Obsession

Chapter 20

"Mara? Are you there?" Kai's deep voice bellows on the other end of the phone when I don't say anything.

Leo's watching me intently, waiting for me to do what I promised, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

"I'm here," I say quietly.

"Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm with Rue," I lie.

"Yeah, how is she?" he asks.

"A little better now."

"Good. So when will you be home?" he asks.

"Kai, I..." My heart is beating furiously.  I can barely breathe, let alone speak. "I..."

Leo's face falls at my hesitation. He looks down, staring blankly at the floor.

I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath. I have to do this. "I can't be with you anymore."

Leo looks back up at me with a small smile on his face, but his eyes are still so unsure. 

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Kai asks in disbelief.

"I said, I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry, it's just-"

"No. No, you can't do this. You said you wanted me for years, how can you just all of a sudden change your mind?"

"I thought I wanted you. I really did. But...you're not who I thought you were, Kai."

"Is this about what happened the other day? I'm sorry, okay? Please...just come back home so we can talk about this."

"I'm so sorry, Kai. I really am."

"Mara, please. Don't do this. I...I will do anything. Just don't..."

I squeeze my eyes shut to keep myself from crying. I feel horrible about hurting him, but if I don't end this now, it'll only make things worse. If he's this crazy after a few weeks, who knows what he'd do if we broke up later on down the road?

When I open my eyes, Leo is watching me. He's on the edge of his seat, rocking back and forth anxiously.

"I'm sorry. I can't. This is all just too much for me..."

He's quiet for a while. I check my phone to see if the call is even still connected, but when I hear Kai's evil laugh, I press it back to my ear.

"It's Leo, isn't it." His voice is no longer despaired. It's cold and haunting.

"No. Leo has nothing to do with this."

Leo furrows his brows, mouthing something to me that I can't understand.

"Then tell me why you don't want to be with me. What did I do wrong?"

The despair returns to his voice and I can tell by his tone that he's trying not to cry.  I have to admit, he's breaking my heart. I hate that things ended up this way, but I can't pretend like everything is okay when it's not.

"Kai, you...you just wanted so much from me. Too much. I just...I can't..."

"YOU WANTED IT THAT WAY!" he shouts, causing me to jump. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUSH ME! I WARNED YOU, BUT YOU WANTED IT! YOU ASKED FOR IT!"

"I know I did, I'm sorry," I croak. "I'm so sorry."

"No you're not. You're not sorry at all," he says coldly. "In fact, you're already moving on, aren't you?"

"What?" I gasp.

"I bet you're with Leo right now."

Numbness sweeps over my body. I can't feel anything except my heart pounding rapidly against my chest. My mouth is open, ready to speak, but I have no idea what to say.