Cursed

Ch. 31

I stepped outside, closing the sliding glass door behind me, and slowly looked around at the back yard. I didn't see Kris anywhere, and I was starting to worry when I heard a door close. I made my way in the direction of the sound, and I found myself standing I front of an old wooden door on the side of the house. I had never noticed it before, so I was hesitant to go inside, not sure where the door lead.

Slowly, I opened the door, only to see a set of stone stairs heading downwards. Trying not to get spooked for no reason, I took a deep breath, then began my decent into the dark, using a small flame in my palm to shed some light on my surroundings.

Once I made it to the bottom of the stairs, I looked around, still not seeing any sign of Kris. Sighing, I continued deeper into the dark room, turning a few corners, only stopping when I found him sitting on the cold stone floor, his head in his hands. "Hey." I began, but he didn't say anything, he didn't even look up at me.

I sat down beside him, and sat there quietly for a few minutes, until he finally glanced over at me. I could see that his eyes were red from crying, and I felt bad for him. I bit my lip, not sure what to say.

"Why'd you follow me?" He asked in a quiet voice, and I gave him a small smile.

"I didn't want you to be alone. Especially not in a cold basement." I replied, which made him smile, if only for a split second.

It was a few seconds before he spoke again, but I could tell by his voice that he was a little better. "Thanks." He said.

I nodded, then turned to look at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, and he shrugged.

"I'm just being stupid." He said, letting out a long sigh. "I never said anything, but here I am, acting as if she knowingly picked Kyungsoo over me." He paused, glancing over at me. "You're still close with Suho and Luhan. Things are normal with you guys, right? They're not upset or mad or anything?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Suho and Luhan are my best friends." I replied, smiling. "It was a little hard at first, what with Suho attacking me when we all first moved in. And then everything with Luhan was a mess, but we got over that too." I explained, and Kris nodded.

"So, Is it weird? Knowing that they have feeling for you?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"Sometimes things can get a little awkward, but we all respect each other's feelings."

"So...are you going to be okay?" I asked hesitantly, and he let out a long sigh, leaning back against the wall behind him.

"Eventually. I just need to forget about being with Natasha." He replied, then looked over at me. "I guess I have no chance now that she's having his kid, huh?" He laughed, but it was more of a bitter chuckle.

"I'm sorry..." I said, not sure what else to say. Kris just nodded, and stared up at the ceiling.

"It's my fault. I know that. I never actually told her about my feelings, and I just let Kyungsoo get closer and closer to her. I didn't fight for her at all. I let her slip away." He sighed, then looked over at me, a small smile on his lips. "Khristi..." He began, and I looked back at him, wondering why he sounded so calm now.

"Yeah?" I asked, and he pulled me over to him, wrapping his arms around me. In the process, the flame in my hand had sputtered out, and we were plunged into darkness, well, I was at least.

"Thank you." He whispered into my ear as he hugged me, and I felt something wet drop onto my shoulder. He was crying again. I smiled and hugged him tightly, and we sat there for a while, Kris crying into my shoulder until he had calmed back down, then we sat in the dark, just listening to a faint dripping sound caused by some pipes somewhere in the basement.