like.” Kayla pushed herself up off the bank, losing her balance a little at the top. Sam didn’t follow. “I think we should go back and meet the others.”
“Okay. I’ll see you there in a bit.”
“Are you not coming with me? I don’t really want to walk back through the park by myself in the dark. Bangkok is . . . well, it’s Bangkok.”
Sam rubbed his eyes. “Okay, Kayla. Let’s go back.”
Her stomach twisted. Not an excited flutter of expectation, like only moments ago, but the sensation of reaching for a top step that doesn’t exist.
It was a feeling she would come to know all too well.
K A Y L A A N D S A M walked back through the park in silence. Her mind kept racing with things she wanted to say— I’m sorry . I’m not angry . I’m not sad . Kiss me again . I promise I’ll kiss you back —but her tongue felt too big for her mouth, and the words wouldn’t come. Sam walked two steps in front of her, scuffing the bottom of his dirty Converses along the dusty path.
A branch cracked somewhere southwest of where they walked. Sam didn’t hear, but Kayla stopped abruptly and swung around. There was a silhouetted figure standing next to a thick tree trunk.
She rubbed her eyes but couldn’t bring the shadowy person into focus. It was too dark.
Her skin prickled. Why were they just standing there? “Sam, wait.” He stopped, bemused. “Who’s there?” Kayla called, lifting her voice.
The figure jerked slightly. Cicadas rattled and hissed in the trees. The air was still humid.
Sam muttered, “Leave it, Kayla. Why do you care who’s there? We’re in Bangkok, it’s not like—”
“I said, who’s there?” she called. Her voice trembled. Why am I getting so worked up about the fact there’s someone else in the park?
The person started toward them, and as he walked under the ornate streetlamp, his face came into view.
“O-Oliver?” Kayla stammered. “What are y-you doing here?”
He grinned clumsily. He was slouching. Drunk. Drunker than them.
“Just shh-checking up on my favorite traveler . . . and her mate,” he slurred.
Was he . . . winking? It was hard to tell in the dark.
Sam rolled his eyes and turned on his heel. “Now you have another chaperone, I’m off. See ya.”
“W-Wait up, Sam,” Kayla said, running after him.
“What the hell’s his problem?” Sam almost spat when she caught up. “Who lurks in the shadows like that? S’creepy.”
“Yeah.” Kayla shuddered. Sam was walking too fast, and she was almost jogging to keep up.
“The way he looks at you . . . it’s gross. I mean, I don’t blame him, but . . .”
Kayla smiled despite the queasiness building in her belly. Was Sam jealous?
They kept walking in silence. After a couple of minutes, she looked back over her shoulder to see if they were being followed. But Oliver was gone. There were only shadows in his place.
Chapter 9
July 5, England
A N UNBLINKING RED light. More uncomfortable silence. A ticking wall clock. The bitter smell of Dr. Myers’s coffee.
It was their second meeting, a week after the first, which already felt like a lifetime ago. Kayla clenched her fists, watching her knuckles turn white. Her fingernails, which hadn’t been cut for weeks, dug into the palm of her hand. She found the painful sensation strangely relieving. She decided not to think any further into that.
“Take all the time you need,” Dr. Myers said.
More silence. Tick, tick, tick. The sound of the persistent clock was like a cheese grater on Kayla’s nerve endings.
The only option, she thought, was to talk over it. “Gabe was gay.”
Dr. Myers looked up. “I see. And how—”
“We all fully supported him,” Kayla interrupted. She’d started now, and to stem the flow of her monologue would be counterproductive. “He came out last year, and it just kind of . . . fit. My mum cried, at first, then gave him a hug. My dad slapped him on the back and told him he was
“Okay. I’ll see you there in a bit.”
“Are you not coming with me? I don’t really want to walk back through the park by myself in the dark. Bangkok is . . . well, it’s Bangkok.”
Sam rubbed his eyes. “Okay, Kayla. Let’s go back.”
Her stomach twisted. Not an excited flutter of expectation, like only moments ago, but the sensation of reaching for a top step that doesn’t exist.
It was a feeling she would come to know all too well.
K A Y L A A N D S A M walked back through the park in silence. Her mind kept racing with things she wanted to say— I’m sorry . I’m not angry . I’m not sad . Kiss me again . I promise I’ll kiss you back —but her tongue felt too big for her mouth, and the words wouldn’t come. Sam walked two steps in front of her, scuffing the bottom of his dirty Converses along the dusty path.
A branch cracked somewhere southwest of where they walked. Sam didn’t hear, but Kayla stopped abruptly and swung around. There was a silhouetted figure standing next to a thick tree trunk.
She rubbed her eyes but couldn’t bring the shadowy person into focus. It was too dark.
Her skin prickled. Why were they just standing there? “Sam, wait.” He stopped, bemused. “Who’s there?” Kayla called, lifting her voice.
The figure jerked slightly. Cicadas rattled and hissed in the trees. The air was still humid.
Sam muttered, “Leave it, Kayla. Why do you care who’s there? We’re in Bangkok, it’s not like—”
“I said, who’s there?” she called. Her voice trembled. Why am I getting so worked up about the fact there’s someone else in the park?
The person started toward them, and as he walked under the ornate streetlamp, his face came into view.
“O-Oliver?” Kayla stammered. “What are y-you doing here?”
He grinned clumsily. He was slouching. Drunk. Drunker than them.
“Just shh-checking up on my favorite traveler . . . and her mate,” he slurred.
Was he . . . winking? It was hard to tell in the dark.
Sam rolled his eyes and turned on his heel. “Now you have another chaperone, I’m off. See ya.”
“W-Wait up, Sam,” Kayla said, running after him.
“What the hell’s his problem?” Sam almost spat when she caught up. “Who lurks in the shadows like that? S’creepy.”
“Yeah.” Kayla shuddered. Sam was walking too fast, and she was almost jogging to keep up.
“The way he looks at you . . . it’s gross. I mean, I don’t blame him, but . . .”
Kayla smiled despite the queasiness building in her belly. Was Sam jealous?
They kept walking in silence. After a couple of minutes, she looked back over her shoulder to see if they were being followed. But Oliver was gone. There were only shadows in his place.
Chapter 9
July 5, England
A N UNBLINKING RED light. More uncomfortable silence. A ticking wall clock. The bitter smell of Dr. Myers’s coffee.
It was their second meeting, a week after the first, which already felt like a lifetime ago. Kayla clenched her fists, watching her knuckles turn white. Her fingernails, which hadn’t been cut for weeks, dug into the palm of her hand. She found the painful sensation strangely relieving. She decided not to think any further into that.
“Take all the time you need,” Dr. Myers said.
More silence. Tick, tick, tick. The sound of the persistent clock was like a cheese grater on Kayla’s nerve endings.
The only option, she thought, was to talk over it. “Gabe was gay.”
Dr. Myers looked up. “I see. And how—”
“We all fully supported him,” Kayla interrupted. She’d started now, and to stem the flow of her monologue would be counterproductive. “He came out last year, and it just kind of . . . fit. My mum cried, at first, then gave him a hug. My dad slapped him on the back and told him he was
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