Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 44: Thicker than blood

-"Well your temperature is back to normal, at least."—she said—"I'll get Dr. Mellet in a minute."

The nurse left the room as well, and after the door closed, Alexis turned towards Connor in curiosity, the red beanie she never took off looking a deeper shade of crimson under the lights of the hospital room.

-"Dr. Mellet, he's... Troye and Tyde's dad, isn't he...?"

Connor nodded.

-"And the girl from the lake... she's their sister..."

-"Man, I didn't even know they had a sister...!"—Mikey commented in slight surprise, with both his arms crossed over his chest—"I mean, Yule's not that big, everyone's bound to know one another. Even if Tyde and I aren't, well, the closest of friends... I'm still surprised I hadn't heard of her."

-"Yeah, it's pretty weird..."—Alexis said, then turning towards Connor—"Con, did you really... did you really think she was...?"

Connor bit his lower lip harshly, almost to the point of causing it to bleed. The fresh image of the blonde girl jumping off the pier into the cold black water was still fresh in his mind. At that given time, he was absolutely certain that it couldn't be any other than his older long-lost sister, Nicola, despite how improbable that was. Now, it was pretty clear he had been in the wrong.

-"... Maybe I wanted it to be her."—he said—"I was... I was trying to leave... and maybe I wanted to convince myself that I had to save her so that I could stay..."

Alexis' gaze fell to the floor slightly, worrying Connor that he had upset her. However, she took a hold if his hand and squeezed it, showing affection, and helped relax him. Then, Connor remembered the note he had left Alexis back at the house when he was planning on running away.

-"Al..."—he said, in something similar to a careful whisper—"Listen, about the note I left behind..."

Connor stopped, suddenly thinking how Mikey was also there. However Mikey didn't seem confused, and Alexis spoked up.

-"It's okay; I showed the note to Mikey."—she explained—"Not Grace, though. I didn't... I didn't want to worry her too much..."

Connor nodded, and went on.

-"Listen, I'm very sorry. I made it seem like I was abandoning you and giving you the blame, and that wasn't my intention, I—"

-"Con, please. It's alright...! I... I'm just happy you are here...!"—she said with a grin, and a sparkle of crystal tears in her eyes—"The minute I found the note, I panicked! I didn't know what to do! It was Mikey here who helped me to pull it together, and contact the police and everything to find you..."

Connor then turned to Mikey. Once again, the younger boy had saved his butt.

-"Thank you, Mikey."—he said—"That was a very stupid thing I did. I feel like I don't do anything but cause you trouble."

At this moment, Mikey cleared his throat.

-"Hehe, any time, Con. Well, yeah, that was a very stupid thing you were doing..."—he said—"But if you hadn't, then you wouldn't have been there to save her in the first place."

Connor let Mikey's idea sink in. He hadn't seen it like that. If he hadn't been on his way out of Yule, he wouldn't have run into Troye's sister.

And if he hadn't thought she was Nicola, then perhaps...

The sound of the door opening slightly interrupted his trail of thought, and inside the room entered a couple of faces he wasn't expecting to see at all; none other than Troye Sivan and Tyde Levi, both looking extremely cautious and dubitative on whether to enter the room or not. The minute Connor's eyes met Troye's, he could feel how his cheeks were going paler and he grasped on to the bed sheets out of sheer nervousness. Connor didn't notice this almost automatic reaction; Mikey, on the other hand, had seen his change of demeanor from the corner of his eye.