Jessie didn’t see him anywhere near the bike as she pulled into her driveway. What was he doing here? And in the middle of the day? They were supposed to be avoiding each other for the next two weeks. Him being here made absolutely no sense.
Unbuckling herself, Jessie tossed open her door and called out his name. Willing her heart to stop rattling against her ribcage, she glanced at the bike, then the front door, then the empty street. She did all of that in a rapid succession. Where the heck was he? And why was he here? She started walking toward the back of the house; her breath made a cloud of fog in front of her face as she panted. “Kai?” she yelled again.
“Jessie…”
Her name being uttered by a low voice returned her attention to the front of the house. Striding to the front door, she still didn’t see him anywhere. But then he lifted his head. He’d been sitting on the edge of the first step, farther from the door and lower to the ground than she’d been looking. An overgrown bush was creeping toward the house there, and between the leaves and his low, stone-still position, Jessie’s anxious eyes had passed right over him.
As he peeked up to her, Jessie’s heart flew up her throat; she darted to his side as quickly as she could. Pushing aside some bushes, she knelt directly in front of him. He stared at her blankly, his expression devoid of emotion. He was still dressed in his work clothes, so he’d probably gone in today, but for some reason he didn’t have a jacket on, and he was shivering uncontrollably in the frigid December air.
Jessie rubbed her hands up and down the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing under his polo. Kai had started acclimating to the climate, but even Jessie would be freezing in the outfit he had on. “Kai…what are you doing out here?”
He just continued staring at her, his jaw chattering as he shook. His lips were pale and his face was worn, like he’d just witnessed a horrible accident that he couldn’t stop seeing in his mind. Jaw trembling, he finally shifted his gaze to her and spoke. “I’m s-s-s-sorry. I know…I’m not…supposed to be here.” His eyes filled with tears, and Jessie’s heart compressed at seeing the raw pain in them. “I just didn’t know where else…to go,” he stammered, so cold he could hardly speak.
She brought her warm hands to his face and cupped his cheeks; they felt like ice packs. Glancing at his body, she noticed his wet, dirty slacks. Peeking at his bike, she noted the lack of a helmet. Turning back to him, she scooted closer and encouraged him to lean against her. His entire body was shaking as badly as his jaw. Running her hands around his shoulders, she said, “Where’s your coat…your helmet? Did you ride here like this?” She pulled back to look at him. “What’s wrong, Kai?”
His eyes searched her face. “Everything…is a lie.”
Not understanding, Jessie shook her head, then tucked her arms under his shoulders in an attempt to get him to stand up. “Come on, let’s get you inside. You’re frozen.” Kai awkwardly stood and Jessie supported him while she opened the door. They stumbled through it together; Kai still seemed too dazed to do anything on his own. Compassion and apprehension shot through Jessie in waves. Something bad had happed to him. He was obviously in shock.
Feeling the warmth of her house on her chilly cheeks, Jessie helped Kai to the couch. With both of her roommates at work, the home was quiet, filled only with the sound of Kai’s chattering teeth. Jessie wrapped some blankets around him, and once he was draped in fleece, she sat down and massaged his hands to get the blood flowing again. The change in temperature made him sniffle, but after a few long, silent minutes, his shaking eased and stopped.
When he was calmer, he started speaking. “It was a match. It was actually a match.” His brows bunched together as he said it, like he couldn’t believe whatever he was talking about. “He was telling the truth,” he whispered.
Knowing she couldn’t help him if she was clueless, Jessie grabbed his chin and gently pulled his gaze her way. “What was a match?” she asked carefully, not wanting to send him into another bout of panic, since he seemed calmer. Still immensely bothered by whatever truth he’d learned, but calmer.
Kai shook his head. The set of his mouth matched the disbelief in his eyes. “He’s my father. I’m his son.”
That information didn’t help to clear up the confusion any. His father? Had he talked to Uncle Nate today? Jessie couldn’t imagine what Kai’s father could have possibly said to make him react like this though. Unless…Kai had told him the truth about why he was going home. Jessie wasn’t sure why Kai would do that, but it was the only thing she could think of that would explain his current emotional state. Feeling the chill from Kai’s skin all the way to her bones, she dropped her fingers from his face. “Does your dad know, Kai? Did you tell him?”