Moving Forward

Chapter Seventeen

"Make this moment count, princess," was all I said before grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the other room. I didn't even give her a chance to take off the apron nor the mittens. Entering the room I saw Kade looking at the sleeping Zach with mild curiosity I had to stop a snicker. I bet Zach would flip if he heard of this. Shaking my head, I refocused on the situation. "Here she is, Mr. Emo. Give her her shit and leave."

Kandy shot me a pained look at my words. Maybe I was a little too harsh on the leaving part. Even so, Kade looked back up and gulped. Now the stubborn little boy is a nervous little man. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. I stood behind Kandy that way I can give Kade a nasty look. A rape victim or not, he does not come off as a good guy to me.

"Kade," Kandy breathed out in awe. Kade finally gathered his courage and handed Kandy her bag.

"My parents wanted you to have these things back," he said flatly. Kandy looked at the bag with sadness and muttered a weak 'okay'.

"Um!" she spoke up when Kade turned to leave. "I'm hosting a family reunion next weekend in case you wanted to join..."

"...that soon?" Kade asked in disbelief. Then he glanced at Zach and fit the pieces together. "You overworked this guy for your own selfish needs."

"Zach willingly offered himself as a slave," I butted in. I didn't like how he worded that and I know Kandy didn't either.

"Kup, it would really mean a lot to me if you came," Kandy ignored. "It will be at Y Park next Saturday at three."

"Again, I have no business going to a reunion of people who aren't a part of my family."

"Kade, please--"

"I'm sorry." With that Kade turned and exited my apartment. I growled lowly and slammed the door. If that's what he wants then fucking fine! Kandy doesn't deserve his crap.

"HUH?" Zach shot awake, his glasses falling off from the sudden movement. He looked around and his eyes settled on us. He picked up his glasses and put them on to see our expressions clearly. Once his eyes focused, he seemed equally upset. "What happened?"

_________

Later that night, I knocked on Kandy's door. After hearing her permission to enter, I slowly opened the door. She was sitting on the bed with the bag open at her side. In her hands was some sort of album. I sat next to her and realized it was a photo album filled with pictures of Kandy and her brother as children. I slightly looked over the other contents sprawled on her bed and felt slightly guilty for the way I behaved to Kade.

"They didn't send these for me," Kandy said quietly. "These were meant for the trash."

I picked up another folder and opened it. Drawings and certificates were its contents. Anything relating to Kandy was meant to be thrown out yet Kade bothered to pick them out and bring them to her. Some of these folders even seemed damaged. I still couldn't understand why he wouldn't trust me with these. It's just pictures and drawings. What's there to hide?

"This is a box Kup and I made when we were six," Kandy suddenly spoke up sadly. She looked up to show me a box she took out of the bag. It was a small, wooden box no bigger than our hands covered in marker drawings and names. Their names. "Inside we left folded papers with promises for each other and made it a rule to not open it until after we both turned nineteen. After my nineteenth birthday, we would open it, but since he's a grade older than me, he'll be gone by then."

"So he was afraid I would be consumed by curiosity and open it," I concluded. Kandy nodded. A tear slipped down her face which she quickly wiped away.

"I knew he still cares about me," Kandy's voice broke. "He's just afraid of getting attached. He's afraid of losing everything he's achieved."

"What do you think your parents' reactions were to him being raped," I asked as the thought came to me. Kandy's eyes widened.

"They must have been devastated-- no, furious to find out their eldest son was a rape victim to another man." I placed a hand over Kandy's hand and gave her a light smile.

"Once he graduates, he won't have to deal with your folks," I pointed out slowly. Kandy nodded along, trying to get what I meant. I looked at the box in her hands and let out a content sigh. "Which, in my eyes at least, he'll wait a year somewhere until you graduate so you can open the box together as you promised as children." Kandy nodded and chuckled.

"You think I didn't figure that out myself?" She wiped her nose with the back of her sleeve. Her tears had ceased falling. "That's why I'm crying. Because he still cares."

And won't admit it, I thought to myself. Shaking my head, I placed a hand over her right cheek. Kandy leaned into it and closed her eyes, snuggling into the warmth of my hand. I gushed about how cute she was inwardly and placed a kiss to her lips. It was a quick but passionate kiss. Kandy smiled more after I moved back.

"Let's get some sleep now," I said. The window showed the night sky and headlights passing by. Zach had left about an hour ago to not intrude on Kandy and promised to come back tomorrow morning. That guy loves to help even on his days off.

"Okay, Sandy," Kandy responded with a pout soon followed by a yawn. She hasn't had a proper nights sleep since a week ago. Instead of going right away, I sat on the edge of her bed and tucked her in. Exhaustion was finally taking its toll on her body and she was too tired to beg me to stay. Still, I stayed until I was sure she was fast asleep (which only took five minutes really) before heading to my own room. While passing my door, I noticed the calendar and a red circle on tomorrow's date was circled. I stared in question until I remembered why it was circled. My dad is coming home.

Tomorrow will be an eventful day.