Let Me In

Chapter 48 - Kaia King

"Like...right now?" she panted, obviously out of breath.

"Where are you?"

"I'm on a run, I'll be there soon."

"Ok, just come to my apartment."

I hung up, smiling a little too hard. This was good. If I worded everything correctly, I could get her back.

The waiting seemed to take forever, until she finally messaged, saying she was downstairs. I hopped off my bed and opened the door, where Raphael was standing.

"Where are you going?" he asked, catching me by my waist before I could walk away.

Quickly, I explained the phone call and how she agreed to come. Raphael was happy for me, he even offered to come if I wanted, I declined. I needed to face her by myself. This was mine to deal with alone.

"I have to go, she's waiting-"

My sentence cut off as Raphael kissed me, I melted into his touch, only for a second. I pulled away and started down the hall. Today went well, and I was going to keep it that way.

Natalie was standing in front of my door, glancing at her phone. Once she lifted her head and saw me, we made awkward eye contact. She seemed extremely uncomfortable already, and I hadn't even said anything.

Her dark brown curly hair was tied up, and she wore leggings and a tank top. Natalie was also sweating a little, which meant she actually was running. We stepped inside the flat, and she didn't speak for a while until she asked.

"Can I have an extra shirt so I can change?"

So...that was the first thing that came to her mind? I didn't question. She followed me to the bedroom, where I began to rummage through my dresser.

"So..." I trailed, attempting to think of how to start the conversation. "You know why you're here, yes?"

"Yes," Natalie responded, she stood behind me when I passed her an old black shirt. It was big, so it probably belonged to one of my brothers at some point.

I sat on the bed. What's the point of postponing this? I may as well just apologize right away. Taking a deep breath, I fought back all the nerves in my body. "I guess, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry-"

All the air got caught in my throat when Natalie lifted the tank top over her head. She was facing the wall, so she couldn't see me, but I saw her.

There's no way.

There's no fucking way.

A tattoo...the king of hearts could be seen on the right side of Natalie's lower back. Some of it was cut off by her pants, but it was clear enough for me to know what it was.

I gasped, causing Natalie to spin around and look at me. I clamped my hand over my mouth to silence the scream I wanted to let out. This...this couldn't be happening right now.

She walked over, concern filled her brown and green eyes as she stared down at me. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me..." I started. My head was spinning, I could barely even form a sentence. "Tell me that's not what I think it is."

"What-"

"The fucking tattoo Natalie! Tell me...tell me you were my real friend." I stood up, swatting away the hand she tried to touch me with.

Her body tensed and her eyes went wide. The tan skin on her face turned white, and she looked like she was seconds away from passing out. She slowly stepped away from me until her back hit the wall.