Chapter 3

I wake up to find that Fai has already gotten up and left the room. I sigh as I crawl out of bed and walk to my closet. As I reach out to open the door I notice my hands. How they got in their state is all a blur in my mind. I remember mother, the glass, Fai…I open the closet with the tips of my fingers and search through my wardrobe for something that I haven't worn in ages. I pull out a white bell sleeved blouse and light blue jeans. I bought them back in my preppy days a few years ago. I go into my bathroom to take a shower and about twenty minutes later I'm out and straightening my already blow dried hair. I can't really straighten it, but I can make it really wavy. It's good enough for me. I leave the bathroom making sure to put the best smile on my face. I want mother to be so shocked that she has a heart attack and dies…I can only hope.

As I walk into the kitchen I see an unusual sight. My mother is cooking eggs and bacon, Wong is reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, and Fai is sitting at the table trying to balance a plate on his nose. I break out laughing, which causes Fai to nearly drop the plate, Wong to stare at me over the paper, and mother to jump and burn herself on the stove. They all seem really shocked when they see me also. I think they like my appearance.

"Hello everyone," I say smiling.

Mother glares at me menacingly. What a morning glory. "Why are you dressed that way?"

"I felt like it," I answer simply as I join Fai at the table. He smiles at me knowingly before going back to his plate experiment.

"Fai!" shouts Wong, again glaring from over the paper. Does he not know how to put it down or does he think he looks more threatening that way? "Put the plate down, you're not a child."

Reluctantly, poor Fai puts down the plate. "I was hoping to distract myself from their presence but I guess they didn't like it too much," he whispers to me, keeping an eye on Wong. I giggle and that triggers something in mother's nerves.

"Leave, now. You don't get any breakfast," She says scornfully.

"Why?" I ask, raising my voice. What did I do? I see her gaze flick down to my hands. Oh.

"Because I said so. Now leave!" She moves towards me threateningly.

"No!"

She comes towards me and grabs my wrist, dragging me to the stove. She removes the skillet from the burner and before I can really react she slams my wrist down. I can't help it, I scream and that's enough for mother to let me go. I showed pain, she's one this time, but at the moment I don't really care. I sink to the floor and Fai moves as to come help me.

Mother sees him, "No! Don't help her. She can get up herself." She kicks me in the side. "Get up and go to your room!"

I take a breath and get up. As I walk out of the kitchen I catch a glimpse of Wong. He's still reading the paper as though nothing happened. Bastard.

Sitting on my bed listening to music normally wouldn't be that bad, but with the addition of the burn on my right wrist it's quite painful. I sit here about thirty minutes, cross-legged on my bed, rocking back and forth, until Fai walks in. He immediately runs toward me.

"Milady I'm sorry it took me so long. I had to fight a dragon and an ogre, cross through a daisy field, and run through this very house to get to you," he says dramatically, bowing down to me.

I laugh and look at him curiously, "Why a daisy field? Couldn't you have come straight here instead?"

He smiles at me mischievously, "No milady. You see, since you are so hurt, I had to pick this for you." He takes out a beautiful daisy from behind his back and places it behind my ear. I smile at the sweet gesture. It reminds me of something I did to him a while ago… "Now for your wounds." He takes out the first aid kit from under my bed and takes out the anti-septic wash and bandages.

"I'm sorry," I say pitifully as he pours the wash over my burn.

He looks at me in confusion, "For what?" He starts to wrap my wrist with the gauze while listening intently.

"I always pick a fight, I'm always getting hurt. You don't need to help me, but you do."

He finishes with my wrist and puts away the kit before speaking, "I love you, why wouldn't I help you?"

That's it. Those words make me burst into tears. Fai pulls me into his chest and rubs my back to comfort me. "Why? Why us? What did we do to deserve this?"

"What did any kid do to deserve it? You see, it's not what we did, it's what they did, our parents. Everyone has a choice, Kaylee, and that was theirs. It's not our fault."

I stop my crying and he lays me down in my bed. Just as he moves to get up, I grab his arm. "Stay with me, please?"

He looks back at me uneasily, "I'll just be across the room."

"Please?" I plead him with my eyes. He can't stand it when I do that.

"Alright, but if we're caught, we're doomed." He gets under the blanket with me and allows me to cuddle into his chest.

"I love you too you know," I murmur, drifting off to sleep. Just before I fade off completely I hear, "Yea, I know." A smile reaches my lips and with that, I'm off to dream land…

I walk up to Fai with a playful smile on my face. He's against the brick wall where we usually are at recess but I had gone to play in the flower field. "Guess what!"

"What?" he asks, looking at me suspiciously.

"I have something to make you feel better." I rock back and forth on my heels, my smile getting wider. I pull out a daisy from behind my back and give it to him shyly.

He looks at me curiously and takes the flower. "Am I supposed to eat it or something?"

"No silly! It's a gift. You keep it and treasure it." I sit down by him and watch him inspect the flower.

"Thanks I guess. But why'd you really give it to me?" I roll my eyes. He's always suspicious of other people.

"I already told you, to make you feel better. You see, since you were hurt I had to pick this for you because flowers are supposed to make people feel better. Haven't you ever been to a hospital? They make people better all the time there."

He flinches and looks at me sadly. "I wish my mother went to a hospital. Maybe the flowers could've helped her there."

I watch him worriedly, "What happened to your mother?"

"She disappeared into the ground in our backyard. She never comes up from there. That's what father first told me, but I know she's dead. I'm not stupid." He throws the flower to the ground and runs inside the building. I should have never asked.

"GET UP! NOW!"

I groggily open my eyes to see, what I can only pray is a nightmare. Mother and Wong are standing in the doorway of my bedroom, fuming at the sight of Fai and I in bed together. I'm in trouble. Fai is sitting up next to me, staring wide-eyed at our parents. I think we're now both afraid to move. Mother storms up next to me and pulls me out of bed by my arm while Wong goes for Fai.

"You're a disgrace to our family! I should have gotten rid of you while I had the chance!" Mother yells in my ear as she drags me out of the room. I struggle against her as Wong starts beating Fai.

"Stop hurting him!" I cry. I've stopped caring about myself. I don't matter. I'm not going to go anywhere in life, no one really loves me but him. He's loved by many people, he has a future, he's my soul mate, I can't let him die. I lift my arm and elbow mother as hard as I can. She yelps in pain and lets go. Almost immediately I run toward Fai and try to pull Wong off him. That's my downfall. Wong leaves Fai alone but instead he comes after me. His fist comes in contact with my face and I fall backward. He starts yelling at me in Chinese and suddenly I'm glad to be an American. He grabs my hair and quite literally drags me out of the room and down the hallway to our towel closet.

He throws me under the bottom shelf. I barely fit. "You will die in here." Ah, the last words I will ever hear have been spoken. He slams the door and I hear him walk back down the hallway to my room. I reach up to turn the door handle but it's locked. Who puts a lock on a towel closet door? I sigh and curl up in a ball. My head is pounding and my thoughts of what will happen now are only making it worse.