alive

sixteen

I woke up, still in Arden's comforting arms. I was surprised that I'd managed to sleep, all of my crying yesterday must have worn me out. Arden was letting out snores over my head, I glanced up at him and his neck was in an awkward position. That's going to be uncomfortable later. I get up as smoothly as possible, careful not to wake him, and slide a pillow behind his head.

"Kai!" I hear a familiar soft voice. Vivian had walked into the back door of the cabin like she owned the place. She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I wasn't sure why she had been so urgent. "I couldn't get to you in time yesterday. Jaesuk is gone again," She sighs loudly. "Vivian, I want to help you, I really, really do," I start grabbing her hands and holding them tightly. "But I can't. Something happened and it needs my full attention," I explained in as little detail as I could. "Kai, I can't lose him," tears formed in her beautiful bright blue eyes.

"Ask your mom and dad to help find him. Viv, I really can't." She shook her head, taking a deep breath. "They left to go on a vacation together." Of course they would go on vacation at the worst possible time. "Vivian, I have something very important to do today. I swear I can help you the moment I'm finished. There's another cabin about a mile from here, the family that lives there can help you. There's a girl around your age, she'll probably be free to help, she's homeschooled just like you," I explained, squeezing her shoulders assuringly. She gave me a begging frown before groaning. "Fine. Can you drive me there first?" She asks. I suppose it's the least I could do.

"Why are you nervous?" I ask, noticing her fidgeting with the strings on her black jeans in the front passenger seat of my truck. "I-I'm not," she furrows her brows, keeping her eyes on the road. "Have you met her before?" I ask, Vivian nods quietly. "We hangout sometimes," she murmurs. "Oh my god! You totally have a crush on her!" I say, the excitement in my tone was hard to miss. "No, I don't!" She defends, although her cheeks were beet red. Now I was all the more excited to see how Vivian acted around her crush.

"Kai, Vivian, hello! What are you doing here?" Coincidentally, it was Lia that greeted us, Vivian's crush. She greeted both with a side hug before tucking her brown hair behind her ears. She was quite a pretty girl, light hazelnut skin and deep brown eyes. She was only a year older than Vivian. I explained the situation to her and she gave a worried look to Vivian. "I don't know if I'll be the best help," She mumbles, Vivian began to turn around, but Lia stopped her. "But, I suppose I can try." A big smile appeared on Vivian's pink face. "I must go now. Take care of Vivian for me, please," I plant a kiss on top of Vivian's head. I wished I could hug her tight without being weird, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make it back to her. "Stay safe," I whisper to Vivian before running to my truck and returning to my cabin.

I changed into short black shorts and a tight tank top. It wouldn't keep me very safe, but it was hot today. I made sure the gun my brother handed to me was loaded before shoving it in the holster on my utility belt. On my left hip, I had my ring daggers on the belt. Ace had watched Alec and Alex last night, I volunteered to, but I accidentally fell asleep with Arden. "Are you ready?" Ace asks, glancing at my outfit. "You can't at least wear jeans or the cargo pants you wore yesterday?" He asks. "I'm sweating to death right now and we have the A/C on," I grumble, causing him to let out a sigh.

Arden and Felix drove in my truck while Ace and I drove in Ace's truck with Alec and Alex in the back seats. I was getting shaky thinking about seeing my father again. If Alex's information was true, our location would be near Alec's work building. Once the surroundings around me changed from trees and grass to rocks and orangish sand, I knew we were getting closer. "Are you ready?" Ace asks, ignoring the presence of the two men behind us. "Oh yeah, I'm 100% ready to see our dead dad again," I grumble. I didn't mean to be so rude to Ace, he was only checking up on me.