Shelter

by Tara Shuler

  “Oh, wait,” I said. “Mother, Will, I need your ATM cards.”

  “What for?” my mother asked.

  “They each have a withdrawal limit of four hundred dollars per day,” I explained. “We have to take out the maximum each day so Jamie can rent us a house when we get… wherever.”

  “I have cash,” Mother said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a fat envelope.

  I took it and looked inside. It was stuffed with twenty and one hundred-dollar bills. I gasped aloud.

  “Why do you have this much cash?” I asked her.

  “I was always afraid something like this would happen,” she said. “I had to be prepared to take you both and run. Of course, I never expected it would be a Viewer.”

  I nodded gravely. I never expected it, either. I certainly never expected it would turn out to be a guy I’d once… well, a guy who had supposedly been in love with me.

  I handed the envelope over to Jamie.

  “Thank you for doing this for us, Jamie,” my mother said to her.

  “Alice is like family to me,” she said. “I would do anything for her.”

  With that, we abandoned our home and all of our cars and headed off in search of safety.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Home”

  We drove for hours and hours. Everyone was getting restless, but Jamie felt we should get as far away from Savannah as possible. I had no idea where we were going. Jamie didn’t blindfold us, but she made us promise to keep our eyes closed. It was rough when we had to use the toilet, but Jamie led us into the restrooms and once inside we could open our eyes. One restaurant or gas station bathroom looked the same as any other.

  Jamie looked after all of us like a mother hen. She brought us food and drinks, and helped us open packages and bottles. It was surprising just how difficult all of this was without vision.

  When we finally arrived, Jamie found a house on Craigslist. She had to leave us alone inside a very nondescript restaurant while she went to look at the house. It would have been rather creepy for the landlord to see four people in the back of a van all with their eyes closed!

  She secured the house and then picked us up. We couldn’t open our eyes until we were inside. There was no furniture, but Jamie said she would get some as soon as possible. Luckily, we had Mother’s fat stack of cash. We couldn’t use our ATM cards or credit cards now that we were in the new location, because those could be traced.

  It wasn’t long after we arrived that Kai’s phone rang. It was my phone again.

  “Max,” I said certainly.

  “Have you decided to give him up, yet?” he asked smugly.

  “Never!” I hissed.

  “Suit yourself,” Max said. “I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks, you know.”

  “Yeah, but you can get Daddy to help you track us, right?” I snarled.

  “I’m not getting my father involved,” he said flatly.

  “Why not?” I demanded.

  “I’m just not,” he said.

  “What’s wrong, Max?” I gloated. “Daddy not the big, powerful Viewer you claimed he is?”

  “That’s not it!” he snapped. “I just don’t want him involved.”

  “Why not?” I demanded again.

  “I just don’t!” he shouted.

  “I’m hanging up, now,” I said.

  “Wait,” he said gently.

  “What is it, Max? Haven’t you caused enough problems for my family?” I growled through the phone.

  “I never wanted this,” he said quietly.

  “Yeah, right,” I laughed angrily. “You wanted to kill Kai in the clearing. I saw it.”

  “You’re right about that, and I still do want to kill him,” he agreed. “But I never wanted to cause problems for your family… or you.”

  “What did you think this would do?” I yelled. “We had to leave our lives behind because of you! Our home!”

  “Leave your…” he muttered, “you left town?”

  “Of course we left town!” I screamed. “What did you expect us to do? Just sit there and wait for you to come slaughter us all in our sleep?”

  “I… I never expected you to leave,” he stammered.

  “Oh, right, like we’d just stay there and wait to die,” I said.

  “I wouldn’t hurt you,” he whispered.

  “You’re a hunter,” I reminded him. “Of course you would.”

  “You don’t understand, Alice,” he said gently.

  “I understand plenty,” I snapped.

  “No, you don’t,” he said. “I won’t get my father involved because…”

  When he paused, I demanded, “Because?”

  “Because I don’t want to risk him hurting you,” he finally admitted.

  I blinked. My face was blank. Kai and Will stared at me from across the room, trying to read my expression, but there was nothing to read. I was numb.

  “Alice?” he asked, checking to see if I was still on the phone.

  “Max, I…” I stopped, unable to think.

  “I won’t get my father involved, because he would expect me to kill you,” Max said quietly. “I could never hurt you… or your family.”

  “What did you tell the police?” I asked.

  “I told them I had a minor incident with a drunken party guest, but he’d left and there was no problem,” he answered. “It was my house, so they just took my statement and left.”

  “And they didn’t stop to ask why there were a bunch of teenagers at a party with a drunken guest?” I wanted to know.

  “I told them it was my house, and they assumed I was an adult,” he replied. “I never said anyone was underage, and they didn’t ask.”

  “What did you tell your father?” I asked. “Your mother?”

  “Nothing,” he replied. “I’ll get everything cleaned up and repaired before he gets home, so he won’t even know anything happened. Mom’s asleep.”

  “You know I can never come home,” I told him.

  “I won’t hurt you, I promise,” he pleaded. “I never wanted to do this to your family.”

  “You’ll hurt Kai,” I whispered.

  “Yes!” he shouted. “Yes, I will kill that blood sucking bastard! It’s his fault you won’t be with me!”

  “Max, I don’t love you!” I shouted into the phone, and I saw Kai raise one eyebrow quizzically.

  “You would if it wasn’t for him!” he yelled back at me.

  “No!” I screamed. “That’s not true!”

  “It is true!” he growled. “And if I ever find him, he’s fucking dead!”

  I angrily pushed the button to hang up, and I threw the phone across the room. Luckily, it hit Kai and bounced safely to the floor. If it had hit the wall at the velocity I’d thrown it at, it would have shattered.

  “Ow!” Kai howled.

  “Sorry!” I gasped.

  “’S ok,” he said. “What happened?”

  “About what you’d expect,” I said. “He said if he ever found you, he’d kill you. And…”

  “And what?” he questioned.

  “And he said he doesn’t want to hurt me,” I replied.

  “I see,” Kai said through clenched teeth.

  Suddenly, I was overcome with emotion. This was all too much to handle. On one hand, I had sweet, gentle Kai. He was kind and loving, and he’d been treated unimaginably by his mother. He loved me more than his own life, and I knew I was everything to him.

  On the other hand, it was now plain to see Max loved me, too. I remembered the electrifying sensation I’d felt when he kissed me, and I realized I had some type of feelings for him, too. It wasn’t love – not like I had for Kai. But it was tangible – real.

  How could I have feelings for someone so revolting? This guy wanted to kill my boyfriend – Kai, who was kinder and gentler than anyone I’d ever known. He made my family and me fear for our lives and leave our home. And because of him, Jamie’s life had been uprooted, too.

  Maybe Max was
right. Maybe if it wasn’t for Kai, I could love him. But Kai was there. He loved me, and after all he’d been through in his life, I couldn’t hurt him. I promised him I would never leave him, and I wouldn’t. I wanted to be with him.

  Kai’s phone rang again, and my number popped up on caller ID. I refused to answer it, and I told Kai not to answer it, either. For the next several hours, the phone rang every five minutes. He was persistent, maybe even desperate.

  Around midnight, the calls finally stopped. I went to take a bath, and I took Kai’s phone with me. I checked the voicemail.

  “You have 47 new messages.”

  I listened to each and every one of them while sitting on the edge of the bathtub with the water running.

  “Alice, it’s Max. Please answer. Please talk to me.”

  “Alice, please call me back.”

  “Alice…”

  I could hear the pain in his voice in every message, but I could not call him back. No matter how much he was hurting, or how much I wanted to try to make it better for him, I would not call him back. I saved every message, but I could not return his calls.

  I set the phone on the bathroom counter and sank down into a tub full of hot water and bubbles. I closed my eyes and sighed. This was really far too much for me to handle.

  I heard a knock on the door.

  “Alice, it’s me,” I heard Jamie call.

  “Come in, Jamie,” I said, pulling the shower curtain closed.

  I heard the door open, and Jamie walked in. She sat down on the toilet lid.

  “Did you listen to the messages?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I admitted.

  “Kai was afraid that’s what you were doing,” she muttered.

  I sighed. He knew me a little too well.

  “Is he mad?” I asked.

  “No, he’s not mad,” she replied. “Not at you, anyway.”

  “Is he okay?” I asked her.

  “I guess so,” he answered. “About as okay as someone could be under the circumstances.”

  “Do you want to listen to them?” I asked her.

  “I am curious,” she admitted.

  “The phone is on the counter,” I told her. “You can listen if you want.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to relax as much as possible as Jamie went through the messages one by one.

  “Wow,” she finally breathed. “He really cares about you.”

  “I know,” I whispered.

  “Kai’s going to be pissed,” she mused.

  “I know,” I groaned.

  “So you’re going to let Kai listen to them?” she asked.

  “Of course,” I said. “I wouldn’t keep anything from him.”

  “Then why did you come in here to listen to them?” she wanted to know.

  “I just wanted some privacy,” I told her.

  “You might have a hard time explaining that to Kai,” she said.

  “True, but I hope he will understand,” I sighed.

  “I’ll let you get back to your bath,” she said, and I heard the door click shut behind her.

  A few minutes later, there was another knock at the door.

  “Alice?” Kai called.

  “Come in,” I answered.

  He came in and closed the door behind him. I heard him walk over and sit in the floor beside the tub. He was just outside the shower curtain, and I heard him sigh.

  “You talked to Jamie,” I acknowledged.

  “Yes,” he agreed.

  “You can listen to the messages,” I told him. “Phone’s on the counter.”

  “I already have it,” he said.

  I pulled the shower curtain back a bit, and he had his knees up and his arms were straight out in front of him, resting on his knees. His phone dangled from one of his hands, and he rolled it over, turning it around in his hand. His eyes never left it.

  “They’re pretty bad,” I told him.

  “I figured they would be,” he nodded.

  “You can just delete them if you want,” I offered.

  “No,” he said. “I want to hear them.”

  “Do you want to wait until I get out of the tub?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he agreed. “I’d prefer it if you were with me.”

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes,” I told him.

  Without looking at me, he stood up to leave.

  “Kai?” I stopped him.

  “What,” he said without turning around.

  “I love you,” I told him.

  “I love you, too,” he said quietly, never turning to face me. Then he was gone.

  I quickly finished my bath and changed into my brand new nightgown. Thankfully, Jamie had been shopping. I hadn’t been able to bring any clothes with me, and it felt good to get out of the dress I had been wearing since the party.

  I headed into the bedroom Kai and I would be sharing. It was a three-bedroom house, so we couldn’t have our own rooms. I was sharing a room with Kai. Jamie and my mother were sharing a room. Will had his own room. We were all sleeping on air mattresses until we could get furniture.

  Kai was already lying on our air mattress when I walked into our room. He still held the phone. He didn’t look at me. I padded across the carpet and lied down beside him. It was surprisingly comfortable.

  “This isn’t bad for an air mattress,” I said.

  “I told Jamie you like soft beds, so she got a pillow top to go on ours,” he said.

  “Oh,” I nodded. “Did you listen, yet?”

  “No,” he answered, still refusing to look at me. “I was waiting for you.”

  “Are you ready?” I asked him.

  He nodded silently. I saw his jaw clench several times, and he took a deep breath and started to listen. As he played each message, his eyes got narrower and narrower. His eyebrow furrowed heavily, and I could hear his teeth grind together several times.

  When he’d finished listening to all of them, he closed the phone and clenched it tightly in his hand. I could hear the plastic start to crack and pop under the intense pressure, and I placed my hand gently over his. He loosened his grip.

  “I told him I don’t love him,” I said gently. Kai hung his head.

  “I know,” he sighed heavily.

  “I don’t love him,” I assured Kai. “I love you.”

  “Why did you listen to the messages in the bathroom?” he wanted to know.

  “I just wanted some privacy,” I told him.

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

  Kai bit his lip. He still hadn’t made eye contact with me.

  “Answer me truthfully. Do you have feelings for him at all?”

  I had to be honest. I couldn’t lie to Kai.

  “Yes,” I said softly.

  He winced, and I heard the phone crack again.

  “Kai, look at me,” I pleaded.

  He looked toward the wall.

  I placed my hand on his face and pulled his gaze toward me.

  “Look at me,” I repeated.

  Finally, he sighed and looked my way, but he refused to maintain eye contact. He would glance at me, but quickly look away again.

  “I know you’re upset,” I said. “I would be, too. But you have to know that I don’t love him. I only love you.”

  “I don’t know that, Alice,” Kai finally said. “I don’t know that at all. I’ve never known why you love me in the first place. I still don’t. I’m nothing. You could have anyone you want. Why do you want a pathetic loser like me, anyway?”

  “Kai, I’ve told you before,” I insisted. “You’re not a loser. You’re a smart, sweet, beautiful, incredible person. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I love you so much it hurts!”

  “Then why does it seem like you’re drawn to the hunter?” he growled, seething with disgust at the word.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s hard to explain.”

  “Try,” he snarled, his teeth clenched tightly again. />
  “I thought for a long time it was just a physical attraction,” I attempted to explain, and he winced at hearing I found Max attractive. “I thought we were just friends, and that I found him attractive. But then things changed when…”

  “When what?” he demanded.

  “When you left all that time,” I sighed.

  “You mean after I left because I caught you with your tongue down his throat in the elevator?” he shot back at me.

  I bit my lip and looked at the wall. Now it was I who trying to avoid his glaring gaze.

  “Yes,” I finally said.

  “I see,” Kai said. “So you fell for him while I was away.”

  “I didn’t fall for him,” I began. “Things just changed a little. You…”

  “Do you have any idea what I did while I was gone?” he interrupted.

  “No, how could I?” I asked, surprised.

  “I sat on the beach for the better part of two weeks waiting for you,” he answered. “I thought you knew me well enough to know where I’d be. I thought you’d come looking for me. I finally gave up waiting for you to come, and I didn’t want to miss giving you a gift for Christmas. And what do I see when I come home but you at the front door hugging that hunter!”

  “I didn’t invite him over,” I explained. “He just showed up to give me a Christmas gift.”

  “That box you had in your room?” he asked. So he’d seen it.

  “Yes.”

  “The one you put a bunch of your favorite possessions in?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see.”

  His jaw clenched again, and I could literally feel the pain coming off his body in the form of heat as his blood pressure rose.

  “I can’t do this anymore, Alice,” Kai finally said.

  He stood up, and I jumped up after him.

  “What do you mean?” I gasped. “Where are you going?”

  “To give you what you want,” he snarled. “I’m going to let Max kill me so you can have your life back!”

  “Kai!” I shrieked. “No! Don’t do that! Please!”

  I grabbed his arm, and he jerked away forcefully. He turned toward me and looked down into my pleading eyes. For a moment, he melted. His face turned into jelly, and I could see the intense love for me in his eyes. He embraced me, planting a kiss on the top of my head and taking a deep breath, apparently smelling my damp hair. I closed my eyes, enjoying the closeness.