"Is she dead?"
"Shut up, don't say that."
"It's a valid question."
"Hey, what does this button do?"
"Don't touch that dumbass, it's like you want Drew to kill you."
"Will all of you shut up?!"
"Stop poking her, Kohl."
Voices penetrate my current state of mind, a state in which I'm not here nor there. I just am. I try to open my eyes, but even fluttering my eyelids causes pain to throb in my temple. My hand itches to curl around something, anything, that'll let me know I'm not gone, but even that seems to be an impossible task.
I can sense the presence of multiple people in my room, figuring that I'm in a hospital if the beeping in my ears is anything to go by. One presence stands out though, the one that's on my left side holding my hand. For just a moment, my mind has trouble conjuring up the names of the people who could possibly be here for me. But then, in a barrage of pictures, like a film reel, everything surfaces to mind, and I wonder if Drew is the one holding my hand.
A sharp pain interrupts my train of thought as something presses down on my torso. I feel movement in my hands as my body tries to ward off the pain. The beeping by my head speeds up momentarily.
"I told you to stop poking her, Kohl. She has three broken ribs, you're not helping by poking them repeatedly," Kim's voice scolds, followed by the sound of three consecutive slaps. A chuckle follows the movement, dark and evil.
Adrian's laugh, no doubt.
"Do you think she can hear us?" Lucas's voice pipes up farther away from the others.
"Damn it Lucas, I told you to stop pressing that button!" Hm, what's Mike doing here?
"If none of you shut up, the hospital is going to be experiencing a shortage of rooms." That voice makes a shiver run down my skin and I feel my heart stutter in my chest. It's close, so close I can feel the vibration of it in my body. Drew.
"Ew, why is she smiling like that?" Adrian questions.
"Isn't it obvious? She's having an accident. Somebody get a nurse and a bedpan." These are the moments in which I question and dread the fact that Kohl is my brother.
"Aw, I thought it'd be something more romantic, like the realization that Drew's sitting next to her, holding her hand." Ruby, you're the realest. At least someone knows me well.
"That's stupid." Kohl retorts.
"That's why you don't have a girl," Adrian snorts.
"Don't listen to him, Kohl. You're a great catch." Lucas's and Kohl's bromance seems to be in full bloom still.
"Is that a metaphor or something?" Adrian deadpans before chuckling maniacally. I wish I was awake to give him props on that one.
"Dude?!" Lucas and Kohl shout simultaneously.
"Would all of you just go home?" The grip on my hand tightens as Drew lets out a long sigh. I wish I could reassure him that everything is okay, but words fail me in my current state. Concentrating, I will my hand to show him some sort of response and manage to squeeze back lightly. I can feel his smile rather than see it, and a moment later I feel his breath on my neck.
"You need to wake up, cupcake. I'm about to kill your brother." His voice is a melody to my ears.
"Ugh, are they going to be doing this all night?" Mike sounds like his usually cheery self.
"Why did they even put you guys in the same room?" Adrian grumbles from some corner in the room.
"You think I want to be here with that klutz of a girl and her love crazed stalker?" I resent that, Mike.
I'm not that big of a klutz.
I wish someone would up Mike's morphine dosage.
To lethal.
"Who are you calling a stalker?" Is it me or did Drew's voice just drop into a completely dark tone? It makes him sound hotter. The room gets eerily quiet and I wish my eyes were open to drink in the expressions on everybody's face.
"You, a stalker? More like psycho, big brother." Oh Sammy, you'd be the only brave one to make this observation out loud. I can practically hear Drew roll his eyes skyward.
"When the hell is this shorty going to wake up so I can go home?" Lucas blurts out.
"Just go home then." Ruby's tone kind of makes me think there's some unresolved issues with her and Lucas. I'm relatively unconscious in a hospital bed and I still felt that burn. Maybe this will make Lucas think twice before he sort of pulls a gun out on her father, or sends him a stripper gram. I still can't wrap my mind on what possessed him to do such an idiotic thing.
"Ouch." At least Adrian is in a state in which he's able to point this out loudly and clearly.
Drew's hand tightens a bit on mine before his thumb begins to stroke lazy circles on my skin, perhaps an unconscious move but comforting all the same. Thoughts of Lucy finally race to mind and my heartbeat stops momentarily before speeding up in rising panic. Where is she? Is she okay? And who is looking after my baby? The beeping in my ear speeds up with my rising panic and the frantic beating of my heart.
"Khloe, calm down." I can feel Drew's breath on my face, hear the worry clearly in his voice. "She's okay," he finally whispers. His voice breaks a little, at my pain or at the thought of the dangers the little angel at home could face, I don't know. But, the distraught in his voice feels like he carries my pain and his. As if his heart has taken the duty to feel for me while I'm unavailable.
"Khloe," his voice is nothing but a mangled whisper.
There are monumental moments in life when certain things hit you like a freight train. Where things become infallible and you know nothing you do will ever change them. The moment in which I was told my parents were dead and the moment in which I realized they really were not coming back. Two very different dates, but both devastating.
The moment I realized that no matter how you cook them, brussel sprouts will never be cool, or tasty. The moment in which you bleach your favorite jeans and nothing you do will change that fact.
Finally, the moment in which I realize I'll never meet someone like Drew in my life. The realization has my eyes fluttering open, eager to land on his. The moment his eyes connect with mine and murder my heart beat with the love shining in them. The way time stops as he brushes his lips against the hand he's holding. The way my breath escapes me as he leans his forehead against mine before his lips ghost a kiss there too. The way he looks at me with those intoxicating eyes, his expression telling me that I hold his world in my hands. The moment my heart whispers there will be no one else but Drew.
The world will tell you to embrace yourself, to love yourself for others to love you. But sometimes, it shuns you for giving in to its pretty words. Truth is, someone out there for whatever reason will dislike the person you are. They don't tell you that being who you are will also be your greatest tragedy at some point in your life. It's the same when it comes to love. They'll tell you that love has no age, and that it can break every boundary. But, at our age, they'll tell you that love is an illusion. They'll tell us we're too young, that our hearts are incapable. That we're not mature enough.
In this moment, looking at Drew, his gaze zeroed in on mine, I knew we had a long road ahead of us. My mind suddenly goes back to the first time I saw the blue eyed bastard sitting next to me, the first time I heard his voice. We'll just skip over the fact that I completely freaked out that time and almost peed my pants. It's more romantic that way. Had I known that my life was going to change so drastically with the entrance of this being? I smile at my memories, and almost as if he knows what I'm thinking, Drew chuckles next to me.
"It's like they're reading each other's minds," Kohl's awed whisper breaks the spell, much like everything he touches. Despite myself, I roll my eyes, even if the one that feels like it's hanging halfway out protests.
"I love you." The words escape my mouth like runaway convicts, breaking the chains that held them to my heart. This would be a beautiful moment except I'm Khloe Mason and the words all come out in a rush. So, instead of an invigorating proclamation of love, my words sound like 'I'll burp you'. I'll never forget the moment Drew tilts his head and looks up at me in confusion, or the way his eyes widen in realization. Because in the time we've been together he's come to know me and my antics.
Yeah, I'll never forget the moment he gathers both of my hands in his. Kissing each palm, while rubbing his thumbs on my skin before looking up at me once again. "I fucking love you, Khloe."
Yeah, these moments I'll never forget.
I wouldn't even dare forget the fake gagging noises Mike makes in the background. Or the way Adrian looks at us with a satisfied smirk on his face while moving his eyebrows suggestively towards Drew and me. Yep, this gang will never change.
Everybody begins to talk loudly and nobody excludes Mike, well, except Adrian. A while later, Claire finally makes it with a restless Lucy in her arms, making me squeal like the happiest piglet in the pen. Why I'd use that to describe myself, I wouldn't know. Roger trails in behind her and I don't mist the film of tears in the eyes of my caretakers, who looked like just hours ago were carrying an immense burden on their shoulders.
"Well I'm glad you didn't die." I think this is Adrian's way of telling me he's glad I'm okay. The room grows quiet before everyone nods their agreement. Except Drew, he just tightens his grip on my hand.
"Yeah, I'm glad I didn't die either," I murmur a bit awkwardly. Did Adrian really have to bring that up? I guess this is just his way of bringing us all back to reality in which death is a very possible factor. Drew glares at his friend before hauling himself up and taking a seat on the bed, next to me. At the small squeal from the little girl in my hands, our attention snaps towards her. In the time of caring for the child I've come to realize that she loves the attention, and we love giving it to her. She holds her hands out for Drew, who takes her without hesitation and plops her on his knee.
The sight of them together causes a warm feeling to spread from my chest down to my toes. At first I think I have fire in my veins, but then deduct that it's probably love or something of the sort. Feelings, what can you do about them?
We stay in the room together for a long while later, reveling in the fact that we're all alive and we defeated the bad guy. Like a victorious Justice League meeting.
If those exist.
Well, that is until Derek and his cop friend, Mikhael, barge into the room with grimaces on their faces. Everybody in the room stiffens before straightening up, including me. Which is a feat considering I've got bruised ribs and am a second from knocking out due to the medicine making its way through my body. The hiss of pain that runs away from my parted lips does not go unnoticed by Drew, the ever attentive gentleman.
"What's going on?" Kohl is the one to break the silence. Drew leans closer to me and I wave him away in response to the unasked question. Derek heaves a sigh before running a hand through his brown hair.
"We've got bad news." His partner nods in agreement.
"No shit," Adrian speaks up with a snort.
Suffice to say, he's quite the impatient fellow.
"What Derek is trying to say," Mikhael speaks up. "Is that we've run into some trouble. You're uncle managed to persuade the cop transferring him to a facility to help him escape." He directs that last bit at me and I flinch at the reminder that I share DNA with that jerk.
Everything is quiet for a moment...
Wait for it...
"What the fuck are you guys good for if you fuck up the one thing you're supposed to do?" Adrian rams his fist into the wall behind him and I cringe.
"I'm trying not to respond like my boyfriend, but I hope you do mean to tell us that you've already taken matters into your hands. They are being searched for?" Sammy clenches her fists on her lap from her seat, she sounds calm but there's a deadly glint in her eyes.
Sammy and Adrian, more like Bonnie and Clyde.
Without the being shot down to their deaths in the end thing, of course.
"A couple of guys managed to trail them to a private air strip but couldn't get to them before take-off. They could be anywhere now, but we have alerted local governments along with sending their profiles to them." Derek looks defeated and I smile in his direction to deflect some of the guilt I can see he's carrying. It's not his fault, he's not the one who decided to be corrupt.
My head snaps up to Drew, who's been eerily calm as all of this ensued. Not his usual reaction. He firmly, but gently, strengthens his grip on Lucy before looking towards me. I nod and open my arms for the baby, who's innocently unknowing in all of this. After placing the baby in my hands he stands up to his full imposing form, glaring at the cops in front of him.
"What are we supposed to do now?" His voice is thunderous, murderous really. It holds all of the disdain he clearly feels for this situation. The anger and menace in his voice towards the person who clearly harmed his family causes even me to cower. Without giving it a second thought, my hand instinctively reaches out until my fingers graze his. As natural as his lungs fighting for oxygen, his hand envelops mine, taking and giving the strength we both need.
"We can only wait now." Mikhael's voice conveys a hope the rest of us clearly don't feel, but must grasp onto to survive. Clearly displeased with the situation, I watch as Drew's back leaves the scene. I don't take it personally because I now know this is how he deals with situations he can't control. Reminds me of an annoying brother who uses humor as a resort for anything going haywire. The silence left in the room after the cops make their retreat is very much palpable and douses the small sense of calm everyone had found. Soon, everyone makes their quiet retreats, choosing to deal with these news in their own way.
Claire comes a while later and after fretting over me for a bit she decided to take the baby and look after her. Roger doesn't fail to come to aid, his silent and distant attitude doesn't keep him from leaning down to place a fatherly kiss on my forehead. His whispered words of sorrow bringing tears to my eyes. Kohl and I may have lost our parents to a cruel twist of fate, but we had hell of replacements.
The days go by slowly with the hope of receiving some good news, but eventually everyone has to fall into their own lives. Time is a constant that spares no one after all. Drew rarely leaves my side, much to Mike's chagrin. His hold on me both, emotionally and physically, only strengthens with time. Bruises color my skin and show signs of fading with the days that go by, and here I was beginning to like looking like a splattered canvas.
A week later, Mike and I are released from the hospital. I make the decision to take Mike to my home, after all he has no one left and we are cousins. He's welcomed in warmly by Claire, and the others make no objection. That is until Adrian fakes a smile and goes to pat him in the back in welcome. Had I been able to predict that Adrian would jab his thumb into Mike's wound, I'd have stopped him. Mike, never one to back down, merely clenches his teeth and withholds a hiss of pain. I glare at Adrian as Claire leads my cousin to his new room.
"Why'd you do that?" Hands land on my shoulders from behind and by the way my blood rushes, I know it's Drew.
"Why'd you bring him here?" Adrian retorts, returning my glare in earnest.
"He has nowhere else to go," I point out.
"That's what bridges are for." And those are the last words from the heartless bastard before he stomps away. I'm almost tempted to narrate in a deep voice..fe, fi, fo, fum. I refrain from doing so, though I can't stop the smile that slowly edges out.
Just to taunt him I call out, "For what?"
"For him to live under," he grumbles without looking back, but not missing the opportunity to send me the bird.
"You know they're going to be at each other's throats, right?" Drew's voice is cautionary as well as amused.
I respond with a very lady like snort.
It'll be like rooming with Malfoy and Weasley.
I can't wait.
"Why does it look like you're thinking about Harry Potter again?" I shrug before walking away.
Drew doesn't need to know my thoughts, he's too jealous. And, I don't have the heart to tell him he's nowhere near the boy who lived.
Sorry for taking so long guys. I'll be posting a small epilogue later, but remember there are unanswered questions because I will be writing a sequel. I'll be posting it when I'm done with this one. Though I do need a favor from my fans. I'm looking for a cover for this sequel, if any of you are willing to submit one message me for details and thank you so much.
It may be end for this book, but the story is far from done.
Song on the side: Troye Sivan- Wild