Betrayal
1041 Words
Kai’s POV:
Emerging from the airport, I felt an electrifying rush of excitement intermixed with the relief one feels after finally returning home. I missed Maverick a lot during the week I was on campus. I was a little disappointed he hadn't wished me on my convocation. It didn't matter because I was going to hold him and kiss him again.
I wanted to tell him how much I missed and loved him. “He's going to be so thrilled,” I squealed. I checked my phone, smiling at his picture on my phone's wallpaper. I walked to the taxi stand and continued daydreaming.
I was going to cook his favorite meal and set up a romantic dinner for the two of us in his apartment, something I hadn't done in months. The mere thought of it all had kept me giddily happy in the countdown to the moment. Maverick and I had been together for three years, and I loved him more with my breath.
He was my foundation, my sounding board, and my favorite person. My life didn't function without him in it. I stood for another ten minutes before the taxi arrived. I placed my bag in the car's trunk and sat in the back seat, putting on my headphones after giving the driver my address. “I'm coming home, baby,” my mind sang.
All my thoughts turned to Maverick and all the things I adored about him. His brilliant blue eyes, his delightful smile, his laugh that seemed to have no end. He made me feel like the only one, the right one, the all-time right one.
I held those thoughts in my heart as the taxi drove through the half-light streets of the city. I could feel my excitement curving my lips into a smile when I thought about how I would soon change my usual busy college girl life to a “surprise. I made you a romantic dinner.”
At last, the taxi stopped in front of Maverick's house. I paid the driver and exited onto the sidewalk, my heart racing with something akin to love but colored intensely with crazy green envy.
It was a deep, steadying breath I took as I smoothed down my dress, checked my hair in the lobby glass of the apartment, and appraised myself one last time before striding up to the front door and reaching into my purse for the spare key.
I received no answer. A frown crossed my face as I contemplated Maverick's whereabouts. I walked into the living room, expecting him to be playing video games and screaming every time he missed or got his game character killed. Instead, the room was empty.
I took in the scene, which was more than a little disconcerting. The space was not merely untidy; it was a disaster zone. Long-ago laundry was strewn across the floor. Vinny the Cat had used the pile of unwashed socks as his personal litter box, I was sure.
I attempted to rid myself of the sensation, convincing myself that Maverick had likely just hosted a gathering. Nevertheless, as I advanced deeper into the apartment, I became aware of an oddness that seemed to have settled in.
The atmosphere was thick, almost airless, and the well-being that usually enveloped me when I was in his palace was conspicuously absent. I told myself that I was probably just being ridiculous, but I never did this well with halfhearted attempts at reassuring myself, and the feeling only intensified when I stepped off the main path and headed toward the bathroom.
I followed the moaning sounds, going past the open bedroom door. My heartbeat rose with every step I took. “Please, don't let it be. Maverick, please,” I prayed silently.
The moans grew louder as I got closer to the bathroom door. “Oh, yes,” a familiar female voice moaned.
“Hmm, baby,” I heard Maverick moan.
It couldn't be. I froze hesitating to open the door as my hand rested on the handle. I slowly turned the handle feeling every brave bone in my body die.
I let out my breath and opened the door, but what shaped up on the other side was not a welcome sight. Maverick stood in the shower, arms holding my best friend Isabelle wrapped around him.
Both of them were naked. It was clear what they had been doing. The scene punched the air right out of my lungs. Silence gave way to ellipses of disbelief, and that doorway became my Cloister of Solitude.
At first, Maverick didn't see me at all. He was too wrapped up in kissing Isabelle. But when I let my purse fall to the floor, he finally turned his head to look at me. Our eyes locked, and it was as if he'd been struck dumb.
“Maverick!” I gasped.
“Kai?” he called silently as if he'd just realized who I was. My skin prickled with the anger that swept through me. How could he?
Then I noticed her. “Isabelle?” I called.
How could they betray me like this?
“You're supposed to be my best friend,” I said, feeling my air supply slow. She stared at me and looked as if she'd just bitten into a tart green apple.
I called again. “Isabelle?” My voice was trembling with suppressed rage.
Maverick tried to come closer, but I raised my hand, stopping him. “Don't you dare!” I yelled.
He froze, pleading silently with his eyes. “Kai,” he started, but I cut him off, my voice rising in anger.
“Why? Why would you do this to me?” I asked, but they just stared back at me in silent disbelief, saying nothing. But no response was needed.
I felt tears prick my eyes. “Okay,” I said, nodding. “You two just stand there and watch me as you think of the best lie yet. Really nice.”
I turned and walked away while they stood in the shower.
“Kai,” Maverick called but I ignored him. I walked out of the room, with Maverick yelling for me. “Kai! Come back! Kai!”
- Writer
