The Year of Kai & Isa

by Jessica Sorensen

  The Year of Kai & Isa: Volume 1

  (Sunnyvale Series, #4)

  Jessica Sorensen

  The Year of Kai & Isa: Volume 1

  Jessica Sorensen

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright © 2019 by Jessica Sorensen

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  No part of this book can be reproduced in any form, or by electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or names featured are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

  For information: jessicasorensen.com

  Cover design by MaeIDesign

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  1. Isa

  2. Kai

  3. Isa

  4. Isa

  5. Isa

  6. Kai

  7. Isa

  8. Kai

  9. Kai

  10. Isa

  11. Kai

  About the Author

  Also by Jessica Sorensen

  One

  Isa

  Lynn escaped.

  Lynn escaped.

  She's out there, somewhere in the world, and she could come after me at any time.

  When Kai and my grandma Stephy broke the news to me, I couldn't believe it. Part of me still doesn't believe it. Or, well, doesn't want to believe it.

  But, as I lie here in the hospital bed with too much time to think, it's hard to ignore, or not think about the reality

  Lynn escaped.

  I let out a stressed sigh then crinkle my nose as the stench of cleaner and what can only be described as old blood that hits my nostrils. I'm really starting to hate the stench of hospitals and the sounds that fill them. Like right now with the heart monitor beeping, starting to make my head pulsate. But that's not even the worst part. No, the worse is when a screaming patient got wheeled through the hallways.

  It happened last night and startled me out of my sleep. I ended up staying awake for hours, wishing Kai was with me, but he had gone back to my grandma's house to get some sleep, something I had to make him do since he was starting to look sleep-deprived.

  Everyone looked a bit worn out. Even myself.

  God, I wish I could go back to sleep. But my mind is too wired, on edge, and filled with worry that Lynn is going to walk through those doors at any moment and burn me alive. Even with the officers stationed outside, I can't seem to relax, so I'm left stuck in this bed, wide awake, waiting for something, anything to happen.

  As boredom sets in, I try to close my eyes to go to sleep, but my mind goes straight to thoughts of Lynn.

  I still can't believe that, after everything, she ended up escaping and is on the run. And with my dad.

  Right after the fire, I thought Lynn and my dad were for sure going to be captured and put behind bars. I'd been so close to having my freedom, and now … well, I have no clue what awaits me now. My future is a mystery, undecided. All I know is that I have a lot of decisions to make. Decisions I'm not even sure I want to make.

  One positive thing has come out of this. Lynn made a recording of when she tied me up to the bed, which included her confessing everything she did to me and her son. So, more than likely, my mom will be released from prison. Just knowing that makes it easier to breathe. Well, right now it does. Last night, when I heard the screaming in the hallway, my lungs felt very tight and, for a moment, my mind rushed back to when I was in my bedroom, flames surrounding me.

  I thought I was going to die.

  I thought I had died.

  I swallow a breath, the beeping on the heart monitor increasing. I really need to get the hell out of here so I can stop thinking about what happened.

  If I can just get out of here, away from the smells, beeping, and screaming, I'll be okay.

  At least, that's what I try to convince myself, but deep down, a part of me worries that what happened to me might've broken something inside me, a worry that increases when I shut my eyes and all I see are images of flames and smoke.

  I end up not falling back to sleep and, hours later, when Kai enters my room, I feel like my brain isn't even on anymore.

  "Hey," he greets me with a smile.

  He looks a lot more rested than the last time I saw him, the dark circles no longer present underneath his eyes. His light blond hair is styled in this messy, bedhead way, and he's dressed in his typical style of black jeans, a matching shirt, and he's rocking a pair of Converse sneakers.

  Even though I'm butt-ass tired, I manage a smile. "Hey."

  A crinkle forms between his brows as he stops beside my bed. "What's wrong?"

  "It's nothing," I say, not wanting to worry him. Because, if I tell him I'm exhausted, he'll more than likely feel guilty for going home and leaving me here alone.

  He places a hand against my cheek, skimming his fingers across my cheekbone as he stares down at me, his eyes searching mine. "I can tell something's bothering you, so fess up." The corners of his lips quirk. "Or else I'm going to have to tickle it out of you."

  I bite back a smile. "You can't tickle me while I'm on oxygen."

  "Says who?" he questions amusedly.

  "Um … Says the doctors."

  "I think you might be lying to me, baby."

  A laugh tickles my throat as I make a gagging face. "Baby? For reals?"

  He wrestles back a grin. "What? It got you to laugh, didn't it?" Mischievousness glints in his eyes as he casts a quick glance around the room. Then he leans in toward me.

  At first, I think he's going to kiss me, which yes, pretty please with extra gummy worms on top, but then he comes to a stop, his lips inches away from mine.

  I'm about to pout when he sticks his hand in his pocket. "I brought you a present," he whispers as he pulls out a bag of …

  "M&Ms!" I exclaim excitedly and probably a little too loudly.

  "Shh …" Kai whispers through a soft chuckle. "You're going to get us busted."

  "Sorry. I'm just so sick of hospital food, and I haven't had anything with real sugar in it for, like, days." Since Lynn tried to burn me alive.

  I swallow hard at that thought, my heart feeling a bit shaky, something the heart monitor announces.

  Kai's brows knit, and he starts to turn his head toward the monitor, but before he can stress out about it, I cup the back of his head and guide his lips to mine, giving him a quick kiss. It's a bold move for me—he's usually the one who instigates all our kisses—but it distracts him from the spike in my heart rate.

  "Thank you for the candy," I whisper as I pull back.

  He nods, wetting his lips with his tongue as he stares at me. "I figured you were probably jonesing by this point." He cracks a smile. "You're such a little sugar junkie."

  "Yeah, but it's, like, the best addiction ever. And candy is the best thing ever."

  "Nah, I'm going to have to disagree with that."

  I playfully narrow my eyes at him. "You know what? I don't think you, and I can be friends anymore."

  "Yeah, I don't think so either," he agrees then dips his lips and seals them to mine, giving me a soft kiss. He doesn't pull back right away, lingering his lips against mine as he shuts his eyes and breathes in. "I know we haven't really had the talk about what we are," he whispers. "With everything going on, there hasn't really been time, but I think—or f
eel, I should say—that I don't want to be friends with you anymore."

  "What?" I whisper, confused and kind of hurt. "Why?"

  What the heck is going on?

  "Well, considering all the kissing we've been doing, and the fact that I told you I love you … and you said it back"—he takes an uneven breath—"I'm thinking—and I'm hoping you agree with me—that maybe we should be girlfriend and boyfriend. " He leans back and offers me an easy smile. Or, well, at first glance it looks easy, but I detect a hint of nervousness residing in his eyes.

  Is he worried I'll say no? Or is that from something else?

  Then I replay his words in my head and a burst of excitement rushes through me, something that gets announced on the heart monitor.

  He flicks a glance at it then looks back at me, tilting his head to the side. "So, either that's a hell yes or a fuck no. I'm hoping the first one." He waits for me to respond with that smile on his face, the one that makes my heart flutter.

  "It's the first one," I tell him, my tone a bit shaky.

  Relief washes over his expression. "Good." He leans in and kisses me again but pulls back way too soon.

  This time, I do pout.

  He chuckles. "Relax. We're nowhere near done with this yet." He sits down on the edge of the bed. "It's just that your grandma drove me here, and I don't wanna be full-on making out when she comes in here … She's already given me, like, ten lectures about treating you right, which I fully plan on doing." He winks at me.

  I can't help smiling, but then confusion tap dances through me. "If my grandma drove you here, then why didn't she come in here to see me?"

  "I think she's talking to the doctors about having you released today," he explains, the smile remaining on his face, but it's no longer genuine.

  No, it's fake and covering up worry.

  "Is something wrong?" I ask as I tear open the bag of candy.

  He swiftly shakes his head. "Everything's fine." He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "We all just want to get you out of here and take you home."

  I nod in agreement, and he keeps on giving me that fake smile.

  "Are you sure that's all that's going on?" I eye him over suspiciously.

  He nods, brushing his fingers along my jawline. "Yeah."

  While I want to believe him, believe that he hasn't gone back to lying to me, I can't get past the fake smile on his face.

  Because fake smiles usually only appear to conceal lies.

  Two

  Kai

  I'm lying to her, and I hate that I am, but her grandma made me promise to keep my mouth shut about what happened this morning until we got Isa out of the hospital. Once we have her out, then we're going to tell her.

  On the one hand, I'm relieved that we are, because I hate lying to Isa. But I also know that what we're going say will stress her out even more. And that's the last thing she needs right now. After everything that's happened, she doesn't need a drop of stress in her life. Unfortunately, none of us have control over that, something her grandma and I were reminded of this morning when that stupid note showed up in the mailbox.

  "You're zoning out on me," Isa says as she stares up at me from the hospital bed that she's been stuck in for days.

  She still has a tube running underneath her nose, bandages on her wrists, and her eyes are bloodshot, a sign she didn't sleep very well. She's still gorgeous as hell, though, with her long, brown hair around her head as she stares up at me with her big eyes. And those lips … Fuck, they're so tempting. I'm probably going to end up getting a lot of lectures from her grandma Stephy in the future, because there's no way in hell I'm going to be able to not kiss Isa every time I see her. That's okay, though. I'll deal with the lectures if it means I get to be with Isa.

  I like that her grandma cares so much about her. Isa needs that in her life, needs to be surrounded by people who care about her. With how messed up Lynn, her dad, and Hannah have made her life, she needs easiness in the future. And I plan on giving her that. I just wish I had my shit together more.

  Yeah, this whole thing with T is over, and I found a place to live, but I don't have a car or a job yet, and school is … well, I'm barely passing at this point.

  I need to get my act together, if for nothing else than for Isa.

  I make the silent vow to myself then focus on Isa as she stuffs her face with a handful of M&Ms.

  "Oh God," she groans as she closes her eyes.

  The look on her face and the little moans escaping her lips is making me want to kiss her again. No, scratch that. I don't want to just kiss her. I want to touch her. Feel her.

  I bite down on my bottom lip as she opens her eyes, shoves another handful of candy into her mouth, and moans again.

  "Good?" I ask, feeling like I'm about to explode with sexual tension.

  She bobs her head up and down. "It's delicious." She licks her lips.

  Someone please kill me now, because I don't know how much more moaning I can take. It's making me feel like I'm about to crawl out of my skin. And it's turning me on so much it actually hurts.

  "You have a weird look on your face," she remarks as she pours more candy into the palm of her hand.

  "Yeah, I know," I say. "I'm really struggling right now."

  The confused look that flashes across her face is absolutely adorable. "With what?" she asks.

  I dither, unsure how honest I want to be with her. Our relationship is so new that I'm not sure if I should be throwing out dirty comments yet. Although, she did let me feel her up the other night …

  My thoughts start to drift back to that moment when she lay on top of me, letting me kiss her and stick my hand up her shirt …

  "Kai?" Isa places her hand against my cheek. "What's going on?"

  I blink from the memory and focus on her. "It's nothing. I'm just thinking about …" I waver again then decide to hell with it and just be honest—be myself—because Isa seems to like that, likes who I am, something I'm still getting used to. I lean in, putting my lips behind her ear, and bite back a smile as her breathing increases. "All those little moans you keep making while you're eating the candy has me thinking about the other night when you let me touch you." I slant back, meeting her gaze, and am reward with a blush creeping across her cheeks. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, struggling not to smile. "So, yeah, that's what's going on."

  "Oh." She gives a short pause then shakes her head. "Is this how you're going to be from now on?"

  I angle my head to the side. "How am I being?"

  She lifts a shoulder. "I don't know … Perverted."

  I lift a brow. "You say that like I wasn't before."

  She chews on her bottom lip. "Yeah, you're right. But still … you didn't say stuff to me like you just did."

  "Maybe not a lot, but I did sometimes. And honestly, I wanted to a lot, but I held back because I didn't want to freak you out."

  "Oh." She rubs her lips together. "You know I'm not totally naïve, right? You don't, like, have to censor yourself around me. You can say whatever you want."

  "Careful," I warn in a playful tone. "You might want to give me free rein like that."

  She rolls her eyes. "I'm not afraid of you and your pervy mouth."

  I bite down on my tongue, trying to decide how far I want to take this. She seems so relaxed with the conversation, which is what I wanted, so I decide to keep going.

  "All right, but don't say I didn't warn you." I dip my lips back toward her ear again and breathe lightly on her earlobe. She shivers as soft, breathy exhales rush from her lips, and a smile takes over my face. "When you make those little noises like that, I want to touch you … I want to run my hands all over your body, feel every inch of your skin …"

  "Kai …" she whispers shakily.

  At first, I think maybe I pushed this whole verging-toward-dirty-talk thing too far, but then she tilts her head toward mine and brushes her lips across my cheek.

  Sucking in an inhale, I turn my head toward her with every in
tention of kissing her. And not just brushing our lips together. No, I want to slip my tongue into her mouth and kiss her deeply. But then we both freeze when someone clears their throat.

  "Good Lord, you two and the kissing," Isa's grandma's voice floats across the room. "At this rate, I think I'm going to have to set some ground rules or maybe sit down and give you both a safe sex talk."

  "Jesus, she loves embarrassing me," Isa whispers, embarrassment lacing her tone.

  I bite back a smile as I lean back and take in her flushed face. "She's not the only one who does."

  She gives me a dirty look, but the corners of her lips threaten to turn upward. "Whatever. One of these days, I'm going to embarrass you back."

  I can't keep a laugh from leaving my lips. "Yeah, good luck with that."

  She glares at me then rolls her eyes and turns her head toward her grandma. "So, am I getting released? Please say yes, because I'm really getting tired of this bed."

  Her grandma nods. "Yep. I had to pull a few strings, but I think we're going to be busting you out of here in the next hour or so."

  Isa rests her head against the pillow. "Thank God. I am so ready for things to go back to normal."

  Her grandma smiles, but it looks a bit forced. "Unfortunately, the officers are going to have to follow us home." She trades a subtle glance with me before looking back at Isa. "There are some things we need to talk about when we get home, too."

  Isa lifts her head, her brows knitting as she looks at her grandma. "What's wrong?"

  Her grandma steps up beside the bed and takes her hand. "It's not anything major. It's just something that happened this morning that we need to make you aware of."

  She's sugarcoating the truth, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I mean, I can understand wanting to protect Isa, but eventually, we'll have to tell her the truth.