After Kai called me in a desperate panic to take her to the house of some bloke named Wayne, her directions sent us to a place I’d become familiar with. Franklin Hills was a residential district where the artsy types lived. A small but ornate bridge connected the east and west banks of the neighborhood over a deep ravine.
With Kai still strapped on tight behind me, I slowed at the charming landmark, its light fixtures illuminating the length of the structure. Then I parked my bike on the sidewalk—more like a wide curb—and reached out to help her off.
I bit the inside of one cheek, expecting her normal resistance. But shockingly, this time, she accepted my hand while her curious eyes stayed on me.
“The Shakespeare Bridge? Why are we stopping here?”
I shrugged. “Interesting, yeah? I just like it here. Didn’t realize it had a name.”
“Well, it does,” Kai said.
She stepped in front of me and led me to one of the towers decorating the two-hundred-foot-long bridge. The white tower was just a solid platform with thick pillars on each corner and an arched ceiling.
“I’d say it’s one of LA’s hidden gems,” she continued. “The average person would cross over this bridge and never even bat an eye.”
I scanned the length of the bridge, understanding how that could happen. Then my eyes met Kai’s curious ones again as she started to speak. “You were just wandering around and found this place?”
I nodded as she pulled herself up onto the concrete platform like she’d done it a million times before. “I like a good ride, but I only stop for the unique stuff.”
My eyes held hers for a brief moment before she turned and stared wistfully into the darkness.
She proceeded to scoot to the edge to let her legs dangle. “That’s funny,” she said with a slight lift of her lips. “I stop by this bridge a lot.”
Kai Ashley was a fascinating creature, that I was sure of. She was complex, in that she didn’t seem afraid of anything, including the deep ravine thirty feet below. It amazed me that she would let anything hold her back, even her father’s death. I couldn’t imagine living through a tragedy like that at such a young age, but to let it cripple her for two decades… I couldn’t begin to make sense of it.
“I love this bridge,” she said when I sat down beside her. “I’ve always thought there was something magical about it.”
“How so?”
She shrugged. “Just the way it blends in so well with everything around it, like it doesn’t want to be seen. Yet if you really look at it and you take in the detail and the rich history marked into it, it becomes all you can see.” She smiled. “I read somewhere that if you drive across it at night during a full moon, you can see an appearance of a ghost, and then she vanishes.”
A light breeze whooshed in, raising the hair on my skin. I looked down and rubbed my arm with a chuckle. “Ya gave me goosies.” Then I looked up and pointed at the crescent moon. “Guess we can’t test the theory.”
She smiled, still looking ahead. “Guess not.”
I looked at her again with a squint, realizing Kai was a mystery, one I desperately wanted to solve. “You believe in that stuff, yeah? The supernatural?”
“I’d like to believe our late loved ones are looking down on us, celebrating in our accomplishments, guiding us when we’re struggling the most. That kind of thing.”
That made me think of all the resistance Kai was putting into rejecting the offer she’d been given with Angst and Grace. “And do you think they’re helping you now with your struggles?”
She stared out into the night for a moment before speaking. “Yes. I’m just trying to understand it all. Why am I being given all the signs to do something that feels so painful? I just… can’t seem to make sense of it.”
I bent my brows together. “So… let me get this all straight. After your father passed, you became afraid of boats? So… you’re afraid of a cruise ship but not dangling hundreds of feet above a city street?”
An amused smile lit her face as she glanced at me. “No, Sebastian. I’m not afraid of heights. I’m not afraid of swimming pools or water slides. I used to go to the beach all the time in high school. It’s nothing like that. I guess it’s more about the memories. I don’t want to go back there. To that night. To the place that killed my father. Everyone called it a freak accident because he’d been in situations like that hundreds of times. Worse than that, even.” She shivered. “And there were no signs of him hitting his head or anything. He just… fell overboard and never returned.”
“But they know he—” I swallowed, unable to say the words.
“Died?” she answered for me. Then she nodded. “They found his body not far from where I reported our coordinates.”
This time, it was me who shivered. “Wait.” My chest felt heavy. “You were there too?”
She barely nodded, like even admitting anything about that night was painful, and my heart sank deeper.
“Oh, Kai. I’m so sorry. Now I feel like a complete arse.”
Despite the serious talk, she seemed to be in good spirits. I’d never understood how eyes could smile before that moment, but Kai’s were doing it.
“Took you long enough,” she said.
I chuckled and held my arms up in defense. “You win that one, but it’s the only jab I’ll allow.”
The smile resting on her face told me she was pleased with herself. “We’ll see about that.”
I paused, wanting to make sure I was hearing her right. “So you’ll do it? You’ll join the cast?”
She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I don’t know, Sebastian. The whole idea of being out there somewhere in the middle of the ocean on a boat, no matter the size, is still freaking me out.”
“It’s okay to be afraid.”
“My dad was never afraid. He was so brave, confident. I always wanted to be just like him when I grew up—a circumnavigator sailing around the world, facing one challenge after the next, no two journeys identical. As soon as I was old enough to help him, I did everything I could.”
“Really? I figured you were a dancer since the moment you could walk.”
She shook her head. “Nope. I didn’t even know I loved to dance yet. Most of my time was spent with him and with nature.” She closed her eyes as a serene look played on her face. “I can still hear the slap of the waves hitting the belly of the boat when nights got a little rocky. And how the salty air tasted on my tongue.” She opened her eyes and looked up. “Every night, I would just stare into the water at the moon’s reflection and imagine we were sailing through a sea of diamonds.” The way she spoke was wistful, as though she missed the ocean more than she feared it.
“Maybe it’s time to go back to your roots, Kai. Maybe the ocean misses you too.”
She bent her brows together and shook her head. “It’s not that easy.”
“Maybe not, but maybe it’ll be worth it.” I figured Kai was quick to challenge others, so maybe she needed to challenge herself instead. “I’ve seen your work history, and it’s all the same. Concert world tours. Music videos. Boy-band reunion tour. Award shows. Commercials. Need I go on?”