by Ivy Knight
His hands start to roam around my body and almost like that I'm pulled back into reality. I take a step back and pull my lips away from his. Breathing heavily, I look down at the ground.
Fuck.
"We can't," I breathe. "It's not going to work, Kai. Not when you can't even decide what you want. I'm here to stay if you say I'm who you want, but I'm not here to make you feel like a man when everything else makes you feel less. Just stop running away."
With that, I turn around and leave. He doesn't try to stop me and I don't look back.
Once I exit the washroom, I wipe my lips from the taste of his. I feel the tears trickle down my cheeks as the emotions build up.
This is going to ruin me, but then again, there's no other way.
Chapter 42
An alarm blares and I wake up with a panic. I reach over searching for my phone and as soon as it's in my grip, I pull it closer to me. Stretching my eyes, I turn off the alarm.
The room cold, with all my will power, I take the blanket off my upper half and sit up leaning my back against the headboard.
The date displaying February fourteenth, I go through my messages in hopes of finding one that would say happy birthday, but none do.
I put my phone down and pout feeling a bit down. I had a rough sleep last night, because Kai didn't show up. He didn't come home all night. Maybe he deserves it, but I still wanted him to come. I wanted him to tell me that I'm what he wants.
Throwing the blanket to the side, I get up and freshen up before changing into a pair of sweats and a hoodie for the day. Once I'm ready, I head downstairs.
The house is empty like I predicted, so I just grab a glass of milk and make some eggs for myself. As I silently eat, the doorbell rings.
No one ever comes to the house ringing the bell, so I'm curious to see who it is. I head to the door and find the mailman. He hands me a package and I sign a paper before he leaves. I take the package into the house and read that it's for Alec from Dakota.
I shake my head and put the package down on the coffee table so that Alec can see it right when he comes in. Heading back to the kitchen, I stop in my tracks when I hear my phone ding. I bring out my phone and read the text.
Open the door.
I read off Kai's message. I wonder what it's about, but do as it says. I open the front door and a small box with a card is on the ground in front of my feet.
I pick up the box and bring it inside where I open the card.
Happy Birthday, Verano. PS, I'm sorry.
A smile grows on my face and I open the box. Inside is a small combat knife. I pick it up in my hands and feel the firm texture. On the blade, my initials are chiseled on and I can't help but feel spoiled. I haven't held a knife in my hands for a while, so him gifting me one, is quite a nice surprise. As I stand admiring the knife, my phone dings again.
I'll see you at school.
God, I hate this guy so much. All night he didn't come home, but now he's playing games with me on my birthday.
Maybe playing is all he's doing.
The thought comes to mind. I don't think Kai is playing though. He's not one to fake things. What it is, is what it is for him and if he ever wanted something from me, he would never play me for it. He's not one to play a game so ruthlessly. He might be cruel, but he isn't Nick.
Nick likes to play games.
Forfeiting the thought, I put my phone in my pocket and put the combat knife in the waistband of my sweats. I head back to the kitchen and finish eating before I head out to go to school.
As I drive, I think about how many things have happened on this day. Three years ago, Nick took me away from everyone I loved and I was too helpless to do anything about it.
Eighteen years ago, today, my mom died giving life to me. Everyone celebrates this day as the day of love, but I mourn it every single year in the memory of my mother's death and now, Summer White's.
My family might have fought to get me back, but we all know Summer White died the day Nick got his hands on me. There was no way in hell he would've left me the same girl he took me in as. The hope was fake, but that hope is all that helped me come out.
I pull into the school's parking lot and park the car. I head out and walk slowly as the snow, that fell a couple of days ago, is now covering the ground as hard ice.
I walk into class and take my seat. Kai is nowhere in sight, so I wait for him to come. The lecture starts, yet he doesn't come in. I even check my phone for any updates, but I receive none.
The whole class goes by and I head to my next class.
"Summer White, please come to the office, Summer White, please come to the office," I hear the secretary's voice through the speakers.
Why would I be called down to the office? I'm never called down the office. As I contemplate whether to go or not, the hall clears and I'm left alone. I decide that it's better for me to go, so I start to make my way down.
As I make my way down to the office, an announcement plays declaring a full emergency lockdown. A few seconds later, I hear a gunshot not too far from where I am.
What the fuck?
Without thinking, I pull out my phone and call Kai. He doesn't pick up, so I try Alec's phone but he doesn't pick up either. Instead of walking to the office, I go to the nearest exit. I slow down when I spot a man guarding it. Armed with a gun, he's dressed in all black.
"Summer, you have five minutes before people start dying to come down to the office. I think it's time that we finally have a one on one," Nick's voice speaks.
Nick's here?
He said Summer.
This can't be happening again.
I feel my heart rate rise and begin to hyperventilate. Without thinking, I make my way into the girl’s bathroom and stand in front of the mirror. Using the counter for support, I stand holding myself steady and try to breathe.
This can't happen again, not on this day.
Why me!
"Time's up, Summer," Nick announces. My head lifts and I see that my eyes are brimming with tears as a girl screaming takes over the whole school. Her voice begs for help. She screams and begs for Nick to let her go and the fear in her voice sends chills down my back. Within seconds, I hear the gun go off and the girl's screaming ends.
"Ugh!" I fall onto my knees and pull at my hair, "Ugh- fuck!"
"For every minute that passes, another body will be found on campus. Don't make them pay for your mistakes," Nick warns.
You have no other choice.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
You'll be okay.
I open my eyes and let the tears in my eyes dry out. Quickly, I get up splashing my face clean with water. Once I'm done, I make my way to the office. I stand on the side and take a peek in trying to assess the situation before hand.
"Please don't kill me," I see a girl around my age begging for her life. Knelt down in the middle of a pool of blood, I watch as her tears never stop flowing. I don't see any cuts on her body, so the blood isn't hers. I assume it belongs to the girl who was shot just seconds ago.
Averting my eyes from her, I notice that besides her, Nick and August, there's about five more men stationed in particular spots around the room. They're all scattered around so that when I enter, they all have a clear shot at me.
"It's not my choice, Sweet peach," Nick gives her a sinister smile holding the gun under her jaw.
"Ten seconds," I hear August from the side.
"Look at that," Nick comments. "Do you think Summer will be here in ten seconds?"
"Please don't k-kill me," the girl stutters. Her cheeks becoming a passage of her tears.
"Wrong answer," Nick stands up and points the gun at her forehead.
"Stop, I'm here!" I yell stepping into plain sight.
I watch as Nick lowers his gun and turns around to face me. His posture loose, his confident plays through. A smirk appears on his face.
"Told you she'd come," Nick throws to August who nods in disappointment. "Guess it's your lucky day, Swee
t peach. Help her out, August."
August nods and takes the girl outside. As she passes by, I avoid making eye contact with her because I refuse to believe that the pain she's feeling is merely because of me.
"Glad you came," Nick smiles. His eyes darken as they devour in my appearance. "The lazy high school image really suits you."
I let out a small laugh.
"You know, you have a big problem with never getting straight to the point."
"I like it, the anticipation," Nick shrugs. "But if I must, then I shall. So April or should I say Summer, how about we make this a party and head over to your house?"
"Sure, if I get to drive," I retort. The confidence in my voice is nothing but a shield to hide my unease of the fact that he knows who I am.
Even in the announcements he said Summer, but I was too distracted to process that. How does he know who I am? How did he even find out? Is he just testing me to see how I'll react or is he confident about his discovery?
"Cute," Nick comments. His head nods and without a warning, August reaches into my pocket and steals my car keys. Deep in my own thoughts, I didn't even sense August's presence behind me.
I react, but not fast enough. August backs out of my reach and I can't take a step forward because Nick stops me.
"Nah-uh," Nick warns by unpinning the safety to his gun. Behind me, I feel the head of the gun on my spine.
"Always taking the easy way out," I mutter under my breath as I turn around. My hands held up in surrender, Nick tells August to pat me down.
Undoubtedly, August finds the knife I was gifted and hands it over to Nick.
"I've never been fond of knives," Nick says eyeing it. He throws it away and smiles.
"They're all better out of your reach. We should get going, I don't wanna keep the party waiting for too long," he says.
"What kind of game is this?" I question as I turn around and follow Nick. Behind us, are August and Nick's men.
"It's just the one you started," Nick comments. I roll my eyes not understanding his riddle. If he isn't going to tell me now, then I'm sure I'll find out later, so I silently go along with him.
We enter a black SUV and Nick orders the driver to take us to Kai's house.
The whole ride is quiet. I try not do anything that would make my nervousness obvious and keep my eyes away from everyone in the car.
If Nick is performing this with such grace and assurance, I'm sure that he's planning to expose me to Kai. And from the looks of it all, he's been planning this for a while.
I wonder where I screwed up? Was it the missions? The look? My way of doing things? He's familiar with the way I used to do things, but certain things have changed.
As we arrive, the sight of the front doors isn't at all a delight. The guards guarding the gate aren't ours, but instead are some of Nick's men. The car stops and once someone confirms that it's Nick, he lets us inside.
The door under child lock, I wait until August opens it for me so that I can exit. As I wait for Nick to make his way around to me, I spot Kai standing in the lobby along with Alec and some of Nick's men.
Once Nick starts walking into the house, so do I. Nearing Kai, I notice that his lip is bleeding and that his cheekbone is shining purple under the light.
My eyes roam around the room and there's around twelve of Nick's guys in the room that are all armed. Kai is stupid if he thought picking a fight with them would help him in any way.
"Hello brother," Nick smiles standing a couple feet away from Kai. "Why so tense? Aren't you happy to see your big brother?"
"Why are you here, Nick?" Kai questions. For someone who hates his brother with a passion, Kai seems to be keeping calm under this situation.
Though, I can see the anger in him through his hands fisted at his sides. As I look back up, Kai glances past Nick to me. I nod assuring him that I'm fine. Believing me, he returns his attention back to Nick.
"Come on Kiddo, no one's stopping you from standing beside my brother," Nick steps away giving me access to Kai, but I don't even budge. The thoughts of his last words take over my mind.
He said Kiddo, he definitely knows.
I think back to when I used to be under his control. He always called me Kiddo.
"Come on, we don't have all day," Nick urges. Impatiently, he pulls me forward from my arm and pushes me in Kai's direction. I clear my throat and take a couple steps closer to Kai.
"Are you okay?" he whispers. His hand on my neck, I feel his finger behind my earlobe grazing the skin that's holding the ink of my tattoo.
Now you're officially a part of The White Dragons.
Vince's words play in my mind. All of a sudden, I fear that Kai will feel the tattoo on my skin and see what I'm hiding so I abruptly pull his hand off me. His eyebrows furrow and I remember his questions and answer, "I'm fine."
I walk to the side and stand just a step back next to him.
"You don't have to worry about her, she's been through a lot worse. Aren't I right Summer?" Nick's words pull me out of my thoughts.
"Is there something you'd like to say, Nicholas?" My voice is low, but just above a whisper.
He lets out a small chuckle, "Nearly not as much as these papers do."
He reaches into the inside of his jacket and pulls out a couple pieces of papers. He holds them out to Kai.
"Come on," he insists. Kai takes them hesitantly. His eyes meet mine silently asking if I know anything about the matter, but I don't. Once he comprehends the fact, his tongue darts out licking his lips before he drops his head to read the papers.
From the corner of my eyes, I watch his eyebrows knit in confusion. Progressing through the multiple papers, his stance grows more firm.
"What is this?" Kai asks. Before Nick can say anything, Kai's phone starts to ring.
"Would you look at that, just on time. Pick it up, Kai," he orders. Kai reaches into his pocket and picks up the call.
"Kai," he says and listens as the person on the other end speaks. Moments pass before he ends the call.
"Still don't believe me?" Nick interrogates.
"Believe what?" I question not being able to stand on the sidelines anymore. "Kai, who was it?"
"Kai, who was on the phone?" Alec jumps in.
We don't get a response so I step in front, facing Kai.
"Kai, who was on the phone?"
"Who are you?" escapes his lips.
"What?" My face probably resembles the expression of a deer in front of headlights.
"Who are you?" he repeats.
"I'm Summer White, Kai."
"The biological daughter of Xavier White?" he inquires.
"Huh?" I'm left astonished.
Nick fucking does know.
I take a step back from Kai and grab the papers off of the coffee table. I read them and discover that the papers are a blood test report from when I was a child and one taken just months ago.
I turn my head looking at Nick. His eyes focused on my arm, it takes me a while to understand how this is possible.
The day I was attacked in the gas station, August ran out with a knife that was covered in my blood. For a rookie blood test, that's all he needed.
God, I'm so dumb. I should've fucking known.
Fuck!
This just means that Nick has known for a while. He waited for this day. He waited for my birthday to make sure that I feel the pain deeper than anyone can ever imagine.
I can pretend and be defiant, but what good will that do? Nick is determined and he'll do anything to make sure that I am who I claim to be. Since I'm not and a real DNA test will prove that I'm Xavier White's daughter, what's the point of continuing on with this lie? I have no other choice.
Angry, the papers crumple in my fist before I drop them.
Get Kai back, Summer.
"Kai," a sense of forgiveness underlies my voice.
"Are you the daughter of Xavier White, leader of The White Dragons, Summer?" he asks more precisely. I watch his eyes grow dar
ker and the cords in his neck chisel out.
"Kai-" he doesn't let me finish. His hand finds a grip around my throat and I find it too hard to breathe. My hands hold onto his arm, but I don't try to pry his hands off. Doing that would only make him tighten his grip.
"Yo-you're choking me Kai," I try to speak. "K-Kai."
His eyes bore into mine and I can see the pain he's feeling seeping through the veil of his dark eyes. I feel my lungs start to burn, but I still don't fight Kai. Instantly, he lets me go and I hunch over, breathing rapidly.
"Are you the daughter of Xavier White, Summer?"
I breathe heavily and close my eyes.
Fuck.
Still hunched over, I look up.
"I am."
Kai's taken back by my confession, but he lets his anger play its part. His jaw clenches and the veins on his hands pop as his fingers enclose with more pressure.
"Why'd you do it?" he questions.
"Do what?" I stand up.
"Are you still working with him?"
"Nick? No, of course not. Why would I work with the guy that ruined my whole existence?" I manage not to yell.
"Then why did you come to Chicago out of all places? Why did you choose me?"
"I didn't choose you, you chose me Kai! The day we met, I wanted nothing to do with you. You made that bet."
"I'm sure you can figure this argument out later. We have business to sort out," Nick interrupts. I turn around and glare at him.
"Unfortunately, Kai, Summer isn't working with me. But as soon as I saw her at the ball, I knew there was something special about her, I just couldn't stay away. Her fighting skills and mindset both were so intriguing; I had to know more about her. As my suspicions about who she is grew, the more research I did and it all led me back to the daughter of Xavier Black. Poor man thinks his only daughter died two years ago, it'll be nice to see his reaction when he finds out that she's still alive and with me."
"What makes you think that I'm with you?" I spit.
"Kai won't keep you, Kiddo. Not after what you've done. So where will you go? If you wanted to return to your family, you would've done it a long time ago. Since you didn't do it then, you won't do it now."
I close the distance between Nick and I.
