The Love of Thousand Years
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“So, we’re just going to pretend that I didn’t ask for a ride from someone who is clearly a criminal?”
Kiara looked up at her father as he leaned over the table. They were in the study on campus, one of their few places they could be together. It was rare for them both to be home during the week and even rarer for Kiara to see him this much without some sort of crisis happening. So she was taking advantage of every minute with her dad. He’d been busy lately and hadn’t had much time to hang out.
She shrugged, “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be cautious when getting rides.” She turned and looked around at all the books piled on tables and shelves around them. “But if we’re honest, my life has always involved criminals or shady people doing shady things, so it’s kind of hard to say no to everything.”
Her father rolled his eyes, “It doesn’t matter if something is normal for your world. You are still our daughter and it’s never okay for you to get into trouble.”
She sighed but couldn’t help smiling. He was such an overprotective parent. But she loved him too much to fight him on this, especially now when they were finally getting some space. Her parents had been fighting a lot the past couple years. And while she wasn’t really surprised by that news, she did want him to know how happy she was to have a little more freedom again.
“I’ll take care of myself,” she said, “just like I’ve always done.”
He raised his eyebrow and looked back down at the book he was holding open. Kiara knew it would be rude to read what was in it while they were having dinner.
“Besides,” she went on, “it isn’t like we aren’t both criminals.”
She glanced up at her father again and grinned, “If we’re being honest here, we don’t pay the government taxes either.”
He laughed and put a hand on her shoulder as he got up and came around the desk. “That is true,” he said, looking down at her, “but we’re also not kidnapping children or stealing from museums.”
She nodded and took another bite of steak. The meal had been excellent, probably the best thing she’d ever eaten. She had to admit though, the food from Earth tasted better than most foods from the other worlds. But maybe that was just because it was familiar to her.
She watched as her mother set down bowls of soup for everyone. It seemed silly, considering this was her second time eating Earth food, but she felt a sense of pride watching her mom cook. Her mother had always cooked meals like this growing up, but since becoming pregnant with Kiara, she’d stopped cooking for herself. And while she tried to eat healthy and made sure Kiara ate well, it didn’t have quite the same flavor or taste as food from Earth.
And it had taken her mother a little while to get used to the way her new baby smelled and acted. After all, it was very different to raise a child on Earth after raising one in another world. Even Kiara’s father had had a hard time adjusting at first, although he’d grown used to it. Now he just wanted to get back there whenever possible.
Kiara watched the food go around the table again and felt sad thinking about it. She missed her family and friends back on Earth. Especially now, since they were trying to figure out where they should move next.
She had no idea why they’d decided that they couldn’t live near the Academy anymore. Maybe they thought living somewhere else might make it harder for her to leave. But she couldn’t imagine moving anywhere away from the Academy. And she didn’t want to be away from her mother or father either. Not even if it meant she was going to be alone most of the time.
They’d gone through a lot to bring her here, but now that she’d found her sister, the only place she wanted to be was with them. And while she knew they weren’t happy with how often she had to leave, they’d both promised her that she could continue to attend the school until she graduated.
So, she’d been trying her best to get her parents to agree to stay here permanently. After all, she had already started making friends and learning so much! And now she was dating again as well, something that hadn’t happened in months. So far, it wasn’t going very well, but she hoped he was worth the effort.
And she knew she needed to find a job soon too. Since her parents had left the restaurant, they hadn’t had any money coming in. They did have savings, but those wouldn’t last forever, and it would be impossible for them to keep paying for her schooling if she didn’t start making enough of her own money.
But she was determined to make that work somehow.
Maybe she’d get a job working at the Academy, just so she could spend more time there. She loved being around all those kids and helping them learn. Maybe she could even become a teacher someday.
As she thought about it though, she shook her head and put her fork down. That was probably a little unrealistic. Teaching jobs were few and far between. Plus, it probably wasn’t a good idea for someone who could use mind-control powers. It would be hard to explain.
“Are you okay?” asked her father then, interrupting her thoughts. He was still watching her intently as he waited for an answer.
She smiled and shrugged. “Just thinking about things,” she said, “nothing too serious.”
Her mother looked at her and rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to play dumb with me,” she said, laughing. “I know everything. I’m your mother, remember?”
Kiara blushed and gave her a hug as she smiled and nodded.
It wasn’t like her mother was wrong though. She did have an uncanny ability to catch people lying. Which was why Kiara always tried to tell the truth. She knew her mother would see right through her if she told lies. And while it would probably make things easier on them when they explained what was going on, she also didn’t want to cause problems for anyone else.
And it really bothered her knowing that she might be causing some kind of trouble for her parents. They’d done so much to help her get here, and then they’d had to move away again. They were always worried that something bad was going to happen to them or Kiara, and it broke her heart to hear them worry.
After all, she didn’t know if she’d ever get another chance to talk to her sister again. Or if she would even be able to convince her to come back with them. And even if she could, Kiara knew that there was no way they could hide their daughter away. The more powerful someone was, the more likely that they would attract attention. And they certainly didn’t need that now—especially since it was looking more and more like someone wanted them dead.
Which meant that Kiara’s mother and father would probably never be able to go home again. And Kiara didn’t know what they would do without them.
The thought made her heart hurt, and she looked over at them, hoping to reassure herself that they were okay. But she could sense that they were both worried by their expressions.
“You two okay?” asked one of the other men sitting across from her, and she realized he was talking about them again.
“Fine,” she replied softly, feeling guilty for not telling him what was really going on.
“You sure?” he asked then, sounding concerned, “you don’t look fine at all.”
Kiara bit her lip and shook her head, looking down at her food instead of meeting his eyes.
“What’s wrong? Did your parents tell you what they found out?”
Kiara shook her head and sighed. “No, I haven’t talked to them yet today.”
He frowned at that and reached across the table then and took her hand. He squeezed gently as he studied her face.
“Hey,” he said then, squeezing harder. “You can trust us. We won’t tell anyone. You have nothing to fear here. And if your parents find anything out, you’ll be the first ones I tell.”
She nodded and let out a breath then, relieved at the fact that she wasn’t alone anymore.
For once, it felt good to tell someone about what was going on with her parents. To talk about it freely and not feel ashamed by what had happened.
She sat up straighter as she stared at the man and forced herself to meet his eyes again. “Thank you,” she said simply, not wanting to give away too many details about her situation just yet. But hopefully he would understand that she needed someone to talk to right now.
And after staring into his kind eyes for several long moments, she suddenly felt very safe. She liked the way he looked at her. He didn’t seem like he was judging or mocking her in any way; he seemed genuine. Which was something she hadn’t had much of lately.
After a moment, he released her hand, picked up his fork, and started eating. “So where are you from?” he asked, breaking into a smile.
Kiara laughed at that and shook her head. “I’m not from anywhere. Well, except for Earth.”
He smiled wider and leaned toward her again. “I’ve been there before,” he said, “and it’s incredible.”
She smiled at him, pleased that he’d heard of Earth. “Yeah, well, you should see it in person. It’s amazing.”
He shrugged, not seeming as impressed as Kiara had hoped he would be. “I guess I will one day,” he said casually, and she wondered if maybe he wouldn’t be as nice as he appeared.
But he surprised her then by leaning across the table again and reaching for her hand. His warm fingers closed around hers, and he looked intently into her eyes.
“So where exactly are you from?” he asked as he studied her again. “Because I’ve never seen anyone quite like you before.”
Kiara frowned then at the sound of the words, but then she quickly pushed it aside and smiled. “You think I’m different?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes, I do. In a good way.”
She grinned up at him then, unable to stop herself. This guy was actually nice to her. For once in her life, people seemed to care what she had to say, and for the first time in forever, Kiara felt like she belonged somewhere.
She didn’t want to let go of his hand yet, afraid that he might disappear if she did. But after a moment, he pulled back and released her wrist.
“I better let you get back to your meal,” he said then, smiling at her. “It looks so yummy,” he added.
Kiara couldn’t help laughing at his words. “It is,” she agreed, trying not to let too many emotions come to the surface. She wasn’t used to this at all. People usually avoided her as best as possible, and she knew how it must’ve sounded when she told them what happened to her family. Even worse, some people looked at her as if she deserved what happened.
But this guy wasn’t like that. He made her feel special, which was more than she could ever ask for at the moment.
She took a bite of her food and smiled up at him then, feeling better for having someone to share her story with. “Thank you. I hope you enjoyed yours,” she said after swallowing.
He shrugged then and smiled. “It was pretty good,” he said as he leaned forward and set his plate down. He looked at her once more before standing up and walking away.
She watched him leave the table and frowned then at how nice he was to her. She had only known him for a few minutes, but already he seemed more genuine than everyone else she’d met.
Well, almost everyone…
The thought made her stomach tighten slightly, and she tried not to dwell on it as she finished her dinner. She didn’t know why that particular person came into her mind right now—she hadn’t even seen him in months now—but she couldn’t help remembering the last time they had seen each other. The last night he’d touched her.
How he’d kissed her neck and whispered filthy things in her ear while she lay beneath him in a pool of sweat.
And then he had left. Just like that. Like she was nothing to him.
Just like she had been worth nothing to her parents.
***
Chase woke up groggy and confused as he stared off into space. His head was pounding, and he didn’t remember falling asleep.
A minute later, though, he remembered everything that had happened last night. His body tensed as he recalled the feel of her lips against his again, but he quickly released a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Kiara had done nothing wrong, and he refused to let her be the cause of his problems.
No matter what he wanted, Chase knew that Kiara wasn’t the kind of girl who would cheat on anyone, especially not another man. Not unless there was something seriously wrong with her.
Besides, he had already told Kiara about his past. What was the point in bringing it up again?
And yet…
He felt bad.
Kiara was so sweet and innocent. She had a pure soul, and he hated thinking that she had ever been hurt like that. He’d always assumed she would remain that way, but obviously she hadn’t. Her past was something that no one should have to face in their entire life. He knew all too well how much pain it caused.
And yet Kiara still smiled whenever he was around.
That alone proved just how strong of a woman she was, because no one should have to smile through the darkest days of their lives.
Chase sighed and shook his head at how stupid he had been last night. There was no reason for him to think that Kiara would betray him, not with how sweet and caring she had been all evening long. She was practically throwing herself at him, and yet instead of taking advantage of that fact, he had gone and embarrassed himself over an old memory.
He shouldn’t have worried about what had happened to his father then.
Or even Kiara’s past at all. After everything he had told her, she clearly understood just how terrible it could be to have such a horrible childhood. She also knew that nothing like that would happen to her, since he was with her now.
So why couldn’t he just relax? Why did he keep wondering if she was really interested in him or only using him? He knew she cared about him by the way she looked at him sometimes when he wasn’t paying attention, and the way she talked about him behind his back to other people.
Hell, she even had the nerve to make fun of him to his face when he wasn’t looking.
He laughed at that thought and reached for his phone to check his messages.
There were two new ones from Kiara this morning, so he decided to reply to both of them at the same time. He sat up then and typed out a quick message:
“Hey. You awake?”
He sent it off then closed his eyes and listened as he waited for her response. A second later, however, he opened his eyes wide and dropped his phone on the bed beside him as he sat up straight. He swore under his breath as he listened again, this time harder, and heard someone talking quietly to him from the other side of the door.
He jumped out of the bed and grabbed the robe hanging on the doorknob before opening it up.
A pair of familiar black boots stepped inside, followed closely by Kiara herself with a huge grin on her face. She wore a tiny tank top and a pair of shorts, along with her hair still pulled back into a ponytail.
“Morning,” she said cheerfully, shutting the door behind her and smiling at him. “You look like you’re about to jump me again.”
Chase rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’m going to kill you first.”
Kiara’s eyes lit up in excitement, and she moved toward him slowly until she was standing right next to him.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed her soft lips against his cheek as she whispered softly in his ear. “Then I’ll die happy,” she giggled before moving away.
“What are you doing here, anyway?” he asked her, crossing his arms over his chest.
Her smile widened, and she leaned closer to whisper in his ear again. “I came to wake you up. It’s Saturday after all. And we’re supposed to go out today and meet some girls for you. That is, if you still want to.”
Chase chuckled lightly as he looked over at her. He didn’t really know how to answer that question because it honestly depended on where they were meeting these girls. If they were going somewhere nice and fancy, he was fine with that—as long as he got to take Kiara home afterward.
However, if they were going to meet women who would be interested in the kind of guy he had been in the past, he knew that he wouldn’t fit with them.
He would never put Kiara in any sort of danger. No matter how tempting it might sound at times, he would never let that happen. Not when he knew full well how badly it would hurt her to see him walk out on her the next day.
“Where are we going exactly?” Chase asked her.
Kiara shrugged and smirked up at him. “It’s a surprise,” she teased. “But I promise that you will like it. Now come on. We need to get ready and head out to meet those girls before they leave town.”
Chase frowned at her comment, but he quickly nodded and stood up. “Right,” he muttered as he headed toward the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed while she started putting on her makeup.
He took his time getting clean as he glanced through the glass shower doors and watched Kiara work on her makeup in the mirror. Her eyes sparkled in the reflection, and he smiled as he admired how beautiful she was.
When he finally walked out of the bathroom, he had to force himself to stop staring at her for fear of scaring her. However, she didn’t seem at all disturbed by him being there, so he figured that was probably okay.
He pulled his shirt off and went into the bedroom to grab another one before pulling it on. When he returned, he noticed that Kiara was done primping and had already packed her suitcase, so he grabbed his own bags and carried them downstairs to their cars.
“Ready?” she asked him as she stepped outside.
He nodded and slipped his keys out of his pocket, so he turned them over and slid them into the lock then pushed open the door and stepped outside to shut it behind him. “Lead the way.”
The ride to wherever they were going was quiet. Neither of them seemed willing to talk since Kiara had told him not to ask her anything about where they were heading or who they would be meeting. So instead, he simply stared out the window and listened to Kiara hum softly as she sang along with whatever song came on the radio.
He couldn’t help but smile slightly when he thought about the things she must have heard during her years working at a club. She certainly had a great voice for it and could carry pretty much every tune. She also had an amazing singing range, which was something that he hadn’t expected at all.
However, her singing wasn’t the only thing that surprised him about her either. She had so many hidden talents that he would have never guessed at in a million years. From her dancing abilities to her cooking skills, it was hard to find much that she wasn’t good at.
And she seemed to be more than just skilled as well, Chase realized as he drove the car. The whole experience had been a lot better than he imagined. For a moment, he felt as though it might actually be possible for him to start fresh again and maybe even try dating again.
If Kiara was right, then that meant that maybe someday he would find someone new who he would be able to love the same way as he loved her. He wanted that—needed that—for Kiara.
So when they finally reached where they were headed, he found himself smiling at Kiara once again as he followed her across the parking lot to a quaint café with a large porch.
“This place looks cool,” Chase commented as he stepped inside.
She nodded and smiled at him as she took in the interior design of the small establishment. “Yeah, I think it’ll be perfect for us to meet our girls and for you to pick up some new friends, too.”
Chase’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at her. “Are you serious? You’re telling me you want to meet people here?”
Kiara rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Why do you always say those kinds of things?”
“I don’t know,” Chase replied honestly as he shook his head. “You just seem like the kind of girl who likes having fun and doing wild and crazy things with lots of guys around.”
She laughed lightly at that. “No, I definitely am not. But this is where most of my friends live, so they often meet up here to eat or hangout for a few hours while catching up on old times.”
“That makes sense,” he admitted with a shrug.
Kiara gestured toward the two men seated at the table in front of them. “They’re two of my friends from school.”
“Oh?”
“Yep.” She nodded. “One of them works at a restaurant near here, and the other one is a local DJ.”
Chase nodded as he continued to look at the men. The one seated on the right was shorter than Kiara, and the man sitting across from him appeared taller and broader. Both of them had dark hair and dark eyes, and both of them wore nice suits that fit them well. They were also drinking iced coffee, so Chase guessed that they worked together or knew each other well enough to do that.
“I’m Kiara’s friend Michael,” the guy sitting across from Kiara said as he stood up and held out his hand.
Chase frowned at his words and looked at the hand. “Michael?”
“Yes, that’s what everyone calls me, so why should I be any different?” Michael grinned widely as he took Kiara’s hand to kiss it lightly, so Chase could see that there wasn’t a ring on the man’s finger.
“Nice to meet you, Chase,” Michael said with a polite smile as he let go of Kiara’s hand and sat back down. “My boyfriend Chris is here somewhere, so I’ll introduce myself properly later. I didn’t want to wait until we got to the house so I could tell you about our band and all of that.”
“Oh, okay,” Chase replied with a frown.
Kiara shot him a look as Michael went on. “But I will be sure to tell him that he has a hot date for tonight before he gets started playing guitar again. I can guarantee he won’t be complaining if I do.”
He laughed lightly as he glanced over at the other man seated next to him. “It was nice meeting you, Chase, but I’d best be off now. I hope you enjoy your time with these two lovely ladies.” With that, he winked at Chase as he turned toward the exit of the small establishment.
“I’ll see you soon!” Kiara called after him, which made Chase laugh softly as he watched Michael step outside to hail a taxi while waving a goodbye to Kiara. “I hope you get used to him fast.”
Kiara laughed and shook her head as she looked over at Chase with a smile on her lips. “He’s harmless, so he doesn’t bother me. In fact, I like him.”
“Yeah, I can believe that.” Chase shook his head as he watched Michael wave to the driver before the cab pulled away from the curb. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Just hanging out at home.” She shrugged. “I’ve been going nonstop since yesterday morning. It was time for a break.”
“Do you mind if I come by?” Chase asked. “There’s something I need to pick up at the mall anyway, and I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and stop by on the way out of town.”
“Sure, that’s fine. I don’t have anything planned.”
“Then I’ll see you at six, then.”
“Okay, good. Then I guess I’ll see you soon.”
He flashed another smile at her before he turned and made his way toward the exit to leave. His eyes caught on a tall young woman standing in the corner, so he paused at first before he walked past her to reach the door. He recognized her immediately as one of Kiara’s friends from school—a girl named Mia. Her long blonde hair was down in waves, and her bright green eyes twinkled as she smiled at him.
The two exchanged a brief greeting as Chase left the diner through the front entrance and made his way into the parking lot. His eyes swept the area quickly as he scanned for any sign of trouble or danger before finally stepping out onto the sidewalk that led to the street where the car was parked. There was nothing to be seen, though, so he relaxed just a little when he reached his own vehicle. He opened the rear passenger door and slid behind the wheel to start the engine.
With that done, he turned and waited as Kiara stepped out of the diner, followed by the waitress. He noticed that they weren’t speaking anymore, which meant Mia was probably giving her some sort of advice on how to handle her new relationship.
She waved to him as she headed for the door, so Chase rolled down the window and leaned out to catch her attention. “You heading to the mall, too?”
“Yeah,” she replied with a nod as she continued to stare at him. “I wanted to buy some new clothes.”
He gave her an approving grin and nodded in response. “Good luck with that then. You’ll need it.”
Her face lit up as she smiled warmly at him before she made her way toward the parking lot. “Thanks!”
As Kiara climbed into the passenger seat, Chase watched Mia pull away from the curb with a smile on her lips. The girl seemed genuinely happy to see him, which meant something was obviously going on between her and his girlfriend.
Chase sighed heavily and shook his head as he drove out of the parking lot. Something was definitely wrong with this picture. Why would Kiara be interested in dating someone who had a thing for her friend? He frowned and stared blankly ahead as he wondered how he could fix things before something really bad happened.
The End