Captivated

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

“You okay, Kensie girl?”

Kennedy glanced up from her half-filled suitcase as her dad stepped into her room. She couldn’t quite remember when her parents’ house in Yanji had stopped feeling like home. Nice as it was to spend this last week of her summer break with her parents, she was ready to head back to Boston.

“How’s the packing going?” her dad asked.

Kennedy grabbed a pile of books and shoved them into her carry-on.

He picked one up. “You’ve been so busy with Ian all summer, we’ve hardly talked. I don’t even know what you’ve been reading lately.”

Kennedy glanced at the title. “That one’s a collection of stories about Christian martyrs. Sandy recommended it.”

Her dad flipped through the pages and frowned. “Not quite light reading, is it?”

Kennedy didn’t respond.

Her dad sat on the edge of her bed. “How are you really doing, Princess?”

She shrugged. “I was hoping to be packed by now, but I’ll have a little time in the morning before we leave for the airport.”

Her dad sighed. “You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

What did he expect her to say? That she’d spent every second during the past two hours remembering the exact feel of Ian’s lips on hers, knowing that their goodbye kiss would be their last? That for all she told Ian about not regretting how close they’d grown this summer, she realized it was all a lie?

Better to have loved and lost? Not even close.

Her dad reached out to touch her cheek, but Kennedy pulled away. “I’m fine,” she snapped then forced a smile to retroactively soften her response. “I’m just a little distracted with packing. That’s all.”

Her dad stood to leave. “Well, as hard as it was, and as much as your mother and I both liked Ian, I’m proud of you for making the right choice.”

The right choice. Her parents must have used that phrase a dozen times since she came home with the news of her breakup, but if Kennedy had really made the right choice, she wouldn’t have started dating an unbeliever in the first place.

What was it about that bonfire in Seoul? That unforgettable moment ...

A summer fling. Kennedy was far from experienced in the dating world, but there was no other name to call it. Still, the phrase certainly didn’t do justice to the intensity of her emotions, either before or after she and Ian broke up.

“Got your passport?” her dad asked from the doorway.

“Yeah.” She’d made this trip between Yanji and Boston over half a dozen times. She knew what she had to pack. It was just a matter of finding the mental energy to do it.

Her phone beeped. She reached over to look at the text, hating herself for hoping it might be from him.

There’s something I want to tell you. Can we meet?

Kennedy knew Ian. Knew he wasn’t the type to back her into a corner to get her to change her mind. He understood they were through. His goodbye kiss would have told her that much even if he hadn’t said so in words.

She glanced at her clock. Her parents would whine about her going out so late, but they couldn’t do much to stop her.

She stared down at her phone, her pulse still slightly elevated at the memory of their parting. She glanced at her suitcase, grabbed a sweater, and typed, Where do you want to meet?