Page 37 of Forgotten Prejudice

Kai now had a son.

“Yeah. He’s beautiful, and he needs to meet his dad, so can I count on you?”

“Yeah.” I bit my lip and nodded despite not wanting to agree. “I’ll find him,” I said, and I did. It might have taken me over an hour and dozens of phone calls, but eventually, I tracked Kai down with Nico at a big party in Topanga Canyon. Going into the packed mansion, it was hard to hear my own thoughts over the loud music blasting through the halls, mixing with the hundreds of teens that squeezed together to party. Since Soren and I had started dating, I’d hardly been to any parties. The only ones I had been to were ones he invited me to himself.

I walked around for a bit before I spotted Nico standing by a staircase, drinking beer with a few other guys.

“Yo, Chief.” Nico high-fived me. “Been too fucking long, bro.”

“Yeah.” Rubbing the back of my neck, I looked around. “Where’s Kai?”

“Oh, the dude got shit-faced, so I left him to sleep in one of the rooms upstairs.”

My brows pulled into a deep frown. “He’s drunk?”

Nico laughed. “Drunk, wasted, high. You name it.” He was ready to go back into his conversation with his friends when I grabbed his shoulder.

“What do you mean? Didn’t he get sober last summer?”

Nico didn’t answer me and instead gave me the most pitiful look I had ever received. It was a look that told me how naive I was.

“Better get used to it now. It’s how addicts are.” Nico smiled, then cocked his head in the direction of the stairs. “Second room on the right.”

Better get used to it now. It’s how addicts are.

My stomach turned into a bundle of nerves with his cold words, and I refused to believe them. Parting ways with Nico, I began walking toward the room, each step I took making breathing harder. Even though we hadn’t talked in months, I still hoped Kai was doing better. I hoped that he was doing better without me in his life. Holding on to those shreds of hope, I opened the door to the room and walked in.

The first thing I was hit with was the stench of smoke and booze. Then, I noticed the empty cans of beer scattered around the bed Kai was passed out on. Stepping further in, I stopped near the bed and studied the person who looked like the shell of my best friend. He’d lost weight—enough for it to stand out. His pale face was covered with zits he’d never had before, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he had a cold with how red and puffy his eyes were. The only thing that had stayed the same was his hair. His beautiful, long, dirty-blond hair that I loved so much.

Feeling the strong urge to touch him, I moved closer when something caught my eye, and I looked at the white powder spread on the nightstand beside Kai’s bed.

Coke.

So not only was Kai not sober, but he was doing coke? For God’s fucking sake. It was one thing to drink, but fucking coke?

No wonder he was tossed on the bed like some zombie, probably unaware that he’d become a father. I now understood why Nico had given me such a pitiful look. Not because I was naive, but because I was stupid as fuck. Stupid enough to think Kai had any intention of recovering.

“Kai.”

He didn’t move.

Saying his name again, I raised my voice while slapping his cheek. It was still not enough, and he didn’t move a muscle. Grunting, I walked back and searched the room for something to help me wake him when I spotted a bottle of water. That’s helpful. Grabbing the bottle, I went back to the bed, not lingering another second before splashing Kai with the water.

His face scrunched up, and he began coughing before blinking his eyes open and looking around, confused.

“W-What the fuck?” Half rising from the soaked mattress, he rubbed his face and then looked down on his wet clothes.

“Good. You’re not dead,” I hissed, then put the empty bottle back on the desk.

Kai’s eyes moved from his damp clothes to the plastic bottle, then to me.

“Ash?” His brows pulled close as he hardened his stare, probably trying to understand if he was hallucinating me or if I was really here.

“Coke, Kai?” I pointed over to the nightstand and the drug scattered on it.

Tearing his eyes away from me, he shrugged. “It’s not mine.”

“Really?” I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hold back from punching him for throwing his life away for drugs. “You think I’m that stupid?”