Chapter 31 Fight
783words
I opened my eyes to darkness peeking through the curtains, and the living room light was on.
I sat up from where I had been snoozing against Kayn's shoulder.
He was out, his head tilted to the side. He seemed so saintlike as he slept.
Mom pinned me with a knowing look. "Come sleep on my bed," she whispered. "You're not sleeping in here with a boy."
My face heated. "Mom, it's not what you think," I insisted in a low voice. "We were watching movies and fell asleep."
"Uh-huh." She turned away. I could tell she didn't believe me, but my head was pounding, and I needed to lie down again.
"How are you feeling?" Mom asked when we entered her bedroom.
"In pain. My head is about to pop."
Mom dug out a small, brown paper bag from her handbag and passed it over to my side of the bed. "Take one of those. The nurse gave it to me, but I forgot to give it to you."
I picked up the bag and took out a pill. "How long is Dad going to be away?"
"He said it should be two days at the most," she answered. "You need to rest up this weekend. You're starting school on Monday."
Like she had to remind me. "Thank you for the presents and the cake. I love it."
"Glad you like it," Mom offered a weak smile. "I'm also glad he was here. I tried some of that leftover lasagna. It's pretty good. You should cook more often."
"I didn't make that," I said. "Kayn did."
"Oh now, did he?" Mom sounded surprised. "Good looking, heroic tendencies, and an exceptional cook. I'm impressed."
"Mom, he's not that great, trust me." There was potential, but his mouth and attitude ruined all of it.
"It's nice of him to make your birthday special. When I was your age, my boyfriends only tried to kiss as many girls as possible while I wasn't around."
"He's not my boyfriend."
"If he isn't, he will be. I'm not blind, Carly."
I sighed, my head too sore to argue with Mom. "I'm going to take these and get some sleep."
***
Saturday morning, I woke up to shouting. My slow brain assumed it was my parents, but it dawned on me that for one, Dad wasn't home, and my parents never fought like that.
I bolted up from bed, tripping over the sheets tangled with my legs.
When I managed to free myself from the cluster of blankets and flung open the bedroom door, the voices became intelligible.
"I don't care what you think," Mom yelled. "We're not going anywhere."
There was a long stretch of silence as I hurried into the kitchen. I found a pot overboiling on the stove, spilling hot water all over.
I grabbed a kitchen towel and moved the pot over to another plate, trying not to burn myself in the process.
"You all have been nothing but trouble since you arrived on this island," a man barked. "Look at what happened the other night. I warned you, this place is dangerous!"
I switched off the stove and wiped the mess up. Dazed and my heart beating inside my ears, I tried to figure out where the screaming match was coming from.
"If it's so dangerous, why are your family still here?" Mom pressed. "You're making up every excuse under the sun to get us to leave. I'm not stupid. You are one of those people who wants to take up everything for himself. Including a whole, damn island!"
"I'm warning you," the man continued. "You saw what happened. It will happen again, and this time, she won't be lucky to escape with her life."
Wait—where the fighting about me?
Mom had gone still, and all I could hear was myself breathing.
"Are you threatening me?"
"I'm helping you," the man retorted. "How many bloody times do I have to repeat myself?"
Good gracious, he sounded like Kayn.
I rushed outside to find Mom squaring it off with Hector.
When he saw me, I swear it looked like his face turned ten shades redder than it already was. He lifted a hand and pointed at me. "That girl is nothing but trouble. If you can't keep her on a bloody damn leash—"
"How dare you," Mom spat. "My girl has nothing to do with this. Don't you even think about blaming her for any of your petty issues!"
The house's front door next door flung open, and Kayn rushed outside, followed by Ember and Adriane.
