The Year I Became Isabella Ande - Jessica Sorensen Page 0,69

shine across us as a car pulls into the driveway.

I trip to my feet and scoot back from him as reality sets in. Oh. My. God. I just kissed Kai.

Kai sighs, pushing onto his elbows. “Well, this is going to suck.”

At first, I think he’s referring to the kiss, but as he gets to his feet, he mutters, “Isa, I’m so sorry you have to see this.” Then he places himself in front of me, as if he’s protecting me from something.

Before I can ask, the headlights turn off. I peek over my shoulder as I hear the doors slam. The only light around is from a few street and porch lights, and the moon shining in the sky above us. I can barely make out his parents’ silhouettes, but I can feel the tension in the air.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” Kai’s dad asks as he stares Kai down with his arms crossed.

“I just got back from somewhere,” Kai says, sounding so unsure of himself, so unlike the Kai I know.

“Do you realize how late it is?” his mother asks. “No, I don’t even want to hear you try to lie your way out of this. Of course you know how late it is. But just like always, you don’t care if you worry us.”

“You were looking for me?” Kai asks, surprised.

“No. We were at an event,” his mother replies curtly. “But what if we had been looking for you? Imagine how worried we would’ve been.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you would’ve been that concerned.” Kai yawns and then shakes his head, getting sleepy again.

“Are you drunk?” His mother huffs, tapping her foot against the concrete.

Kai doesn’t even try to lie his way out of it. “I’m sorry.”

“Dammit, Kai. How many times have I told you if you’re going to act like a loser then don’t come home,” his dad snaps. “Why do you have to be such a fuck-up? Kyler never put us through this shit. Why can’t you be more like him, instead of such a fucking loser all the time? Why don’t you try making our lives simple, instead of so damn hard all the time? Fuck!” His dad kicks the tire.

“Because then we wouldn’t get to have these little chats of ours,” Kai mumbles under his breath.

“Get your damn ass in the house,” his dad growls as he points to the door. “Right now, before I make you.”

Sighing, Kai gives me a little push back toward the fence before he walks toward the house with his shoulders hunched. I slink into the shadows, wondering what will happen if they see me. Luckily, they seem too distracted by Kai. His dad scolds him the entire way to the back steps then slaps him upside the back of his head as they disappear inside.

Poor Kai. I feel so bad for him. He sounded so beaten down, like he’d heard the speech a million times. It reminds me so much of the way I react to situations, so I know how terrible he’s probably feeling right now. I want to go knock on the door and give him a hug, but know it’ll probably just upset his parents more.

I make a promise to myself that even if things are awkward tomorrow, which I’m guessing after the kiss they will be, that I’ll give him that hug or something.

I DRANK MORE than I thought at the party, and end up spending almost the entire next day in bed. I keep having the same dream, where someone sneaks into my room while I’m sleeping and stares down at me in my bed, holding a paintbrush. Around six o’clock or so, I wake up and realize where the dream came from. The second I open my eyes and fully come out of dreamland, my nostrils are assaulted by paint fumes. I sit up, look around for where the smell is coming from, and then smile.

A partially finished mural is painted on the wall opposite my bed. The colors are bright and form a city, yet the shadows and fine lines give it a darker, gothic vibe. Standing in front of the industrial scene is a girl who resembles one of my superheroes in my sketches. She’s wearing a cape with has her hands on her hips and a look in her eyes that reads: I’m about to kick your ass.

I roll out of bed, grab my leather jacket from the floor, and dig out my phone. I have one