Kai's Pov
Months later
"Let me see your chest," Victoria said, as I stood on a scale, while in her office, completing my monthly check-up. I raised my shirt, so she could see the progress my burns and bruises had been making. To them, it still looked horrible, but considering it felt much better than a couple of months ago, I wasn't complaining. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," I answered shortly, wanting to get this over with so I could go back home.
"Kai, I need more than that to make sure you're healing properly, you know this."
"Okay um, everything doesn't hurt as much and I'm finally able to move more."
"Do you remember the details of that night?"
"Kinda, yeah."
"How's the feeling in your shoulder?"
"Getting better."
"The headaches?"
"Still there."
"Have you met with the doctor I asked you to?"
"Not yet."
"I'm gonna call Ariana and remind her."
"No, I'll go Victoria, stop."
"You won't take it seriously unless it comes from Ariana."
"That's not true."
"Kai, you need to be a lot more careful with your body. You're moving too reckless now, and Uncle Ryan and Aunt Hazel would've never let this happen and you know that."
"I do, which is why I'm training more to get my body back where it was. I'm fine, Victoria."
"Devyn found something in your heart."
"Well, it's nothing."
"I looked into it and it kinda looks like some kind of disease. I wanna run some more tests on you. Mom told me Aunt Hazel had a heart condition, and I'm wondering if it was genetic."
"One of my doctors a long time ago thought it was one too, turns out it was misleading. I got tested a long time ago, I'm okay."
"Kai—"
"-trust me on that at least."
She didn't make any further comments on it and decided to drop it. "How are our friends?"
"After Yasmin and Arden's funeral, everyone's been doing the best they can to stay in high spirits, but it's still hard on them. Zayn's trying to relearn doing things with his arm, but it's not working like it used to. And you know how hard that is for him, considering he's been training with his arm since he was a kid. Hell, his family is our best family of hitmen and he lost some control of his dominant hand. But Lauren's she's doing amazing, she just gets headaches too and stuff."
"Remind me to schedule an appointment with him."
"He won't come, he's been working nonstop to get complete feeling in his shoulder back."
"He needs a physical therapist."
"Yeah, well how is Matt and Willow?"
"They're fine," Victoria sighed, taking a seat in her chair as I sat back on the hospital bed. "I still don't know how to thank Lauren, she literally saved them."
"I know," I added, thinking about the current love triangle that was still going on. Lauren and I hadn't spoken much and that was only because she didn't wanna talk to me after the explosion. Which I could understand since it took Ari two weeks to even look at me. I couldn't deny that Lauren and I had something unfinished between us, but my heart was still wholeheartedly with Ariana, and I think that's what hurt her most too.
"Ariana's special, Kai."
"I know she is."
"Then you need to hold onto her, she's waited on you for months, years even. Whatever you do, you can't let that go."
"She's started to go to therapy Vic, after the explosion. Ari said it brought back memories of the incident and she's been a bit distant ever since."
"Can I ask you something?" She said, turning to me as my eyes met hers. "Max is dead, Otto is who knows where, Matt and Willow are back. There hasn't been anything going on with our businesses in years, so what I'm trying to say is, would you ever consider walking away from this for Ari?"
"Victoria, this is like... this is a family legacy, I don't know. I care about her and I love her, but it's the last living piece of my parents."
"The last piece of our parents is us."
"Victoria you don't understand—"
Victoria stood up, slamming her clipboard down on her desk. "-because I only found out they were my parents too when it was too late! I'm tired of feeling left out and pushed to the side about you and things like this, I wish I could go back in time and spend more time with them but we can't. And you jeopardize our parent's legacy every time you put your life on the line, you were technically their only known daughter their entire lives, and you constantly try to throw that away. Grow the fuck up and walk away from this life, before Ariana ends up like him and her, or even better, you do!" She yelled, inches away from my face. Her mouth hung agape as she had just realized what she said, but it was too late.
"I won't let someone who was never cut out for any of this tell me to grow up. Why do you think Matt and Willow practically handed me their share of the Grey business over to me all those years ago? Because you can't fucking handle it Victoria, and for some reason, you think you're so cut out for it. You were raised with both parents, friends, family, all that shit, on a silver fucking spoon. Everything was stripped away from me, so don't tell me who the fuck I'm gonna end up like, because I had no one but at least I am some fucking body. You relied on your parents and now that they're unable to take care of you, you crack down on my life and how I live. You grow the fuck up."
"You know what? You don't even deserve anyone, you're a fucking dick to everyone no matter what. Get the fuck out, and leave me, my daughter, and my parents alone before we end up dead, just like everyone else who comes around you."
I looked at her for a couple more seconds, letting out a sarcastic laugh, before grabbing my shit and walking out of the office.
Part of me was hurt by her words, wondering how long she'd been meaning to say that, but another half of me was angry, because not only did I need to hear that, I needed to hear it from someone like her in my life.
I hadn't been realizing the effect of my actions on others, so I could only think about what Ariana was going through on my way home. I wasn't exactly worried about Victoria and I, because no matter what happened between us, it would never come between the bond we had.
When I finally made it home, I was more hurt than anything. I didn't even have the energy to be mad because she was right.
Ariana was home too, watching a movie when I had first walked in.
"Hey, how was your checkup?" She asked, as soon as I walked in, getting up from her spot on the couch to hug me like she always did.
I didn't even get a chance to immediately reply, because as soon as our eyes met, I could feel the tears I had been holding back, finally drop. She wasted no time, embracing me in a hug, as I wrapped my arms around her back.
"Baby, oh my god," Ariana whispered, rubbing my back. "It's okay," She repeated, over and over again.
"Ariana, I'm just... so fucking sorry." I let out, in between bursts of tears. I hadn't cried in so long, so it was overwhelming trying to breathe in between cries and huffs. "I just feel like I cause so much damage, Ariana... fuck... I don't mean to hurt you the way that I do... or anyone else. But I do, and it hurts me knowing that... My parents are gone, Kehlani, Mac, Yasmin, Arden, I'm losing Willow and Matt, and I just feel like eventually, I'll lose you too."
"You won't, okay? Their deaths aren't your fault baby, they don't blame you for it either, none of us do because we know that you love us and that you don't mean to hurt us. We just care about you, more than you know so sometimes the things you do, hurt us back."
"I can't keep hurting you though Ariana... I can't give up the way that I live and that's not good for us."
"I'm not asking you to. I know how important it is for you to follow in your parents' footsteps, I know the risks I take when I'm beside you in all of this. But you have to let me in eventually, no more trying to 'protect me', we're partners in more than just business, Kai. The life that you live isn't what hurts me, it's the fact you make these decisions without caring about the consequences of it all. Cole told me you knew that Otto knew you guys were there that night, that almost cost your life and everyone else's. Victoria is right, you can't keep being so careless."
"I know." I sniffed, knowing her shirt was ruined after my tears.
"But I want much more out of the life that we're building together, I don't want it to be so involved in the business. I want to get married one day, I want kids, I want an actual life with you. And as much as we quote Bonnie and Clyde, I don't wanna end up like them. I want what Ryan and Hazel had, the life they were able to give you."
"I don't know if I can have kids, Ari, or if I can even get married to you. I fucked up so much over these past years that we've been apart, and there are just so many more factors than what you think. Otto and Max are nothing, compared to what else is and will be gunning for me. They'll hurt one of you guys if they can't hurt me."
"But you'd form a life with Lauren, right? Why am I any different, Kai? Why is it that everyone else can be beside you and 'accept the risks' of your lifestyle but when I do it, you turn your back on me?!"
"I don't want a life with Lauren, that's the difference between you and her. With Lauren, there was no life, we had nothing, so we had nothing to lose. Ariana, I'm literally in fucking love with you, I cannot put myself through losing the love of my life again. So I will turn my back on you every time."
"You can't put me through losing you either. So the more you keep pushing me away, I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna fight harder to stay in your life. I'm not going anywhere, no matter what you or anyone else says. I'm in love with you too, and I've been since we were Juniors in high school, whatever comes with you, I'll just have to accept it."
"Sometimes you feel like an addiction," I mumbled, resting my head against hers. "And I don't know whether that's good or bad."
"Please, don't ever let me go."