Cayden’s POV
She was going on a date. A date. Without me. She was going on a date without me. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I know I royally messed things up between us three years ago, but we had been making so much progress. She had lived with me for a month at that point and things couldn’t be better. Things were like they were before I cheated except for the fact that we weren’t dating. We flirted all the time and I was constantly taking her and the boys out when I wasn’t in school or at practice. I thought we were really making progress and getting somewhere. I guess I was wrong.
“Okay, the boys are sleeping and Tyson will be here any minute. Are you sure you don’t mind watching them while I go?” she asked as she walked into the room.
“Of course,” I answered shortly, trying to hide the fact that I really wasn’t okay with it, but I think I failed.
She stood in the doorway acting all jittery. I watched her as she paced slightly in the doorway. The dress she had on made my heartbeat speed up. It was midnight blue and it ended right above her knees. The straps were thin and rested on her small shoulders. It was tight at the top but flowed out right below her bust. She looked beautiful and I couldn’t help but feel pained that it wasn’t for me.
The doorbell rang and she hurried to it, practically jumping in excitement. I sighed as I looked up and saw the guy she was going on her date with. She was all smiles and she said bye before she left the house with him. I let my head fall into my hands as I heard the sounds of his car driving away. I ran my fingers through my hair, wondering how I ever let things get this bad.
Standing up, I made my way to my sons’ room. Opening the door quietly, I slipped into the room. A broad smile formed on my face as I watched the two of them sleep. I sat down on the floor between their beds, looking from one to the other. I couldn’t believe how much my life had changed in a few short months. I never knew it was possible to love someone so much that I would gladly give my life for them until my sons. They had me wrapped around their little fingers since the very first time I saw them and I was perfectly okay with that. I loved those two little boys more than anything in the world and I would kill anyone who tried to hurt them.
After a while, I stood up and placed a kiss on their foreheads before leaving their room. I walked down the hall to Kenzi’s room and opened her door. I knew she’d hate it if she knew I was in her room without permission, but I wasn’t there to snoop. I walked over to her closet and pulled out the box I knew was in there. Sitting next to the box was a framed picture that I hadn’t seen in years. Setting the box down gently on the floor, I hoisted the framed picture into the air in front of me.
The picture was taken five years ago, on my fifteenth birthday. It was a Saturday and we were at the beach. My family was there along with Kenzi and her family, Tegan and her family, and Liam and his family. Birthdays had always been a big deal for us and this one was no exception. Kenzi and I had started dating about two weeks before and everything was going great. The picture was taken towards the end of the day, when the sun was starting to set. We were standing on the shoreline and I was standing in front of her with my arms wrapped around her slender waist. She was leaning back into me with her head rested on my chest. Her head was tilted to the side, looking up at me, a dazzling smile on her face. My smile mirrored hers as I looked down at her. It was that day that I realized I was in love with Makenzi Marie Fox and I always would be.
I gently put the picture back before taking the box and walking into the living room with it. I sank down to the floor and opened the top of the box, smiling as all the pictures came into my sight. The ones on the top were of Cain and Asher. I smiled as I filtered through them, loving the fact that they were mine. The pictures were mostly of just the boys but some had other people in them, too. I recognized James, Jen, and Parker in some of them. Others had Kenzi’s family and a couple had Tegan in them. All of the pictures were from when Kenzi was in Arizona. She had taken hundreds of pictures over the last few months, but she hadn’t has the time to get them printed off.
Under the pictures of our sons were the pictures of us before everything went bad. The newest one was taken a week before she left. Kenzi, Liam, Tegan, and I had gone to the lake at the edge of town. The lake has always been one of those things that you have to know exactly where it is and where to go or else you won’t be able to find it. We had spent the day swinging into the lake on the rope that Easton and Talon had tied when they were kids. The camera had been passed between us the entire day as we took turns taking pictures. Finally, when we all wanted to jump into the lake, we had wedged the camera in the branch of a tree and set the timer on it to take pictures every twenty seconds.
I was about to pick up another picture when I heard a noise from my sons’ room that made me stop. It sounded like crying so I quickly jumped to my feet, making the pictures scatter all over the ground. In two seconds, I was opening the door to their room, head whipping back and forth around the room, trying to figure out what was going on. My gaze softened when I saw Cain lying on his bed, curled up in a ball. He was whimpering and he looked flushed. Quickly, I scooped him into my arms and took him to the living room so I didn’t wake Asher.
“Hey buddy, what’s wrong?” I asked in a soothing voice, shifting him in my arms.
He didn’t answer; instead, he whimpered some more. Sighing, I brought my lips to his forehead, knowing it was the best way to check for a fever. When my lips came into contact with his head, they were met with intense heat. I pulled back quickly and looked down at my son, not having a clue what to do.
“Seems like you’re sick little guy. Let’s go see what we can do for it,” I said as he buried his head in the crook of my neck.
I walked to the bathroom in the hallway, heading straight for the medicine cabinet. I knew that’s where Kenzi put all the medicine and I needed something for my son. I found quite a few bottles that I could probably use, but I didn’t know which one to use or which one would work the best. I knew I needed to find something soon because Cain whimpering in my ear was just about killing me.
Frustrated, I scooped the bottles up in my hand and walked back to the living room. I dumped them on the coffee table before heading to the hall closet and grabbing a couple blankets. When I walked back into the living room, I laid Cain down on the couch and covered him up with the blankets, attempting to try and break the fever. I sat on the floor next to him and grabbed my phone; calling the one person I knew would be able to help me.
“Cayden? Is everything okay?” Mom asked as soon as she answered the phone, making me feel a pang of regret. I guess I really don’t call my Momma as much as I should.
“Cain has a fever, Momma and I don’t know what to do. I’ve got him on the couch under a couple blankets to try and break the fever. I found a few bottles of medicine, but I don’t know which one to use or which one would work best. I need help Momma,” I explained, sounding slightly panicked. I knew I was probably freaking out over nothing, but I couldn’t help it. This was my baby and he was in pain.
“Where’s Kenzi?” she asked, sounding slightly confused.
“She’s on a date. I should probably call her but you were the first one that popped into my head,” I answered, glancing up at my son. He was still whimpering as he lied curled up on the couch.
“Well what are the bottles?” she asked in a soothing voice. I knew she was trying to get me to calm down while she helped me and I couldn’t be more grateful.
I named off the names on the bottles and she told me which one would work best.
“That’s what we always used on you kids and it always worked. Just follow the instructions and you’ll be fine. You should find a thermometer and take his temperature to make sure it’s not too bad. You might also want to go check on Asher,” Momma advised.
I made sure Cain wasn’t going to fall off the couch before I went back into the bathroom to grab the baby thermometer. I hurried back into the living room and took his temperature, seeing that it was 100.1.
“That’s not good baby. Why don’t you take him down to the hospital? You might not need to but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If Asher’s temperature is normal, make sure you don’t take him with you. You don’t want him getting sick, too,” Mom said once I relayed all the information to her.
“Okay. Thanks Momma. I’ll call you later and let you know what’s going on,” I said.
“Okay. Bye baby. I love you.”
“Love you too Momma. Bye.”
I hung up the phone before going to check on Asher. Once I made sure he didn’t have a fever, I followed the directions and gave Cain the recommended dosage before pulling my phone back out. I scrolled to Kasper’s name and hit the green button, hoping he wasn’t busy so he could watch Asher.
“What’s up dude?” Kasper answered, speaking a little loudly to be heard over the background noise.
“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked, rubbing my hand in soothing circles on my baby’s back.
“I’m at my house with my sisters. I offered to take them for the weekend so my parents could have some time for themselves. Why?” he answered just as I heard his youngest sister, Emma, call his name.
“Do you think you can watch Asher for me? Cain has a fever and Mom said it’d be best to take him to the hospital and I don’t want Asher to get sick, too,” I asked.
“Of course, man. I’ll leave now to go get him. I’ll see you in a minute,” he answered before hanging up the phone.
I kissed Cain’s forehead before walking into my sons’ room to get Asher. He was curled up in a tiny ball and I reached down to scoop him into my arms. He grumbled in his sleep before repositioning himself until he was comfortable again. I smiled and walked back into the living room. Cain looked like he was asleep but I wasn’t sure if he was actually asleep or just trying to cope with his fever. There was a knock on the door and then Kasper walked in.
“Whoa. He does look sick,’ Kasper said, looking at Cain as he shut the door behind him.
“Yeah, that’s why we’re going to the hospital. Thank you for taking Asher. I’d hate for him to get sick, too,” I said.
“No problem, man. I don’t mind at all. Just call me when you find out what’s going on. I have to get back to my sisters, though,” he responded.
I nodded and kissed Asher’s forehead before passing him over to Kasper. Asher once again squirmed until he was comfortable, but didn’t wake up. Kasper waved at me before turning around and walking back out the door. I turned to Cain and scooped him into my arms before tucking my phone and wallet into my pockets and swiping my keys off the table.
“Come on buddy. Let’s go get you checked out,” I murmured to him as I walked out of the house.
I buckled him in his car seat before slipping behind the wheel. I backed out of my driveway and started driving towards the nearest hospital. I pulled my phone out to call Kenzi, knowing she’d kill me if I didn’t call her.
“I’m on a date, what do you want?” she hissed as she answered the phone.
“I know Kenz and I’m really sorry for interrupting. I figured you’d want to know that I’m taking Cain to the hospital. He has a high fever and Momma said it’d be best to take him to the hospital,” I commented.
“Is he okay? What about Asher? Are my babies okay?” she asked frantically, the concern evident in her voice.
“Calm down Kenzi. Get your date to take you to the hospital and meet me there. Kasper has Asher so he’s fine. Just meet me at the hospital,” I soothed, trying to keep my own emotions under control.
“Okay. I’ll see you soon,” she said before hanging up the phone.
“Daddy,” Cain whined from the backseat, sounding like he was in pain.
“Hold on baby. We’re getting you help so you can get better,” I soothed, reaching a hand back to grab his hand.
Ten minutes later, I was pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. I parked as close to the building as I could before hurriedly shutting my truck off and jumping out. I grabbed Cain from the back, rewrapping the thick blanket around him. I held him close to my body as I hurried inside, pressing my lips against his forehead on the way to check his temperature. I quickened my pace when I realized his head felt hotter than before.
“Can I help you sir?” the lady behind the desk asked as I rushed up to her.
“Yes, my son has a fever. When I checked it before we left the house, it was at 100.1 and it feels like it’s gotten higher,” I explained, tightening my grip on Cain, who had started to cry.
“Okay, sir. Fill out these forms here. Someone will be with you once we get these back,” she said, handing me a clipboard and indicating one of the chairs behind me.
Cursing to myself, I snatched the clipboard out of the lady’s hand and stalked to a chair. I set the board on the arm and started filling it out as I tried to soothe my crying son. Hearing him cry like that was literally breaking my heart and I hated it. I wanted him to be okay and I wished with every fiber of my being that I could be the one going through the pain instead of him.
“Cain!” the familiar voice of Kenzi yelled.
Looking up, I saw her rushing towards me with her date following behind her. Her face was contorted with pain, sadness, and worry, which made my heart break even more.
“Cain, baby,” she said as she sat next to me and took our still crying son into her arms.
“What did they say?” she asked me as I continued filling out all the forms.
“Nothing. I have to give these forms back before a doctor can look at him,” I answered, reaching over and taking my son’s hand.
“Would you mind telling me what is going on? I’d kind of like to know why our date was interrupted and why we are now in a hospital waiting room,” her date asked, making it obvious that he was irritated and quite possibly mad.
“As you can see, my son is sick and I need to be here. I think my son is just a bit more important than our date,” Kenzi answered, holding Cain against her chest as she rubbed soothing circles on his back.
“You have a son?!” the guy exclaimed.
“I have two. Twin boys,” she answered.
I tuned the guy out as he started going on a little rampage and focused on getting the forms filled out. When that was done, I took them back to the lady behind the desk who told me a doctor would be out as soon as they can. When I made it back to my seat, Kenzi’s date was still on his rampage and I could see what it was doing to Kenzi. She was stressed enough with Cain being sick and this guy was making it worse. She was starting to become pale and her lip was about to start bleeding from where she was biting it so hard. Anger started to bubble up in my body and I knew I needed to stop this.
“We need to talk,” I growled, grabbing the guy by his arm and hauling him outside.
“What the fu-,” he started to protest, but I cut him off.
“I don’t care what you have to say dude. You just need to listen. Kenzi’s a mom, yes. She’s a damn good one, too, and she doesn’t need you to make her feel bad for being a mother. Did you ever think that there might be a reason she didn’t tell you about our sons?” I asked, realizing too late that I made a mistake.
“Wait, you’re the father of her kids? And you live with her?” he asked, outraged.
“That’s not what’s important right now. Right now, you need to leave and let us take care of our son. You can talk to her later and sort everything out, but she doesn’t need you putting more stress on her at the moment,” I said, pointing towards the parking lot.
I could see that he wanted to protest, but instead he shot me a glare and stalked off towards his car.
“Where’d Tyson go?” Kenzi asked when she noticed I walked back in alone.
“Home. I didn’t think you needed the added stress so I told him you guys could work it all out later,” I answered, reaching over to rub Cain’s back.
She gave me a grateful smile before checking our baby’s temperature again.
Two hours later, Cain was still crying and we hadn’t seen a doctor yet. I was angry and I knew the receptionist was getting angry with me since I’d go yell at her every ten minutes or so. I pulled out my phone to check the time when an idea came to me. I scrolled through my phone until I came across Jeremy’s name. Jeremy’s my cousin that was Kenzi’s dad’s doctor and I thought he might be able to help.
“Cayden, I’m working. I can’t talk right now,” he said after I called him for the fourth time.
“I know Jere and I’m sorry, but I need your help,” I said as I walked away so I could hear Jeremy over Cain’s cries.
“Is that one of the boys? What’s wrong Cayden?” he asked, sounding worried.
“Yeah, it’s Cain. He has a high fever and we’ve been at the hospital for over two hours waiting for someone to check him out. You wouldn’t happen to know anybody here that could help us, would you?” I asked.
“I know a few people there. Dr. Brown should be working tonight. I’ll give him a call. Let me know what’s up with Cain when you find out, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you Jeremy. I really appreciate it.”
Ten minutes later, we were being called back into the room to get Cain checked out. Dr. Brown was very friendly and helpful and he was being careful to not hurt my son even more. After an hour, it was concluded that Cain had a simple cold along with an ear infection. He was prescribed antibiotics and some pain medication. It was about two in the morning when we walked out of the hospital and to my truck. Cain, after being given his medication, was passed out in my arms. Kenzi looked dead on her feet so I had my arm wrapped around her to support her.
“Come on baby girl. Let’s get you to bed. I’ll take care of Cain, you get some sleep,” I said, leading her to her room.
I let her go as she climbed in her bed and walked out to the hallway, heading towards my room. I gently laid Cain down under the covers before walking out to the living room. I took my phone out to call Kasper.
“What did you find out?” he asked as soon as he answered the phone.
“He has cold and an ear infection. The doctor said he’ll be fine; we just have to make sure to give him his medication on time. We also have to keep Asher away from him, so I’ve got Cain sleeping in my room,” I answered.
“Well, I’m glad he’s okay.”
“Thanks man. I’m going to come get Asher from you, okay?”
“All right. I’ll see you in a couple minutes.”
I hung up the phone and walked down the street to get my son from Kasper. Asher was still sleeping so I walked back home and tucked him into bed. Once that was done, I checked on Kenzi. I smiled as I saw her in her pajamas half way off her bed. I walked over and gently laid her completely on her bed before tucking the covers around her. After that, I walked back to my room and stripped down to my boxers before climbing into bed. As I pulled the covers over me, Cain shifted in his sleep so he was curled up against my side. I smiled before wrapping him in my arms.
Things were nowhere near perfect between me and Kenzi but it was nights like those that gave me hope that everything would turn out perfectly. Even though I didn’t exactly have Kenzi yet, I was okay with that. I had her as a friend and I had my sons with me. My life was doing really well and I was truly happy for the first time in years.
___________________________________________________________________________
Hope you guys enjoyed it. Tell me what you think!