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"Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that." — Henre Dominique Lacordaire

Chapter 28|Part 1
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"Hey."

My head raised at his voice. Kade was staring at me, his face grim with discomfort.

"Hi," I responded carefully.

His body was no longer shadowed with sweat, which was a good sign to me. After a night's rest, I hoped that his hallucinations would be long gone now.

He pulled himself up, pressing his back against the headboard. Awkwardly, I watched him before averting my eyes downward once he caught them in his own.

"How do you feel?" I asked, standing to my feet.

"Shitty as fuck, but some food could help that," he said in his rough tone.

I nodded in agreement; my stomach had been growling for the past hour. "Oh—"

"How about we go out to get breakfast?" he suggested before clearing his throat. "Like together."

Oh.

Maybe he was still having hallucinations.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" I asked.

He nodded, swinging long legs over the bed. I watched as he overestimated, his body falling to cooperate so soon.

I rushed over to him, offering my arm. He stared at it for a moment, before taking it and helping himself up.

I stood in his room as he showered and dressed. After a while, I stepped outside of his bedroom and just waited. Once the door clicked behind him, Kade grasped the wall for support.

"You can lean on me, if you would like," I offered in a small voice, motioning for him.

Kade's eyes followed my actions, before falling on me. "You sure?"

I nodded, bracing myself as we walked down the staircase. Stupid stairs.

"What day is it?" Kade asked after we made it to the bottom.

I opened the door, shivering as the morning air hit. "Saturday now."

He froze, and I did as well. I looked at him, my brows furrowed in confusion. "What is it?"

He shook his head, his eyes falling. "Fuck."

"Fuck!" he spat, palming his face.

Kade removed his arm from my shoulders, causing my confusion to worsen. I glanced up at him but his attention was elsewhere.

"I have to go," he muttered.

"No, you can't," I argued, expression laced with concern.

Brown orbs shot me down. "Listen, you're not..." he huffed. "I'm not about to argue with you, not right now."

I didn't want to argue with him, either. Though something told me I would have to in order to get an answer to my question. "But, where are you going?"

"Kimberly, I already told you I'm not about to--"

Frustration clouded my judgement. "I'm not arguing with you," I snapped at him. "I'm asking you a simple question, now just tell me."

Hearing my words in my very own ears, I knew that my voice held a pissy tone. But, I wasn't angry, I was just frustrated.

We were a couple of steps away from the outside, but since the door was wide open, wind swept my hair in ungodly positions. Kade watched the action closely before he took a step toward me.

I swallowed a thick lump of wood, reverting my eyes down to the floor. I felt the burn of his gaze, the intensity of his eyes, and the sudden stiffness of my body.

"Get in."

I raised my head, eyes widening. There was no way it was that easy.

"What?" I said, trying to mask my disbelief.

Kade sighed, clenching his keys. "Don't make me think twice about it. Come on."

"Okay," I mumbled as he walked, abnormally slow to the car.

I stared at his labored composure. "I don't know if you should drive—you were just sick yesterday afternoon."

The car cranked to life under his palm. "I wasn't sick." He shot a side glance my way, before speaking,"That was yesterday. Today is today, and I'm fine."

One hand went behind my headrest as he backed out. "Besides, I don't need anyone to take care of me," he mumbled. "No one."

His mother's words reflected back at me. Kade was one of those kids to never depend on anyone, and to never have anyone depend on him.

I guess she was telling the truth. Still, I couldn't stop the annoyance. He hadn't shown an ounce of gratefulness, in fact he pretended as if nothing happened. Maybe he didn't remember it, but either way, it wasn't too hard to piece it together. I was here when I had every single reason not to be, but he didn't care.

The soft voice coming through the radio managed to edge between our quiet ride. I continued to tangle my hands through one another as we rode through the traffic.

"You cold?" Kade's chill words cut through the silence.

I looked at him, shaking my head yes. The weather was definitely different here, but I leaned to adjust.

He nodded, leaning up slightly to turn up the heat to the highest capacity. As it began to clog up the car, I contemplated letting down the window.

"Well, now I'm hot," I said, laughing softly.

Kade chuckled, shaking his head. "Wow."

"Sorry," I smiled a bit, tapping my fingers against my thigh.

He reached forward, readjusting the temperature. I leaned back into my seat, mumbling a quiet thank you.

Without a warning, my mind began to drift, causing my eyes to close. I hadn't had a good sleep, and though a car seat wasn't a very good improvement, it was the best I could do right now.

"Kimberly," I heard Kade say.

I stirred, my vision still blurred from the small nap. They adjusted to the scene around me, but my mind didn't catch up so soon.

We were parked near an abandoned building, despite a very functional house sitting next to it.

The building was marked with graffiti, but still crowded with cars. My skepticism only grew as I noticed the bullet marks lodged into the average sized building.

The house next to it, was as I had said before. Functional. From the very few cars parked there, I quickly took notice of the closed blinds. It seemed that the house was partially isolated from the world, yet a small bit of me knew it was somehow connected to the abandoned building.

I continued to examine the strange place while Kade tried to retrieve my attention. I hadn't realized he was out of the car until he was right in my space. "Look at me."

I looked into his eyes, trying to mask my fear. Hell, I should have minded my business.

He placed his hand on the top of the vehicle, leaning close. "Don't get out of my car, do you understand?"

I nodded, frantically.

"If anyone comes next to the car, don't speak, don't look, and don't associate with them. If someone tries to harm you, you take this," he reached past me, tapping the glove department. I didn't want to know what was inside, but it wasn't too hard to figure out. "And defend yourself until I'm back."

My eyes were widened to saucers by the time his mouth closed. I stared at the glove department like a madwoman, not daring to touch it at all.

"Wait, w-where are you going?" I questioned as he leaned up from the car.

"It'll only take a minute, the windows are tinted and the doors are locked," he tried to convince me, leaning back down to grab something. "You wanted to find out, so here you go." I gasped as he laid the knife in my lap.

His phone interrupted our conversation by ringing out. He glanced over me one more time before answering, "I just pulled up." Before I could listen to anymore, he shut the door.

"I'm dreaming," I mumbled to myself.

I could only imagine how silly I looked. My body was rigid against the seat, eyes wide and center as I attempt to distance myself from the knife. I was frozen entirely by my own fear, even though I had a weapon placed right in my lap.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" I questioned to no one in particular as I tried to convince myself this was all a dream.

I wasn't able to defend myself if needed, I knew this. If someone were to try and harm me right now, it wouldn't be a struggle.

My chest was beginning to hurt, badly. Slowly, I felt the fear creep upon my body. My heart was beating too fast, far too fast for me to keep up with.

Moments of my last panic attack flashed ahead as I clutched my skin in an attempt to calm myself. It felt as if someone was cutting off my oxygen supply, no it was as if a person had their hands around my throat, squeezing the very air out of me.

I leaned back against the headrest, silently begging for air as I tried to console myself. Tears blended right in with the forming black blur in my vision. I could only feel my anxiety increase as I continued to stare around me, my fear now reaching it's high point. I could practically feel my heart being clutched and squeezed as it fought against the sudden oxygen limitations.

Even through the pounding of my heartbeat, I still heard the tapping against the window. I jumped, glancing around for the source of the sound.

God, what now?

My cheeks were damp, there was no point in even trying to wipe them now. I was aware of the fact that I was being far too paranoid, but I knew my anxiety would say otherwise.

Though I wanted to do everything but this, I still clutched the knife tightly. There was no way I would effectively use it, but the weapon could possibly scare whoever the thing or person was.

"I-I'm okay," I breathed out, my throat already sore.

My eyes closed, slowly. I breathed in and out, allowing myself to take and take whatever I needed. By the time I came back down, my heart was still hammering, but at least I had gained some type of authority over my breathing.

As I opened my eyes, I turned my head over to try and find signs of Kade.

But, once I opened them, I stared right back into a pair of stormy blue eyes.