Her Purpose || Kai Parker

Chapter 97

Later, Damon and Kai found themselves sitting at a diner.

Damon was on the phone with Alaric, who was angrily scolding him for dragging Bonnie back into his problems once again.

Alaric's frustration was evident, and Damon could only listen before ending the call abruptly.

Turning his attention back to Kai, he noticed Kai casually scrolling through his phone, seemingly unfazed by the conversation.

"We're gonna take a little hiatus from social media," Damon said, grabbing Kai's phone out of his hand before he could protest.

"Ah-ah!" Kai exclaimed, quickly moving away from Damon, but his playful tone returned just as fast.

"I figured since you're forcing me to hang out with you while Bonnie finds a way to get me out, I might as well indulge in the little things, you know?" He took a bite of his food with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Oh, hey! Selfie city!" Kai raised his phone, snapping a few quick pictures.

"Yeah, there it is," he grinned. "Might as well get a few likes while we wait."

His cheerful demeanor faltered as he suddenly noticed blood trickling from his nose. His hand froze mid-air.

"Oh, no," he muttered, wiping his face with a napkin.

"That's new. What's happening to you?" Damon asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

Kai's smile turned grim as he wiped more blood away.

"I think I might be starting to slip back into H-E-double-hockey-sticks." His cough rattled through him, and more blood followed.

Damon raised an eyebrow, as he stared at the blood.

"Well," he rasped, his voice hoarse but still dripping with sarcasm, "I hope Bonnie comes up with something good because my clock's ticking. And if I go, so does your shot at happiness... and mine too."

Without missing a beat, he pulled out his phone, wiped some of the blood from his chin, and snapped a picture of himself.

His smile was unsettling, teeth stained red, the image as darkly humorous as Kai himself.

------

"Thanks," he mumbled as Damon subtly guided him away from the growing public attention.

A concerned waiter approached, eyes flicking between them. "You okay, sweetie?"

Kai flashed a weak grin, trying to play it off. "Uh, yeah. Lactose intolerance," he joked, though it came out breathless.

Damon sighed, keeping his focus on Kai. "Can we just have some napkins, please? Thanks." He tried to wave the waiter off, his attention entirely on Kai.

Kai groaned again, clutching his stomach. "Oh, it feels like I'm being dragged back to hell by my colon. I can't go back there, Damon. You're on fire all the time, ghosts from your past show up to pull your skin off, and on the worst days, you get face-to-face with Cade, who is basically torture incarnate."

Damon shook his head slightly, sarcasm lacing his response. "Sounds like a rough time."

Kai's voice grew more strained as he moved, his pain evident. "Wait, didn't you go there? Didn't you work with the devil?"

"I saw enough to convince me," Damon replied, his expression darkening. "But my gig with the siren was my way to avoid the real deal."

Kai perked up slightly, his curiosity overriding his discomfort. "Sirens, huh? Man, were they hot?"