lifeline ⇾ kai parker

19┃lost and found

CHAPTER NINETEEN

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SO WHO WAS MILA RAMONE without Kai Parker? Who was the girl who risked it all to be with someone who ended up betraying everybody and dying with the knowledge he was completely alone? Well, three years later, after being resurrected from hell, Kai was intent on finding out.

He had been to all the places he could think of finding her: her house, the Salvatore Boarding House, the Grill, and other places she normally would visit. When that method failed, he ceased running all over town and found the one person he knew would bring him to her, Damon Salvatore. And with the promise that he would wake Elena, Damon was pretty much willing to agree to whatever Kai asked, including leaving a cryptic message to Mila and telling her she needed to get into town ASAP.

Damon was driving his pristine car and Kai was in the backseat, adjusting to the complexity that was his existence. As he had explained to Damon, Kai wasn't fully back. His soul had escaped hell, but he wasn't alive. He couldn't taste or smell or experience anything quite like he used to, and his state was slowly growing worse. Without a way to cure him, he would eventually deteriorate completely.

Part of his deal with Damon included finding a way to save him, but even though that was a pretty significant detail, he couldn't help but focus only on seeing Mila again. He had plenty of time to think of what to say, but anything he came up with didn't sound right. Regardless, Kai still pestered Damon to let him talk to her over the phone, but Damon refused. Just like he had done with Bonnie, Damon kept Kai's return a secret on purpose, because he wasn't sure Mila would come if she knew. It was an unspoken thing that if Damon wanted to see his girl again, Kai would have to see his, too.

Mila had responded to his emergency text hours ago, agreeing to meet him outside the address he had sent her. A little part of him felt bad for dragging her back into the supernatural drama she had escaped from when she went off to college. Mila still kept in touch and visited a lot, but she wasn't the same ever since that night. It wasn't an obvious thing to everyone else, but it was to Damon. That's why he gave her all the time and space she needed, but he did miss the girl he considered his little sister.

With Kai back, Damon had hope that she would finally find that undeniable happiness she had when they were together. He hadn't realized it then, but he did now. It took losing Elena and figuring out all the darkest parts of himself to fully understand that everyone was capable of change and redemption. With this new mindset and with Mila's influence, Damon had faith that even the knucklehead fidgeting around in the backseat could change for the better, too. And if Damon could forgive him, Mila could, too.

At least, Damon hoped so. Or else he would have to deal with a lot more problems than he already had.

The car pulled into the parking lot of the diner, the place where Mila was going to meet them, and Kai sighed dramatically. "I miss tasting food. It always made me feel better when I was feeling sucky, and believe me, I'm feeling sucky right now. Hey, do you think it applies to just food? You know, my sense of taste? Like, if I were to lick Mila's-"

"Okay! I'm going to stop you right there!"

"I mean, I'm sure I would enjoy it regardless, but it would still be disappointing, you know? I like tasting her." Kai continued, using both of the front seats as arm rests as he leaned forward.

"If you keep it up, I'm going to decapitate you again. I don't want to hear that!" Damon complained, eyes squinting at the unwanted images now in his head.