Return of the Secrets
:.Kody's Pov.:
We sat in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting to hear anything about mom and Hayden. Dad quickly got mom's heart beating again so we got to them both to the hospital as fast as we could. Now Vincent and I were waiting impatiently, neither one of us saying a word as I was biting my nails and he was pacing back and forth in front of me. I looked up at him and I could tell he was pissed.
"Vincent, I'm sorry." I said looking down at my hands in my lap. He froze mid-step and looked at me confused.
"What are you sorry for?" He asked. I took a deep breath.
"Hayden. I let him get to her. I let him get close enough. It shouldn't have..."
"Stop. Now. You have nothing to be sorry for. He did this. Not you. He...I...I don't know if I could ever forgive him if anything happens to Hayden." At that, Vincent turned away from me. I could tell he was close to tears. Vincent didn't have much, and anyone could see that the thought of losing Hayden scared him more than he was letting on.
"This must have been what they felt like last year when I almost died. Scared, not knowing what to do. I hate this." I said. Vincent was about to say something when dad came walking in.
"Dad?" I walked over and stood in front of him. He just looked down at me and shook his head. Mom was gone.
We all silently waited for any news on Hayden. She had been there for over an hour. I was getting restless.
"Hayden Togan's family." We all jumped up at the sound of the doctors voice. Dad was standing front of us.
"I'm her father." He said. "Is she alright?" The doctor seemed to doubt that dad was indeed Hayden's father seems he only looked thirty-five but she smiled anyway.
"She is just fine. She had lost a lot of blood and she needed some stitches but other than that, she's fine. Although she will have to be put on bed rest until we remove the stitches in about two weeks. She can go home tomorrow." She explained. We smiled.
"Can we see her?" Vincent asked. The doctor nodded and she showed us to Hayden's room. Dad thanked the doctor and she closed the door as she left. I was so relieved that she was going to be okay. We could have lost them both and I don't think I would have been able to handle that. From time to time, I'd see dad wipe tears from his eyes as he waited for Hayden to wake up.
This had to be the worst thing he has ever gone through. He just lost the love of his life and he almost lost his daughter too. I just walked over to him and gave him a hug. He was a little shocked but then he just put his arms around me and rested his cheek on my head. I could feel his silent sobs through his chest and I felt tears sting my eyes.
He then put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back to look at me. He smiled at me and chuckled once.
"You look just like her you know." He whispered. I smiled and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Dad?"
:.Hayden's Pov.:
At first, I could only hear voices; I heard dad say something to someone then I began to see shapes and the light was really bright. I just blinked my eyes a couple times and it seemed to clear.
"Dad?" I focused my eyes as everything started taking shape and then I noticed the pain in my side. I tried to sit up but someone's hand held me down. I looked up to see Vincent standing over me and I smiled. I looked around and only saw dad, Kody and Vincent.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Dad asked. I looked over at him and saw that he had been crying. I then looked around and realized I was in a hospital.
"Well my side kills and I'm really tired but I'm okay I guess." I answered. He nodded before walking to the side of my bed and kissing my head.
"Well then we'll let you sleep. I'll explain everything when you wake up." I just nodded and closed my eyes. The last thing I remember before falling asleep was Vincent kissing my hand.
:.Kody's Pov.:
"How do we tell her?" I asked. Dad and I walked down to the cafeteria and grabbed some food while Vincent waited with Hayden.
"Just...tell her. Look there is no easy way to tell someone their...mother died." I just nodded. He was right. We paid for everything and went back upstairs. We walked in to see Hayden had waken up and she was talking to Vincent.
"Hey, how're you doing?" I asked, handing Vincent some food.
"Just groggy and sore but better." She said, smiling.
"Well bad news, kiddo. Two weeks bed rest." Dad said. Hayden began to pout and we just laughed.
"Where's mom?" She suddenly asked and the whole room went silent. I looked up at dad who took a deep breath.
"Hayden, your mother...she uh, she died after Ian attacked you." Her eyes widened and she seemed to be thinking as the news sank in.
"Did...did Ian..."
"No." I defended. "No, he didn't. After I reminded him of the ring, he told us to leave. Loran did it." She just nodded and looked at Vincent, who I could tell was pissed.
"Yeah, but he was part of it. He's just as guilty." Hayden just looked at me.
"I'm not arresting him." Dad suddenly said. We all just looked at him. "He was brainwashed into doing this. He was just going to leave but Loran found him and fed him a lie which he believed. I'm not going to charge him." I am not going to lie, I was super relieved to hear that. I didn't want him to pay for this. I've finally accepted that he isn't coming back and that we'll never be together, but even after everything he's done, I can't bring myself to hate him.
"Davien?" We all turned to see Ralph standing in the doorway. Dad smiled and motioned for him to come in. Ralph nodded once and came to stand next to me.
"My deepest apologies, your highness. I never thought in a million years my brother would do what he did. I just wish I could have done something to save the queen. I'm so sorry." Dad put a hand on Ralph's shoulder.
"Thank you, but you had no way of knowing he was up to something. You have nothing to be sorry for." Dad explained.
"Well, I'm sorry just the same." He went to walk out the door but he stopped and then turned to me. "Ian's staying at my house for a while." Then he was gone. I looked at around and everyone was looking at me.
"What?"
"Go talk to him. We all know you want to." Dad said. I looked at Hayden and she agreed. I sighed and looked at Vincent.
"Let him know I'm going to kick his ass when I see him." I just smiled and walked out.
Two hours later, I found myself outside Ralph's home. I could have just showed up, it'd be faster but I wanted to drive to figure out exactly what it was I wanted to say to him. I still had nothing as I hesitated when I reached the door. I didn't know if I actually want to go through with this. Then the door opened.
"I figured you were talking yourself out of it. He's in the kitchen but I'm going to warn you, he's not the same." Ralph said. I just nodded and went to the kitchen. I looked around and it was the same as I remembered it; the completely white cabinets, counters and appliances and the island is the middle. And there was Ian, sitting, just picking at the label of the beer bottle.
"I wondered when you were going to show up." He said without looking at me.
"I just want to talk, I'm not asking for anything." I said. He just nodded once and motioned for me to sit down. I sat as he got me a beer.
"How's Hayden?" He asked, taking a sip of his. I held my bottle in my hand and I watched the condensation form on the dark glass. Finally, I took a deep breath and looked at Ian.
"She's good. She just woke up and is set to go home tomorrow." He nodded.
"And your mom?"
"She died." I watched him as he refused to make eye contact with me. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" He still wouldn't look at me. We were silent for a few minutes as now we both were picking at beer labels.
"Why did you keep the ring?" I suddenly asked. He stopped with the wet paper and looked at me.
"I forgot it was even there."
"Bull, you changed your jacket since you left. You obviously kept it for a reason. Why?" He thought for a minute then he went to throw his beer away and grabbed another one.
"Why does it even matter? I still have it because it cost me a fortune and I didn't want it to get lost." He said. I didn't believe that for a second, he was way too defensive.
"I'll still calling bullshit, Ian. I want to know why." My voice broke as I was fighting the tears that wanted to fall from my eyes. He dropped his head in his hands and for a second I thought he was going to leave. Then he looked up and he seemed to look different, less mean maybe.
"I honestly don't know." He said, lowering his voice. "I thought about selling it and getting my money back but I bought it for you. So, uh, here, take it. You can sell it, hell you can keep it even though it doesn't mean anything." He went into his pocket and pulled out the ring box. He placed it gently in front of me on the table. I didn't move to grab it because honestly, I was afraid to. I don't think I actually wanted it without Ian attached to it. I just slid it back to him.
"Thanks, but no." I said, standing up to leave.
"What do you want from me?" He suddenly yelled, grabbing my arm to stop me. I may be able to heal quickly thanks to being what I am but my shoulder was still sore from time to time.
"Ian, I don't even know. I just wanted to see if even a little smidgen of my Ian was still in there somewhere but I guess I was wrong. So I'm leaving." He then ran in front of me to block the door.
"I told I am not coming back. I am not going to be who I was and you can stop trying to fix me because guess what, I don't want to be fixed." I didn't want to hear anymore.
"Ian move." I simply said, my heart breaking with every second I spend looking into his cold, empty eyes that used to hold such love. He just straightened out and took a deep breath before moving out of my way. I walked past him and then stopped. Without turning, I said;
"By the way, my father isn't charging you with anything, but Vincent said he'll kick your ass if he sees you again." I didn't wait for him to respond. I just walked out the front, got in my car and drove away.