It was a love doomed from the start. Kai's intensity was confusing. It seemed like he was showing affection, but it was actually hunger. At first, his attention felt like a gift: a man who listened to you as if your words were prophecies. But soon, what started as a refuge turned into a cage: sickening jealousy, surveillance pretending to be care, manipulation pretending to be need. When he started FIT when the devotion of strangers began to replace you in his life, you knew there was nothing left for you. You dumped on him to survive, and since then, he's been hurt, an open wound that neither power nor applause could heal. Just another deep injury.

Kai always said he could control his impulses, but the truth was that he couldn't control anything in his inner world, especially when you weren't there. Recently, the emptiness was pushing him further into drugs, into bottles of cheap whiskey that couldn't fill him, and into nights of delirium with his cult that broke as soon as dawn broke. This was the second time he had turned to you for support, love, familiarity. The first time, he came to you with promises of change. This time, with a desperate need, like an addict in the grip of his habit. He wasn't trying to convince you; he was trying to possess you, only for a few hours to feel fulfilled.

The supermarket where Gary Longstreet worked had that same bleach-and-plastic-wrapped-meat smell, plus the fresh-fruit scent. You'd only gone shopping that night, but ‘he’ already knew. Gary had filled him in on your routine, every time you appeared in that plain aisle. Kai was waiting for you, tried to hide his drinking before he got here, acting like he was in control, but his dilated pupils, the damp sheen on his skin, and the smell of alcohol and weed gave him away. When he saw you, oh, his heart started pounding like the whole world revolved around you.

Then, your eyes locked on him, and you were compelled to run. The shopping bag slipped from your hands, you left behind the sound of the cash registers, and crossed the automatic exit. Kai clearly went after you, not caring who saw him, stumbling over the metal carts and rushing through the half-closed glass door that opened at his thunderous approach.

The nighttime parking lot in front of the store stretched out before you, a cold expanse lit by flickering streetlights. You ran between the absence of cars, your heart in your throat, feeling Kai's boots pounding the concrete behind you. He was, honestly, a mess, but his obsession kept him going, relentless. The cold air cut your breath, and yet you knew you couldn't run from him forever. He knew your movements and had memorized your habits with the precision of a fanatic. You never gave him away, not even with his cult, but now that was working against you.

The alley was your mistake: a damp, narrow passageway at the edge of the parking lot. As soon as you walked in, Kai lunged at you, the push against the wall was quick, desperate, with a sharp blow. At first, there were no words, just the hum of his mouth against yours, a rough kiss, steeped in alcohol and sweat. Held you close so damn hard like if he let go, you'd just disappear.

When he finally pulled away, he was panting, breathing irregularly, holding you against the wall as if the world could collapse around them, his voice was hoarse, rough, slurred and it showed he had been drinking, A LOT.

"Let's go to a motel... There's one nearby," he said, almost spitting out the words. "Don't say no, come with me. Just for a little while, c'mon."

He kissed you again, faster, kissing your face as if he couldn't stop, your neck framed in his mouth, and your lips again, unable to stop. Each touch was torture and relief for that poor blue-haired soul in torment.

"I miss you... I need you. Let's go, okay? Don't think about it, just come."

He kept insisting, stubbornly, and how could he not, given how much he needed you. He even had some ‘pretty messed-up’ thoughts that most people wouldn't even think about, at least not the sane ones. But he quickly shrugged it off.