I must've gone crazy. I couldn't think of anything else so I had to do it. I kept convincing myself it was for a good reason. My breath was getting quicker and I knew I was blushing. The most surprising thing was he played along with it. He wrapped his arms around me and was kissing me back. Then, he pushed me back lightly. We stared at each other for a while. His eyes were captivating. My heart was pounding loudly. Then I remembered Father Sinclair. I saw him up ahead before he made a turn.
"What are you up to?" Kai asked with that cool tone of his. I couldn't answer him. I was still a little overwhelmed; my emotions were all over the place. I couldn't quite understand myself. It was just a kiss, I kept repeating on my head. "What is it? Are you in trouble?" He asked. I could sense his worry.
"No, I'm fine. I was afraid Father Sinclair would see me and tell my father about it. I mean, look at this place. My father would freak out if he finds out I came here."
"You can't lie to me. I know you're hiding something. Why won't you tell me?" His voice sounded so threatening and so comforting at the same time.
"I'll tell you about it later. I promise." I said with conviction.
"Okay. Tell me soon. Don't get yourself in trouble. Do you understand?"
"Yes." He stared at me before pulling me along back to the market.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I knew it didn't mean anything, but I couldn't help feel ecstatic about it. It was my first kiss. I got nervous. How do I face him the next day? I could hear the question ringing repeatedly on my ear.
The next day, it was awfully quiet at our lunch table. Nobody talked. The others were completely aware of the awkward air between me and Kai. They didn't say anything though. We ate in silence; even the sound of us chewing was louder than usual. Jeremy got annoyed.
"Okay. Spill it. Did you guys have a fight?" Jeremy asked. Kai and I looked at each other. I felt a little embarrassed so I averted my eyes.
"Is everything okay?" It was Christian. He sounded worried.
"Everything's fine. I just don't feel so good. I think I'm going to rest for a while at the infirmary." I lied again. Lying was turning into a habit. I hated myself for it.
The infirmary was deserted when I came. I chose the bed farthest from the door. The soft linen smelled like sunflower. The wind from the open window felt relaxing. I decided to skip afternoon classes.
"You're getting tardy." That familiar voice gave me butterflies on my stomach.
"What are you doing here? Class is about to start." I said without facing him.
"Are you really sick? Do you want me to take you home?"
"It's fine. My father will just overreact if I go home. I'll just stay here. I don't think they'll kick me out, will they?" I asked jokingly.
"You're starting to abuse your status, you know." He smirked. "That's what you get for overworking yourself. Maybe you should stop volunteering at the orphanage." His emphasis on the word 'volunteering' indicated he meant the snooping and sneaking.
"It was that one time. I saw Father Sinclair at the market and I was curious why he was there."
"I thought you'll tell me soon. But you're still lying now." He sounded… sad.
"I'm sorry. I really will tell you soon. I promise." I said, finally facing him.
"Alright. You rest here. I'll come for you after class." Then he left.
I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of the school bell. Classes were over. I felt a little groggy. I actually had a good enough rest, and was ready for my plans for the night. Someone cleared his throat. I lifted my head and saw him leaning against the wall opposite the bed. My heart started pounding again.
"Why are you here again?" I asked.
"I told you I'd come back for you after class. Come on. I'll give you a ride to the orphanage." He offered.
"Actually, I think I'll pass the volunteering tonight. I still feel a little tired."
"Okay. I'll take you home." He stated it in such a way that wasn't open for argument.
When I got home, I immediately prepared the things I needed and put them in my backpack. Sneaking out was going to be easy, at least I was hoping it'd be. I just hoped I wouldn't get lost on the way. My sense of direction never improved. I ate dinner with my father. My mouth hurt from smiling too much throughout dinner. I figured he'd never thought I'd sneak out with the 'positive attitude' I was portraying at dinner. I felt guilty. Lying to my friends was somewhat tolerable, but lying to my father was almost unbearable. He had always been there for me, always took care of me, always gave me things I wanted except for total freedom. The guilt was eating up on me but I had to know what was in that building. I sneaked out when everybody was asleep. The halls of the castle were too quiet, it was creepy. I climbed the tall fence and jumped down the pavement on the other side.
"I knew you were up to something." A voice suddenly said.
My eyes widened when I saw Kai leaning against the tree on the sidewalk. "What are you doing here?"
"I should ask you the same question. Why are you sneaking out? You know it's dangerous."
"I, uh, I—" I started saying, but I couldn't find the right lie to say.
"I thought we're past all the lying. Now I want you to be honest. What are you doing out? If you don't answer, I'll drag you back inside." He said. He looked serious.
"Fine. I'm going back to that building. I need to know what's inside."
He looked at me. Anger was evident in his eyes. "Are you out of your mind? Do you know how dangerous it is? Why are you so keen on knowing? Why are you so determined to know what that priest was doing there?"
"Because I feel like something strange is going on, something bad. I have to know. It's for a friend. Please, just let me go."
"Okay. But I'm going with you. No buts." He said before I could say anything.
We found the building quite easily thanks to Kai's great sense of direction. We stopped on the same spot as before. The boxes were still there. The street was quiet. There was no sign of life. We couldn't tell whether the lights were on in the building. The windows were shut and were draped in thick dark curtains. We walked to the door slowly. I held the knob and gave it a twist. It was locked. I whispered to him to look for another way in. We walked to the other side of the building and saw an open window on the fourth floor. There weren't any stairs to climb on. I was startled when he suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and jumped to the open window. I looked at him in disbelief.
"Don't do something like that without giving a warning first." I hissed at him.
It was dark and no one else was around. The floorboard creaked a little when I made a step. We stopped at the top of the staircase. We could hear voices below, on the third floor. I was about to go down the stairs when he held me by the wrist. He gestured that he'd go first. He went down and gave the signal for me to follow. We walked with caution. There were voices, weird grunts and… moaning? Just what the heck is this place? We could also hear laughter from the other side of the big door at the end of the corridor. We heard the knob turn and Kai hastily opened a door on the left. He pulled me in and softly closed the door. We heard footsteps passing by, and a familiar voice talking joyfully. Father Sinclair was obviously intoxicated. He was talking fast and was stuttering. Some of his words didn't make sense. Eventually, it became quiet.
"That was---" Kai stopped me from talking by placing his hand gently on my mouth. He gestured to not make a sound and pointed behind me. I slowly turned my head and gasp. What the heck?
The building was a brothel.