Crimson

04

Nara

~

Kai opened the front door to Nara's apartment, the lock clicking several times before he entered. His hazel eyes slid over to see Liam sitting on the couch flipping through channels on the television. Kai turned to me. "Can we talk someplace private for a minute?"

I nodded. "Liam, I'll be right back."

He smiled at me and sent a nod, knowing who my brother was. I led Kai to the hallway past my bedroom before he stopped me. He roughly grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. Anger rolled off of his body in waves, the sudden change in emotion shocking me. The way he looked at me screamed that he knew more about Sehun and I than I've revealed since his initial arrival.

"What are you doing, do you think that I don't know about your little fiasco with the human?" He growled and I stiid in front of him in shock. My voice would not allow me to speak for a moment as I simply stared up at him with wide eyes.

"He's my best friend, Kai, that's it and that's all that we'll ever be," I said, trying to play it off.

"You sure about that one? The way you looked at him just now said something different," he said while raising his eyebrow at me. "You know it's illegal to fall in love with a human. It's the first law."

"I know that and I'm not stupid. I'm not in love with him," I said, my voice raising as I glared at him. But Kai knew that I was faking it.

"Deny it all you want, I know when you're lying and right now is one of those times."

I glared at him the best that I could, attempting to follow through with my bluff. "You know nothing."

"I know enough to tell when you change, I'm not stupid Nara, I'm not a little boy anymore, as much as you want to think that I am. I grew up a long time ago."

I averted my gaze. "Even if what you say about me were true, nothing is going to stop me."

"You know what could happen to you if one of the Guard found out about this. Quit being a child, this is serious." If at all possible, his broad and muscular figure seemed even more imposing and threatening than usual.

I ground my teeth together, a failed attempt to hold in what spilled from my mouth.

"What do you know about it anyway? You don't have feelings, you're just a hollow being that walks around like a ghost. You don't even know the first thing about love," I sneered, rising to my tip toes as an attempt to be more threatening.

Kai stared down at me with a blank face as I raised my head to glare at him again. My defiance was unrivaled, I ruled with a poisonous tongue and a stone face. I didn't want to fight my brother but I must do this. For myself and for Sehun.

"You know what Nara, you're right. I don't have feelings or emotions because I got rid of them long ago, they're all useless," his glare wa sinister, sending cold shivers up my spine.

"Not to me!" I screamed and in less than a second, his hand was clamped tightly over my mouth. Muffled screams of anger failed to tear through the hindrance known as Kai's hand. I struggled against him, my hands holding onto his wrist as his single handed grip immobilized my voice. He was so much stronger than I was, I didn't even have a sliver of a chance of escaping his grip.

So this must be what victims of ours feel like, helpless and without power, unable to change their fate. I understood their fear.

He sighed and let me go as I had given up fighting to get free. I stood across from him, my arms over my chest as I thought about all that my brother had said to me. I didn't want to admit that he was right, my involvement with a human was dangerous. But I wouldn't back down, not now. I couldn't turn back because Sehun now held my heart in his hands whether he knew it or not.

"Just be careful, Nara."

"You know that I will."

He placed a large hand on my shoulder and stared down at me with those cold and dead eyes of his. "Just know that if you get caught, I won't be there to help you. I won't get involved even if you are my sister."

My eyes followed his figure as he pushed past me and disappeared around the corner. I let out a sigh and stared down at my shaking hands. His words cut into me like a knife snd they stung more than he knew.