#lunarchronicles

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oooh, there's trouble in the air here; you can smell it, " Kai thought he heard shouting mixed with the beautiful violin noises in the background now, "I gotta go, but one question first."

"Shoot."

"Are you by yourself?"

"Yes, why?"

"I'll let you figure it out, " and with that, Thorne ended the call. Kai began to wonder he called in the first place.

He finished folding the last of the shirts and moved to the living room. He flopped on the couch and groaned, covering his face with his hands.

He hadn't slept in a week; he was weak; he had to stay awake. Anytime now, his phone would ring, and Dr. Erland would tell Kai that his father got positive results for the major surgery that could remove his father's large tumor. Not only that, there was a huge test next week, and he had been preparing for it all week.

No one had ever seen a-could-be orphan more in need in a break. He was longing for a friend, missing his father, and that's when Miss Cinder Linh knocked on his door.

Kai couldn't see Cinder from the living room. Still, he knew it was her because he'd been expecting her... unless Levana decided to pay him a surprise visit.

He met Cinder and her little sister during a chemotherapy session and immediately felt a connection with her. One that he hadn't ever felt before. And they met every Saturday and usually left their loved ones to get coffee and return, and those were the moments Kai looked forward to every week. He then realized that he might be falling for her, just a tiny bit.

He walked to the door and was relieved to find dark brown eyes greeting him.

"I know you are a man of honor," Cinder teased, her eyes sparkling as Kai noticed a dark splotch above her brow. He managed to stifle a laugh; he knew that she did a part-time mechanic job in some old guy's warehouse, "I'm so sorry to bother you at home, but I don't know where to go, and I came here all alone," she waved her hand in the air, keys jingling, and winked at him.

"Hi, Cinder, thanks for coming," he said softly. He let her in, and, already knowing the answer, he asked, "how's your family?"

Cinder huffed, "My family? Adri's doing me wrong; she's beating me, cheating, mistreated. And suddenly Iko's up and gone. I don't have the means to go on."

She gratefully took place on the oversized couch. Kai hated Adri with every inch of his being with a burning passion. Every time Cinder told him about all the horrible things that bitch did to her; he would imagine the worst fate to come upon Adri while Cinder would just shrug it off.

He grabbed the ever-hated science book from the kitchen counter and went to sit with Cinder. She smiled at him, and his heart drummed unexpectedly.

"Ah, science, your worst subject, if I remember your ranting correctly," she said.

"What can I say? I'm stronger in history and ELA."

"Which are my weak points."

"Exactly, we help each other," she shifted, and her hand touched Kai's elbow and lingered before she brought her legs up and sat criss-cross-applesauce.

"So, we should get started for your big test, right?" Cinder coughed.

"Right."

At one point, she asked for coffee, and he bashfully admitted there was none and suggested that they could buy some from a dollar store about a block away with the thirty dollars he had socked away in his pocket. Cinder shook her head and said they should study instead.

And they did study for about an hour until Kai started laughing for no apparent reason. She began to laugh with him and placed a hand on his chest to balance her laughter out. He tried to stop, but then she'll snort, and he started laughing again, which proceeded to make Cinder do the same thing. So they were stuck in this cycle of laughter until she leaned on him, and he fell backward on the couch, bringing her down with him.

The laughter died out with a new emotion taking its place. Kai couldn't tell what it was, but he saw it in her eyes. Her gorgeous, chocolate brown eyes. Her gaze dipped towards his lips so quick he almost missed it. He was aware of her hands on his chest, the left one moving towards his neck. He shivered.

"I should- we should probably get back up," he whispered.

Cinder looked at his lips once again and licked hers, "I think I'll stay," and Kai suddenly figured out what the feeling was; yearning.

He wanted to kiss her, to envelop her in his arms until daylight, and to whisper compliments every minute. He so desperately wanted to.

Oh stars, someone shows him to say no to this because he had no idea how to say no to this. He was with Levana as much as he hated it. His father and Levana's parents wanted the relationship- said it would be good for both of their businesses. But he didn't want it. Instead of objecting, he was kind and open to the cruel witch who was now his girlfriend. The girlfriend who he was most likely to cheat on this very minute.

But with Cinder, it didn't feel like cheating. It felt more like cheating on her with Levana, and the thought disgusted him. She looked helpless, and at the same time, her body was saying 'hell yes.'

Kai tried to think about his next move, and in his mind, he was trying to go, but then her mouth was on his, and he did not say no. He grabbed her waist, and she clung to his hoodie, her grip tightening when his right hand traced her figure. Her hand moved to his hair and gripped it while kissing him harder.

He ignored his imaginary father in his head, screaming at him to say no, as well as a furious Levana and her family. He only focused on the girl he was making out with and pretended that Levana didn't exist. He pretended that his dad was fine and everything was fine, that he had nothing to worry about. He pretended that he was in a wonderful relationship with Cinder and that everything would be fine.

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As it turns out, everything was not fine. Kai wished (although not really) that he could say that was the last time he made out with Cinder. He said that last time, it became a pastime.

A month into this endeavor, he received a text from a Pearl Linh; even better, it said:

Dear Kai, I hope this text finds you in good health and in a prosperous position to put wealth in the pockets of people like me who are down on their luck; you see, that was my (step) sister you decided to-.

Kai suddenly dropped the cookie he had been holding in his mouth to eat and looked at an insignificant place on the wall in horror, "fu-."

He was cut off by Pearl calling him. When did he give her his number?! He answered and shoved his groan down his throat.

"I assume you got my text," Pearl said, somewhat sickly-sweet.

"Mhm."

"Uh oh," she mocked, and Kai imagined her jousting her lip out in mock sympathy, "you chose the wrong loser to mess with. So time to pay the price for whatever you did to the bitch. And, hey, you can keep seeing my whore sister if the price is right; if not, I'm telling Levana."

She hung up, and Kai couldn't move from shock. He heard the screech of tires braking in the driveway and banging on his door. Once he broke free from the ice that was keeping him still, he opened the door for the girl who had spilled their whole relationship to his brand-new blackmailer.

He stared at Cinder for a while before blurting out, "how could you!" in her face.

"No Kai-," she groaned and pinched the space between her eyes. She was poorly dressed, apologetic, a mess; she looked almost pathetic. He started to close the door when Cinder thrust her hand out and cried, "please don't go, Kai!"

"You told Pearl everything-!"

"I don't know how she found out until she was accusing it to me in my face!"

"She told me everything just now through text!" Kai frustratedly ran a hand through his hair, "So was this whole thing a setup, so you could help Pearl do whatever?!"

"I don't know about any text!" Cinder was getting angry now too, "I- I didn't know any better," she said at the same time he said:

"Goddamit, I'm ruined, the business is ruined, my father is- agh!"

The following words came out as a rush from her mouth, "please don't do anything; I'll fix it."

"Cinder, you're helpless. It's me. How could I do this to you?!" she ignored him.

"Maybe if we give her what she wants.. If you pay... I can stay?" Kai decided that it was too awkward to continue arguing on the porch, so he let her inside. She tripped on the doorframe, and he caught her, and once again, Cinder was in his arms.

He could stop right then and there. He could wait until he found the best way to break up with Levana and make both families happy to date Cinder. But, he still didn't know how to say no to this, to her. And the situations helpless.

How could he say no to this?! It was practically impossible. Cinder shut the door with her foot as her hands rubbed his chest before finding their way to his neck. Kai began to lean in, and the chorus of screaming voices had never been louder.

Then right before they kissed, she whispered, "I- I think I love you, Kai. Do you-" she never got to finish her sentence before he dug his hand in her hair and kissed her. Hard. The chorus came back and was screaming NO at full force. Yes, he thought in retaliation, and two of the voices (Levana's parents) left. NO, they cried again, though not as strong. Yes, Kai reconsidered the topic. Did he love Cinder? NO! shouted Levana. Yes! he called back in his mind. Cinder's words came back to him; so hopeful and helpless: 'Do you love me?' she meant to say. NO! his father was the last one left.

Kai pulled away from Cinder, and her eyes fluttered open, "yes," he whispered back, and she smiled her beautiful smile that could make even the most heartless man smile. Then he kissed her again, but more soft this time, and thought about how much he loved her. Which was a lot because he loves her more than he ever thought he could.

Kai dwelled on that thought as a new idea formed in his head.

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"So?" Pearl asked Kai behind the hidden trailer at their private school. It bewildered him to know that Adri could send two of her girls to a prestigious private school while Cinder ended up at a public school to save money. IF she wants to save money, send all of your girls to public school, and she needs to, now with Peony's medical bills.

He looked at Pearl with utmost hatred, and her cheeks flushed, reasons unbeknownst to Kai, "nobody needs to know," he growled.

Pearl asked for twenty-bucks to keep their 'secret' safe, but there was no reason to since he was going to end it today. He walked away with a smirk, and she called out for him, but he had no time for her. Kai had a plan. He was going to break up with Levana. It might make Kai deal with Levana's fury, along with her family's and his father's, but it was going to make him happy.

Kai could finally be with Cinder, and he wouldn't care what they say about it because Cinder made him happy. She made him feel like the most significant human in the world, even though he knew he was not.