AVEL
Kai and I didn’t say anything on the ride back to the dorms, and it felt like the longest ride before the car finally pulled into the parking lot. Exiting, we both went inside and the tension between us was still high, but I barely had time to close the door before Kai drew me into a hug so tight that I thought I would collapse into him completely.
His arms wrapped around me as if he never wanted to let go, and my chest tightened, my eyes burning all over again as I held on as if he was the only thing holding me down.
We didn’t speak. We just stood there, arms around each other, tears soaking into each other's shoulders as everything we were too afraid to say spilled out in the way we held each other. Then I heard his voice, muffled and broken.
“I love you too,” he said. “And I
