The Right Way (Sequel to The Wrong One)

Chapter 21

⚔ The Right Way ⚔

"Corin. Hey, wake up Lavender."

Corin's eyes opened lazily and she was met with a caring set of brown, which crinkled at the edges as she realised she was still leaning on Kallm on the flight. Corin looked around as the wafting smell of food hit her just awakened nose and her stomach growled out a response. Looking sheepishly at Kallm who smiled slyly at her, Corin sat up, but not before rubbing her face on Kallm's sleeve, earning her a laugh from him as he turned to talk to Raian opposite his seat. Corin leaned forward to see Mednia next to her brother silently reading a magazine, a smile gracing her lips at times when she saw something she enjoyed. Looking to her other side, Corin saw Kayana sitting straight, poised as usual and staring at the window. Leaning over the aisle, Corin placed her hand on Kayana's forearm, knowing her best friend was plagued with thoughts of Vodia, but knowing that she could do nothing about it. She had interfered with Kayana's life more than she had the right to do so. So now she was going to be there for her friend, like she should have done from the beginning. 

Corin gave Kayana a squeeze before returning the whole of herself back to her seat. The food placed in front of her consisted of chicken and vegetables and Corin scrunched her nose, before craftily looking from the side of her eyes at the crab dish that Kallm had gotten. Glancing at his face, she saw he was already looking at her with a smirk, and she moved her face into a playful frown as she looked longingly at his plate. Kallm nodded slightly and Corin immediately picked up her fork and stabbed the centre of his carefully set out meal. Shaking his head, Kallm picked up his own fork and started eating from the other side. Soon, Corin returned to sitting upright, and back to the cold chicken that was set before her. 

Now fully awake, Corin looked around and noticed that most of the other passengers were already asleep. The flight they had taken was an evening one, which Corin hoped would aid in their arrival to Kallm's home. She was to meet his father for the first time. As his daughter-in-law, as far as he knew. 

The new thought had Corin feeling nauseous and she unbuckled her belt before standing up, breathing through her nose. Corin didn't notice the confused look from Kallm as she scurried off the bathroom, sliding the door closed behind her. 

Leaning on the sink, Corin attempted to get her bearings but it seemed that the whole place was spinning around her. It was a mixture of the pressure of meeting Kallm's family but also the time of evening as well as the flying. Corin knew she wanted Kallm's father to like her, she wanted him to well and truly like her, because she truly liked Kallm. Turning around, Corin looked at herself in the mirror, her blonde curls were spread in a random array and her blue eyes looked bloodshot. Slipping the scarf off her head, Corin evaluated her appearance. How was she going to make a good impression?

A knock on the door caused Corin to jump. "I'll be out in a second!" She yelled out, before attempting to pull the scarf back up, when the door opened and Kallm let himself in, sliding the closed and flicking the lock into place with a click. Oh. She hadn't locked the door. 

Corin was highly aware of how close Kallm seemed to be in the small place, his hands only had to move forward an inch to be touching her. Corin's breath caught in her throat as she realised that's all she had to move to touch him to. She moved her hands to beneath her and continued to look at Kallm as he stared back. Neither said anything, but Corin also realised that she no longer felt the pressing feeling in her stomach. 

"Are you okay?" Kallm was the first to break the silence, but his voice was so soft and gentle that Corin wasn't sure she heard him at first. 

Nodding, Corin made a move to try and leave, but Kallm's hand shot out and grabbed her's before she made contact with the lock. "Corin?"