Martini Kisses (epistolary) ✔️

n a r r a t i v e (exclusive)

Kai taps his phone with his thumb and sighs when an empty notification greets him back.

He looks at the windows. The morning light is steadily filtering in through the glasses, bathing the suite in the light gold color of the sunrise.

It's been hours since Milly's last message that she's on her way back.  It's a short and plain text—nothing to give away what's going on— but Kai knows her, and he knows how she is. Milly's the type to send updates every now and then, and the fact that she's not is very telling that something's gone very wrong and she's far from okay.

The tightness in his chest keeps getting worse the longer he waits for her.

But he waits, still.

Quietly, like he always does.

Because this is not about him.

He knows well enough that people need space to breathe, being like that himself, and Milly's quite similar to him in that sense. It's one of the many reasons they get along so well. They understand each other.

They respect how they function and operate.

What troubles him is something else—it's Milly's penchant for shutting people off.

Sure, he's like that too. He's done it countless times before and he has inherent understanding as to why people do feel the need to seek solace away from others.

But the thought that she's doing this all alone is making him restless, and it's even worse because he doesn't really have any clear idea on what's going on with her.

Somehow, he knows it has something to do with her family. They've always been the only reason why Milly would choose to keep to herself. And if she went to Baguio to deal with it, then it must be about her maestra.

Whatever her family friend said must've set her off. But apart from the little clues he has, he's got nothing else. He's completely at a loss.

Not knowing has always unsettled him, now even more so because he can't stand the idea of not being there for her when she needs him the most.

The passing minutes are agonizingly slow.

Still, Kai waits.

His phone never leaves his hand, and despite the hours, he never caught a wink of sleep, either.

No message comes in.

That's fine.

She's coming back.

That's all that matters to him.

***

The doorbell rings at around past eight in the morning. He jumps to his feet, opening the door even before the second ring could come.

A sigh of relief escapes his lips when he finally sees her again.

Milly, his Milly, with eyes now bloodshot and swollen with dried tears.

She looks up at him and smiles. The weariness and exhaustion don't escape him despite her attempt to hide, and his chest tightens because this, this is who Milly has always been.

Gentle, tender. Strong. Lonely.

"Hi, baby."

The cracked voice unsettles him. Kai breathes in again, and then he's taking her into his arms. His hand finds its place behind her head, cradling her against his chest, as if by doing so, he can discard all the seen and unseen distance between them and cross to what she's choosing to keep behind her walls.