Carter must have changed his mind about watching Kai’s film. Kai tried not to take it personally; it was getting late and he was supposed to go to Zach’s soon anyway. He had checked his watch more than any rational person should but Carter never knocked on his door. It wasn’t until Kai only had half an hour to shed his paint spattered clothes in exchange for something nice but not too nice that he braved going to Janine’s room. He’d found his sister at her desk, headphones on and book in hand, but no Carter. Kai had not been courageous enough to ask if Carter had left. Instead, he slinked back to his room and struggled to tame his disappointment. Kai had come off too eager and that weirded Carter out. They weren’t friends. Janine was the only link between them.

Even if Carter had been the first person Kai saw when he woke up from his two week vacation in his heavily concussed brain, that hadn’t meant they were suddenly best friends. Carter might have been the one who had to tell Kai his sister was dead. He might have been the one who remembered to bring Kai his backup glasses because his other ones were demolished in the accident. Carter was just a nice guy like that. A nice guy who thought he may give Kai the wrong impression if they attempted to hang out without the buffer Janine provided.

Kai sprayed some cologne on his wrists, gently rubbing them together. He always tried to look nice for Zach. His outfits were thoughtfully selected, even if every article of clothing typically ended up on Zach’s bedroom floor. As disappointed as he was that Carter canceled (more like disappeared) on him, Kai reminded himself this was good. He needed to focus on Zach. Kai was feeling particularly brave.

He could find a way to casually ask Zach if they were dating. The word, as simple as it was, seemed to scare the shit out of Zach. It, if he were being honest, scared Kai as well. He’d never had a serious relationship; just barely-hook ups with guys from out of town or the few times Kai was lonely enough to go to the nearest city- which was no short stroll- with a fake ID. But the vagueness of his relationship with Zach pestered him every time he left the other’s house. They went on dates and were pretty much exclusive; that was dating, wasn’t it?

Kai double-checked his appearance in the small mirror by the bed, running his fingers through his dark curls. He had no clue why his hair had thick waves while Janine’s was straight. Their father’s hair, when he had hair anyway, had been a mop of reddish-brown curls. Kai was surprised to find he had the faintest shadow of stubble on his cheeks and chin. That was new… Would Zach like it? The short sprinkle of dark hair didn’t exactly make Kai look rugged but at least he was growing out of his boyish looks.

He barely had the door open before he caught the tail end of his father’s voice; a deep, steady voice that was touched with a gentleness. Kai wished he’d been able to shut his door sooner, seeing the top of his father’s shiny, bald head emerge from the stairs. He stood frozen as if that would prevent his dad from seeing him. No such luck.

The stairs led up to a landing that only gave him two choices; the bathroom or round the pony wall that rose from the floor and led to the hallway where all of their bedrooms were. Of course his dad had his own bathroom attached to his bedroom so he rested a hand on the pony wall and turned. He lit up when he saw Kai.

“Oh, hey, kid.” He smoothed his purple tie down. “All dressed up on a Wednesday night?”

Kai glanced down at his outfit. He wouldn’t describe distressed, red jeans, a Scream t-shirt and his clunky, leather boots as dressed up. At least there was no paint or fake blood on these clothes.

“Oh, yeah… Just meeting up with some friends. Is that… cool?” Kai knew he should have just snuck out the window.

His father seemed hesitant. He looked Kai over as if checking to see how strung out he was. His overly concerned, furrowed brows made Kai avoid his eyes which probably just made him look even more guilty. The long, withered looks his parents gave him filled him with a shame he didn’t find fair to be burdened with.

“Maybe you should check with mom. I mean, I’m glad you’re spending time with friends. Have we met them before? Is it Buckley?”

Kai sighed softly. Dilemma… Lie to his father and risk punishment if he were to find out or possibly expose Zach and his… whatever it was. He hadn’t talked to Buckley since the party almost two years ago. “Just some people from school. We’re going to the same college so I wanted to get to know them better. Figured it’d be nice to know some people out in LA.”

“Mm.” His father took his thin, squared glasses off to clean them with his tie. “LA… That is so far away, Kai. You have no family out there.”

That’s the whole point Kai thought, shaking his head with annoyance. Instead, he said, “I’ll be home for the holidays. We’ve had this discussion a billion times, dad.”

Kai heard a door creak, head whipping over to find Janine leaning against her doorframe. She smiled awkwardly. Kai hoped his dad would drop it now that his sister was listening but Mr. Goodwin plowed on.

“It’s not a safe city. It’s filled with homeless people and scammers.”

“There’s homeless people everywhere, Dad.” Janine interjected. “They’re harmless… Someone like Kai could help them. He’s nice like that.”

Kai caught her eye again and felt himself tilt his head forward as a silent thank you. Janine returned the gesture.

“He’ll be just as broke as them.” Their dad reasoned. “I’m more concerned about the type of people there.”

Kai tensed and he didn’t have to look at his sister to know she was just as visibly unpleased with the statement. Kai wasn’t sure he wanted to know who his father was referring to. His father frequently invented varying types of dangerous people as some form of vague warning to dissuade Kai and his sister from doing things out of their parents’ comfort zone. Mr. Goodwin must be picturing unsavory strangers wielding nasty, rusty syringes and snorting coke like it was oxygen. Kai had half the mind to remind his dad that Ivy Hills was no sanctuary free of danger.

He could list off the number of bomb threats his school received last year, the missing person posters that wallpapered the pharmacy’s bulletin board, the pastor who had suffocated his wife before driving them both off the cliff that oversaw Yellow Bridge Communities- the tragedies were endless. Instead, Kai let his father continue to try and talk him out of his dream school.

“There’s a good school here, Kai. It’s close and I’ve heard great things about the film program. And… Ivy Hill’s Recovery is-”

“Rehab?” Kai deadpanned, brows shooting up to his hairline. “You think I need to go to a rehab? Dad, I don’t even drink!”

“Your mother’s pills are missing.”

Kai sighed in exasperation, head lolling on his neck as he took a moment to compose himself. That was just rich. His mom had injured her back a few months ago and Kai now knew why she guarded the medicine cabinet like a hawk. His parents must have thought Kai knew how to pick locks apparently.

“I’m running late.” Kai mumbled, brushing past his father. “I need the car, Jan.”

“Keys are-”

“You’re not driving, Kai.” His father interrupted. “You need to go somewhere, let one of us take you.”

“So you can drive me to rehab? For a problem I don’t even have?” Kai huffed as he started down the stairs.

“We didn’t forget about the cocaine they found in your system.” His father reasoned, arms crossing over his chest as if his practiced stern voice and stance would make Kai slump back into his room.

Kai shot a look at his father. He was exhausted from sounding like a broken record. He made one mistake. A mistake that he wouldn’t forgive himself for and apparently, neither would his parents. He decided to let his father have the last word. Mr. Goodwin was all bark; he liked to lecture and educate but ultimately left punishments to Mrs. Goodwin. So, Kai expected he would come home to find himself grounded and under more-vigilant than usual eyes for a week. He could handle that. He couldn’t handle the idea that his parents were contemplating sending him back to Ivy Hill’s Recovery Center.

It wouldn’t be Kai’s first stint there. When he had recovered enough from his concussion and injuries, the judge had given him an ultimatum; risk going to juvy for possession of illegal substances or sober up at rehab for a month and a half. Kai had only tried coke once and regretted it. They didn’t need to do some Scared Straight bullshit; he hated being high. Kai preferred having complete control of his motor functions.

Kai found the keys by the front door and made his exit. He heard his mother’s voice distantly call for him but pretended to not hear her. He found Carter fiddling with the radio in his truck but ignored him as well. Kai was desperately focusing on keeping the blurriness of his vision at bay. They stung, little tiny bee stings vying for his attention. If he felt Carter’s gaze on him, he chose to ignore that as well. Kai inserted the key, closing his eyes briefly as the Jeep purred to life.

“Fuck my day.” He breathed before looking over his shoulder to back out of the driveway for the second time that day.

Next Chapter: Fresh Cinnamon