The Fire We Make

chapter twenty seven

This chapter is dedicated to sidradallas for being the first to comment on the last chapter thank you lovely! Also, the song above is like Kaiden and Hollyn's theme song it reminds me of their relationship!

When Kaiden reached my place, he asked if he could stay the night. Wait, scratch that. He demanded it more than anything, saying that it's too late for him to go back home at this time of night. That and in conjugation with his truck being at Jay's, it would be too much. I for one did not argue against this. Brayden texted me as we were on our way home that he'd be spending the night at Mila's. I was grateful as I knew he was out of Isaac's radar, but I was still on edge and I didn't want to be completely alone.

When we arrived home, I took a hot shower washing away any lingering feeling of Isaac's touch. It was hard to do that though, with his fingers leaving a lasting imprint on my wrist. When I took in front of the mirror I noticed Kaiden was right. There was a bruise forming right above my cheekbone where Isaac backhanded me. I snorted and shook my head. I wouldn't believe me either when I said it was just from a branch.

I changed into a comfy old shirt that used to belong to my dad and a pair of pajama shorts. I slipped my feet into my slippers and proceeded downstairs, wondering where Kaiden was. I saw him with his back towards me in the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinet drawers.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, leaning against the refrigerator.

Kaiden turned around, his eyes immediately took in my frame and I pulled my shirt down a bit subconsciously.

"A spoon," he said, clearing his throat.

I nudged my head to the drawer by the pantry. "The top drawer, right-hand side."

I took a seat on the couch and crawled my legs underneath me comfortably. I rested my arm against the back of the sofa and leaned my head against it, watching as Kaiden stirred something in a mug. Water droplets were falling from my hair onto my arm, sending a chilling sensation down my spine and I sat up as a result. A few seconds later he was walking towards me with two mugs in his hands filled with steam. I freed one of his hands and took one for myself. I took a deep breath, inhaling the calming scent of lemongrass tea. I took a sip, relishing the soothing warm liquid go down my throat. I watched as Kaiden took a seat across from me.

"Don't worry, it's caffeine-free so you'll be able to sleep after," Kaiden mentioned, setting his own mug on the coffee table across from us.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," I said honestly, swirling my thumb around the rim of the mug.

Kaiden sighed. "I don't blame you."

We sat in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts. I was thinking about how I would be able to get Isaac off my back without pissing him off even more. I glanced over at Kaiden, who was looking down. It was so hard to read him and I wonder what he was thinking at this moment.

My legs began to cramp from being in this position for so long and I stretched them out. Kaiden snapped out of his deep thought and made space for me to stretch out. He moved my feet so it was resting over his lap, allowing me to stretch comfortably. I grabbed the throw blanket that was knocked off on the floor and threw it over me, cuddling underneath it.

"How are you feeling?" Kaiden finally asked, breaking the silence.

I could feel him message my feet underneath the blankets and I closed my eyes in relief. Standing up all day at my job could really wear me out.

"Umm, physically I'm exhausted. I'm not sure that a word exists of how I'm feeling mentally," I honestly replied, fluttering my eyes open.

"That bruise should heal within a couple of days, it doesn't look too bad," Kaiden mentioned, shifting from messaging my left foot to my right foot. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I really think you should report that guy. Call me crazy, but I think I recognize him."