Chained To Me: A Billionaire Enemies To Lovers Romance

Chapter 43 -Aston

In the private plane on the way to Seattle, Everly seems like a nervous wreck.

I want to comfort her, to say things that might help, but words escape me.

I know she's thinking about her sister, that she's out in Seattle, alone, possibly in a dangerous situation.

I wish like hell I could take this away from her. I wish I could fix it. But all I can do is be here for her, next to her, offering her my silent strength.

She folds and unfolds a napkin as she nervously looks out the window.

"What if we don't find her?" she asks. "What if we're too late?"

"We'll find her." My voice is a low growl. "We'll make sure she's safe."

The truth is, I'm determined to find Kaley. But I don't know how these things work. I don't tell Everly that a part of me worries we might be too late.

"Hmm, safe. It's a word I don't normally associate with Kaley. She's been running away since she was fifteen. I've always been the one to save her, find her, and try to keep her out of trouble, but it hasn't been easy.

"What about your parents?" I ask. "Don't they give a damn?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. Once we could fend for ourselves, they sort of stopped being concerned with us. I called to tell them I put Kaley in rehab, and they could've cared less."

"They sound like fucking nightmares," I say.

She nods. "It's true. They were never real parents to us, always more concerned about themselves than being any mother or father to us. That's why when I took legal guardianship over Kaley, I determined I would do everything possible to change her life. I thought I could make up for everything that happened when we were kids." She sighs.

"I guess it was harder than you thought it would be."

"Yeah. Kaley didn't want me around. She wanted to do her own thing, which meant doing drugs, escaping her past."

Fuck.

I realize that Everly's been carrying around her own pain. Trying to save someone from drug addiction is no easy task, especially when they don't want your help.

Internally, I wonder how the hell this is going to go down. When we find Kaley, and we will fucking find her, will she want our help?

I hope we can convince her to return to treatment for Everly's sake and Kaley's.

"You know, you're not responsible for how she turned out," I say. "It was your fucked-up parents who did that to her. I know you're trying to save her, but sometimes people must hit rock bottom before seeking help."

A tear falls down her beautiful cheek. "I don't think I could bear watching Kaley hit rock bottom. It would ruin me. I love her too much."

"Sometimes hitting rock bottom is the only way someone can heal."

"I don't want that for Kaley, but you're right. She might need to fall to find her way back up. I want to go through this for her. I'd take away her burden in a heartbeat."

I grab her hand, wishing I could take away all the pain and badness from her life. "I know you love her, Everly. She has the best fucking big sister in the world. But, in the end, you must prepare yourself for it not to be enough."

She looks at me, tears brimming in her emerald eyes, and I know I've hurt her with my words. Everly wants to save her sister. She would do anything to do that. But I know that with drug addiction, it's sometimes not so simple. It's a beast that you have to tame. You have to conquer it one day at a time. Kaley might not be ready to do that.

She squeezes my hand. "Aston, it has to be enough. I have to be enough for Kaley. I'm all she has. And I refuse to give up on her, to let her die, to let her become another statistic. She's my only family."

"Fuck, angel. I only hope Kaley knows how lucky she is to have you. I promise we'll find her. We'll fix this."

I make the promise to Everly, but inside, I don't know how easy it'll be to bring Kaley back to treatment or even to find her.

I hope that things turn out all right.

I fucking hope.