Kai‘s Life

Josh wrapped an arm around the younger woman and pulled her close. A non verbal way of him saying, he wants to leave. She was familiar with that, even though her first instinct was to shrug him off.

"I suppose I'll see you", Emily said, offering a small smile. Was there too much hope in her voice ? It felt somehow nice to see Kai again, especially since she was kind of nervous to run into him.... with her new boyfriend by her side.

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The rest of the evening was rather uneventful. Josh fell asleep after watching some basketball, whereas Emily lay awake for quite some time. Her head was filled with many thoughts.... involving a new uni, her problematic relationship with Josh and of course Kai found his way back into her head. He looked so grown, but somehow she wondered, if the boyish grin was still inside of him.

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"Fucking bitch. I moved to this shithole for you, just so you can go and fuck your ex ?" Josh lost his temper, when he spotted Emily on her laptop, looking at a picture of her and Kai. It was kind of an accident. She was preparing for school and stumbled across an old folder, filled with pictures and memories of her past. "I am not here to do anything with him and I did not force you to come with me ! You decided that", she spatted and for the first time she actually let out the anger, she was currently feeling. "Just leave me the fuck alone", she mumbled and walked out of the room, putting on her shoes. Josh followed her, grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "What are you trying to say?!", he hissed through his teeth. Emily knew he was boiling inside, he was not used to her fighting back like this. "I said, leave me the fuck alone".

The young woman grabbed a jacket, her keys and stormed out, leaving her boyfriend back. She walked, walked and walked, not really a destination in her head. It was quite windy on this certain saturday morning. After a few minutes, Emily started to calm down. Deep breaths and the howling sound of the wind helped her state of mind. 'What a way to spend the last weekend before school starts', she thought.

It had been a couple days since he ran into Emily. First thing he did the second he was back, he called Sidney. The one who understood his pain the best when it came to this certain person. His heart had broken back then when Emily and him ended things, he lost his girlfriend and Sidney had lost her best friend. A friend she could've needed. Anyway, he was back feeling all these feelings and it was exhausting him. He had thought that after the fatal breakup of the band, he could now focus completely on his studies. And now, as if life wanted to tell him something, Emily came back into his life. And she brought a storm with her.

He was letting himself fall into a spot under a tree. The sun was shining brightly today and the heat was getting the best of them all. Along his bag full of books, he also brought his guitar. He was eager to study but in his head thoughts where whirling around. And so he decided it was wiser to grab his guitar and play a few chords to ease his mind, to take if off Emily. And it helped. It worked. Within a few minutes, he forgot his troubles and just let the music play.

And then he suddenly stopped. he heard someone plopping down on the other side of the tree and it only took him a second after hearing her voice to know who it was. Emily.

Kai closed his eyes, thinking of silently getting up and leaving but something seemed to upset her. And he was a big fool. Because he knew he cared too much for her than to just leave her like that. Especially in that state. So he did something that always seemed to ease her mind. At least back then when they were heavily in love.

He started playing Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. A songs they kinda made their own. A song he forced the band to rehearse and perform, just to show his love for Emily. And it became on of their best covers they ever did. Even if it was just painful to play it in the end.

But it was inevitable now, so better get on with it. It has been quite some time, he was right. And still it felt like yesterday, when she fell asleep in his arms. It used to be her favourite place. God, I miss... Emily quickly stopped herself from continuing that thought. It was over. It has been for years now. She just felt a bit desperate, since things with Josh haven't been that cushty. And with him staying.... the thought made her feel not that comfortable. He used to be nice, protective. But it has become such a back and forth, that she kind of hoped for him to stay in New Orleans, so she could clear her head... make some decisions. She missed her mom, but she did not want to worry her about the whole Josh situation. Especially since her mom had so much going on at the moment. So many good things. Emily did not want to be a burden, just not now.

The young woman was so caught in her thoughts, she almost missed to reply to his question. "Yeah, it's quite weird being back after all this time, gotta be honest. But I wanted to finish college here. Mom is gonna shoot a film here in a two months as well and I kinda thought, why not", she replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. She didn't want to show in any way, that things had been quite rough. Emily started to hate New Orleans. She stopped with everything that brought her joy. Josh hated that she was in a band full of boys, therefore she stopped. She should not have, but she did. Then he started being the perfect gentleman again, almost stealing the stars from the skies. It was so naive of her to think he'd become a better man.

And then she looked at Kai again. He was taller than Josh and looked even better than he did 5 years ago. God, he is so beautiful. The young woman quickly shook her head. Stop it!

Why does he still have this effect on her ? It almost felt magnetic... As if she was just about to be drawn back into his arms, even in front of Josh. "How are you ? I heard you quit the band?", she asked, smiling a little. God, she shouldn't have asked him that.

Kai stood there, staring at her and no noticing how his thoughts slowly drifted off again. Something that happened back in the day as well. The first time he saw her, he spoke to her. It was something he never understood, but just looking at her made everything else seem so pointless around him. He was sure that feeling would've faded, but it was still present to that day, even after all those years.

"You're here at college?" he asked surprised,feeling the knot in his stomach tighten even more. It was for once excitement to see her every day from now on, and hurt to know she was with someone else. It made him sick. "Pretty cool." he replied. It was nice to hear that her mother was still having such success. And he wondered, what was with her? She loved to sing and play the guitar back then. They had actually started together learning the instrument and making jokes about a potential band. And she had been always there, always so supportive when he joined the band with Hugo and the others. She was always there. Until she wasn't anymore...

"Uhm, yeah... Well, I've been good. Focusing on college and everything.. It's been pretty busy." he spoke. He swallowed thickly when she mentioned the band. "Well, I wouldn't say I quit the band. We're on a break?" he said, but it came more out as a question. And even then, it was no topic he wanted to discuss with his ex girlfriend. Who was here with her new guy. "But it's nothing really to talk about. Everything is good.." he said with a nod.

"I guess, I will see you around from now on. Enjoy your time." he said. It sounded polite to say such thing but he actually regretted saying those words. He didn't want to see her around. Not if he would always feel this pain inside his chest.

She did.

It was a rather rainy Wednesday afternoon and he was supposed to meet one of his fellow students at the local coffee shop. Right when he grabbed his coffee and turned around, she stood right in front of him. His eyes widened a little and it seemed his breath got stuck in his lungs. She was here.

Emily opened the door of the coffee shop and closed her umbrella. It was quite crowded, since the rain urged everyone inside. Still cozy, though. The warmth helped with the overwhelming sound of people too many talking. Just then her phone vibrated and she opened it, to find a text from her mom, asking her if everything had been alright. She kept queueing up, while texting back and just then Josh stopped her from bumping into a stranger. The young woman looked up. Not to find a stranger, though. Not a stranger at all, to be perfectly honest. It was Kai. Her Ex boyfriend. The thought of calling him this still hurt a little. Even after those years. Her eyes met his and they were yet so blue. Her mouth opened slightly, but the words had been caught in her throat. "Hey", he said, quite awkwardly. But she did not expect anything else. Well, she kind of expected him to ignore her, yell at her or just to run away.

“Kai…” he said shortly. Soon as the words were spoken, he snapped out of this moment, behind them people mumbling things for breaking the queue and the woman behind him saying Emily’s name twice already. Her coffee had been ready. He shook his head a little, enough to be present again, too little for anyone to notice his short absence. He took a breath, and finally he felt able to form a proper sentence. “Wow, it’s been quite some time. Haven’t seen you in what… years?” He said, a small awkward laugh escaped his lips as he tried his best to deal with the situation. He didn’t say the correct number on purpose, he didn’t want to come off as needy or clingy. But it’s been 5 years. 5 years that felt like an eternity to him. And right now, with her in front of him, he realized how bad it really was.

He took a closer look. Her hair seemed to be the same length as it used to when they’ve last seen each other. She was wearing a little more makeup. Which she didn’t really need. She was beautifully just the way she was. And her newest addition, she had a boyfriend. Which brought a knot to his stomach. He felt sick.