man who was supposed to raise him. He saw nothing wrong with what he had wanted to do.

"At my expense?" Indi moved away from him, standing on the other side of the bed and glaring harshly. 

"At the expense of my family."

"Your family was no better!" Kai shouted. His chest rose and fell, did he feel anger or desperte? It wasn't certain.

Indi laughed bitterly. "No. You're no better." She made her way to the door, pausing long enough to pick up her backpack they always kept packed.

"Wa-wait." Kai blinked, his vision blurring as he saw her walk away. 

He heard the sound of her footsteps carrying, echoing down the stair case followed by the sound of their front door opening and closing.

"WAIT!" He screeched. He lunged for the door, racing toward the staircase he got caught up in his own feet and tumbled down the stairs.

"INDIGO!" He screeched, ignoring the pain his body felt. He stood but crumpled, he had twisted his ankle in his fall.

"PLEASE! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! INDIGO!? INID?! NO!"