asylum [kai parker] editing/rewriting

Five

S I M O N E
It's Monday. School. I'm not too exited about going to school again. I'd rather be sitting back tied to that chair in Kai's house. No. I guess I shouldn't say that because I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

My stomach drops when the bus hits a large bump. The driver doesn't care who gets hurt during the ride, he just cares that we get to school fast. No ones sitting with me. Well, I mean who would want to sit with me? The boys behind me pester me with questions about how I did it. "How'd you kill them?" One questions.

"Is is like in the newspapers? Was it fun?" The other asks.

"Oh. Shut. Up." A cool, menacing voice comes from behind them. A familiar one. My body already knows who it is but my minds refusing to accept it. Cringing, I cower away from the voice. Kai leans over the two boys' seat and stares at them. Part of me thinks it's a vision. He's older, like twenty-two years old. So, what exactly is he up to?

For a moment I think he's going to save me from these bullies, but then he must've seen the hope in my eyes because his mood changes entirely. "Everyone knows she enjoyed watching her annoying brother Evan burn."

That's it. No one gets to bring up him. Ever. I haven't said his name in years. It brings back the same memory. The flame. I grip the seat hard, my nails digging in, and almost stand up.

Kai smiles at my move and dares me to come after him. But I won't. I can't. If I give him the satisfaction of that, there's no telling what he'd do. Sitting back down, I grit my teeth and look out the window. There's a rumbling noise and I feel the seat shift slightly. "Go away." I mutter, not bothering to take a glance.

"Well that's not very nice of you, is it?" Kai goes back to his smart-ass self.

Turning, I glare at him. He is wearing a black leather jacket with brown shirt that doesn't go well with it, along with dark skinny jeans. His hair is messy and his eyes are staring at me like he expects me to answer him.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, the seat was empty." His smile makes me want to slap him.

"I mean why are you here, going to school?" I rephrase my question.

"Oh! Well, didn't get a good education when I was little, might as well retake high school!" He says as if I should've known.

Glaring, I decide to ask again. "Why are you here?"

Kai leans in towards me, his face coming closer and closer to my ear with every second. Tilting his head slightly, he answers, "someone's got to make sure you keep my secret." He whispers, barely audible.

Gulping, I feel his warm breath on my ear. After cringing away, he smiles, as his mouth grazes my ear. I've tried so hard. But that tears it.

Turning with great speed, I grab him by the jacket and push him away.

"Ooh, you don't like it when I do that?" He tries to whisper into my ear once more but I will have none of that. He chuckles when I push him away the second time.

When the bus arrives at my school I'm the first out the door. Kai follows me and starts talking like we're best friends. "What classes do you have?"

"I'm sure you already know, don't you?" I sigh, forcing myself to stare at him.

"You know me so well." He smiles gleefully and hands me his schedule that happens to look exactly like mine.

I'm so pissed I cannot even scream at him. It's almost as if steam is coming out of my ears. "You took every class with me?!"

He nods, rubbing his hands together. "Have to keep an eye on you at all times."

"You do realize you're a wanted criminal. Someone will recognize you." It's barely audible but I say it. My bravery, when it comes to this man, is not that much compared to my anger. Calming myself down, I sink my nails into my palm and bite my lip.

"And that would be interesting. But the chances of that happening..." He pinches the air between his thumb and pointer finger to exaggerate his point.

He should have just killed me instead of having to babysit me. Why even keep me alive? That's the real question here. Because I'm supposed to be dead.

True enough, Kai has every class with me. Every single class in the morning, every single class in the afternoon. Here I thought I'd escaped him at lunch, but then he sat next to me. The freak. "Two hundred people in this lunch room, none want to sit with you. Well, besides me of corse." Kai states the obvious as he sits down next to me. He doesn't really have a lunch. His tray consists of pork rinds and an apple. Mine consists of a small salad and an apple so I can't really judge his plate.

"Why are you sitting with me?" I ask, refusing to look at him. Refusing to play his game. I've read books about psychotic people. They have their own imaginations playing over and over in their heads like a movie.

"Oh, because I want you to admit it. Never have I ever ran into another person who is as psychotic as me." He narrows his eyes.

Instead of replying, I grab my tray and stand. I will not give him this satisfactions. He's playing me, and I know it. He has no reason to stay here, unless he's stalking me. Tracking his prey before he goes in for the kill. My eyes close and I wince at the thought. I've seen many killers in the station. Heartless people. Like me. After my family's death I haven't been happy, I haven't felt much emotion at all.

"Where you going?" He calls after me but I'm already throwing my food out and walking down the hall. The idiotic boy follows.

"You need to learn how to take a hint. Stay away from me, Kai!" I almost tell. Almost. But then I realize the footsteps behind me are not Kai's.

My stomach drops, and shrinks like a raisin. My conscious thinks of possible situations that could be going on right now.

Nick.

Nick would never come to my school unless something has gone wrong. Terribly wrong. Nick's face is confused as he rethinks what I've just said. "Nick?" I wonder.
He forgets about what just happened and starts over. "It's your Dad. He's been hurt."

My mind doesn't decide to face the fact of what he just said. Instead, I think about the fact that he is calling Matt Alexander, my father. He's not my dad. He's just Dad. Then the information hits me. "What?"

"Your dads in the hospital, there's no time I'll explain on the way." Nick rushes out the words as he grabs ahold of my elbow and brings me down the hallway.

Glancing back at the lunch room, what I see makes me regret turning. Malachai hasn't moved. He's sitting pleasantly at a table, smiling at me with the biggest grin possible. Staring at me like I'm in for a surprise. Holding a glare that reads: I did it.