I stared at all the beaming faces staring back me, and warmth spread across my chest. Never in my life did I ever think I would be surrounded by so many people who cared about me, and would show up to make sure I was alright when they'd heard I'd been rushed to the hospital. Some of the faces I didn't even recognize.
It was weird. Really weird. I had no idea who half of the people in my room were, but they were all staring at me with a mix of relief and wonderment. The wonderment was a tad confusing. I wasn't someone people really stared at in wonderment.
"She's gorgeous, Case, you must be so proud." A woman I vaguely recognized from some of the pictures in their home, whispered to Brayden's mom, who stood at the end of my bed, a proud smile on her face.
I looked around the room, searching for Brayden, and coming up empty. I was going to kill him for leaving me here alone to deal with his entire family. I wasn't sure if this was all of them, but dear god I hoped there weren't much of them left, because wow, there was at least twenty people in my small hospital room.
"I know," Mrs. Cavanaugh replied, grinning, and turning to the woman next to her, she nudged her with her elbow. "I totally had everything to do with them getting together."
The woman next to her rolled her eyes, playfully. "Of course you did, you nut job, you set that poor boy on so many awful dates he had to fend for himself. Obviously he gets his good taste from me." She turned to the handsome, tall, blonde man standing next to her, with a wink, making him grin.
"Um, can someone tell me what's going on?" I mumbled, lifting a hand, awkwardly, trying to get someone's attention, a blush creeping up my neck.
"Uh mom, what the hell?" At Brayden's voice, I let out a relived sigh, my eyes seeking him among the crowd of people, who parted, letting him through, and making my heart skip a beat when my eyes landed on his beautiful face.
A smile made its way into my face as he made his way to my bed, two coffee cups, and a brown bag in his hands. My eyes took him, heart pounding erratically in my chest, almost as if it was trying to break free and go to him, the 'mine' a constant in my head now. I still couldn't believe he loved me. Brayden Cavanaugh was in love with me, and all I wanted to do for the rest of my life was show him how much I loved him as well.
Finally reaching my bed, he set the coffee cups and bag on the little bedside table next to my hospital bed, gently grasped the back of my head, and leaned down to press his lips to my forehead, with a small 'hey' and a warm smile; one I couldn't help but return.
"Awe, they're so sweet," the lady next to his mom sighed, making me blush and duck my head, shyly, embarrassment spreading over my chest.
"Mom, is there a reason the entire crazy clan is in my girlfriend's hospital room right now?" Brayden asked his mother, an exasperated edge to his tone. I was pretty sure he already knew the answer to that question and wasn't in the least bit surprised by it. I had to wonder how many times his mother called the entire family when he was in the hospital with minor injuries. Seemed like something the woman would do.
Giving me a cheeky smile, she glanced around the room with a shrug. "Your father's asshole cousins swore I was a liar when I told them you had a girlfriend, so I had to prove them wrong."
"And all of you just up and left your life, took a flight to Pennsylvania, just to confirm I have a girlfriend?" He glanced around the room, giving each person a disappointed shake of the head.
"Pretty much, yeah," the beautiful blonde next to his mom, nodded. "Besides it was a short flight. And it was worth it to know that she's okay."
"Aunt Nissa, uncle Drew lives in Florida," Brayden pointed out, shooting a man standing in the corner a pointed look. The man, whom I asumed was uncle Drew, simply shrugged.
"I figured I might as well count this as this year's visit."
"Besides, this gives them a chance to meet your girlfriend, Brady," his mom piped in, shooting me a bright smile.
"Um, if I may, this isn't exactly my best look, and I didn't really know I would be meeting all of you, so I'm really not wearing any clothes under this hospital gown...which was very unnecessary information, and talk about inappropriate. Maybe if you guys could come back another day? I'm sorry, that's really inconsiderate-"
"No, not even in the slightest. Quite the opposite, actually," Brayden interrupted, sitting next to me on the bed, and throwing an arm over my shoulders. "If y'all don't mind, can you get out? She's not up for visitors."
"You're in here," his aunt Nissa replied, lifting an eyebrow.
"I'm her boyfriend," he retorted, with a smug smirk on his lips, and I shook my head with a grin.
"And I'm her new aunt, so we should get acquainted, in fact, you should probably leave for this next bit," she replied, sweeping her hand in the door's direction.
"Okay, I'm serious, I'm going to need you guys to leave. She needs to rest." Standing up, he began ushering them out, and one by one, they obliged, shooting smiles, and well wishes my way, on their way out. Soon all but his mom and aunt Nissa remained, staring at us with pouts.
"Can we just stay for a few minutes? She should meet Niece, Brady," his mom pleaded, staring at him, expectantly.
Turning towards me, he lifted an eyebrow, and turning to his mom and aunt, who stared back at me with matching looks of hope. There was no way I could say no to that. The giddy smiles they gave me at my nod, was all the assurance I need to confirm I hadn't made a mistake.
"Porter, this is my best friend, Nissa," his mom introduced, linking her arm through her best friend's.
"Nissa...the aunt that's not really an aunt but, I'm guessing they've known you long enough to consider you their aunt, like kids tend to do with their parent's best friends. Speaking of knowing things, Brayden happened to mention that you also have a runaway mouth, that goes on like diarrhea coming out of a fat cow, and that you may or may not sweat through your clothes like a cheating husband caught in the act...he didn't use those words exactly...I may have embezzled?" I rambled, fidgeting nervously, glancing at Brayden, who gave me a reassuring smile, lifting his hand to rest on the back of my neck, his thumb drawing circles on my skin. "That may have gotten away from me there...a little. What I meant to say was 'hi, nice to meet you."
Staring at me with wide eyes that made me want to crawl under the sheets, Nissa shot Mrs. Cavanaugh a look, who simple grinned, proudly.
"Did I not tell you? Perfection," his mom sighed, shooting a thumbs up my way, and beaming proudly. What the woman was proud of, I'd never know.
"Okay first of all, you-" Aunt Nissa started, pointing her finger at Brayden- "stop telling people about my babbling issue; we've talked about this, and second of all, I have the sweating through my clothes thing under control."
I couldn't help but giggle softly, turning my face into Brayden's shoulder when Nissa shot a playful glare on me.
Our attention was drawn to the door as it swung open, Mr. Cavanaugh standing in the doorway, hands on his hips as his angry glare sought out his wife, who squeaked a 'shit,' before giving him a guilty smile.
"Casey, you wanna explain to me why my entire family is currently fighting over who gets to eat the last nugget, they just snatched out of my hands?" He gritted, seeming more offended at the fact that they'd taken his nugget than the fact that they were currently fighting in a hospital.
"Why do you assume I would know the answer to that?" Mrs. Cavanaugh replied, confidently. Way too confidently, making her husband lift an eyebrow, shaking his head tiredly.
"Woman, you know what you've done?"
"They called me a liar, was I supposed to let those bastards get away with that?" She growled, stomping over towards him, and shoving him out of her way, exited the room, with him letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Hey, Porter, glad to see you're okay. Also, just for future references, always go for the nose, groin and stomach. Anyways, feel better," Mr. Cavanaugh nodded, gave me an awkward smile, and hurried out of the room after his wife.
"You know sometimes I wonder about those two. I mean, I always knew Casey was crazy but sometimes-"
"Aunt Nissa, I heard Uncle Lucas talking about hitting up your house for some of that fancy hot chocolate you stash in your pantry, that you think no one else knows about..." Brayden interrupted, lifting an eyebrow. Eyes wide his aunt Nissa growled and bolted up, rushing out of the room without a second thought. "Sometimes I want to put them all in a box and ship them to Alaska."
Smiling, I nudged him in the ribs, playfully. "But then who would feed you?"
He grinned, turning to me. "You would."
"Do I have to remind you about my inability to cook?"
He shook his head, leaning back against the pillows, and pulling me with him, until I was snuggled up to his side, one of my arms slung over his hard stomach.
Breathing in, I couldn't help but sigh happily, my heart growing in my chest, a permanent smile on my face. It was perfect. He was perfect. Everything was perfect. And I was happy.
"Do you realize we spend half of our time together in one of these rooms?" He mumbled softly, his fingers threading through my hair, and the other moving to his stomach where my hand rested, to lace our fingers together.
"That's probably not a good thing, right?" I mumbled back, smiling as our thumbs circled around each other, playfully.
"It could be. It could be our thing."
"Hospitals? That's not very romantic," I grinned, shaking my head, before tilting it back to look up at him.
He shrugged, grinning back. "Pinocchio, did we not talk about you doubting how incredibly awesome I am? If you want a hospital to be romantic, then you better be damn straight I'll make it happen."
Snorting softly, I cupped his jaw. "My hero."
"Damn straight." He was quiet for a moment then, and I could feel something shift within him, almost like he was holding his breath, waiting for something, an uneasiness filling the air, and I held my breath with him, my heart dropping. "Porter?"
"Yeah?" My voice cracked, coming out like something I'd never heard before. Absolute terror and heartbreak, almost as if my heart knew what was coming, and couldn't stop it.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" It was a struggle to breathe, my lungs burning with the weight, my throat closing in on itself. Was this it? Was this the moment the other shoe dropped? The moment he broke my heart?
Did he regret his words? Did he even mean them or had it all been said in the heat of the moment? And now that the dust has cleared, had his feelings for me?
"For failing you. I should have protected you. That's my job. I'm supposed to keep you safe, and I failed once again. I'm so sorry, sunshine. I promise you, I will make it up to you. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
Jolting up, and ignoring the sudden burst of pain shooting through what felt like every inch of my body, I scooted up further in the bed, until I was at an eye level with him, my hands cupping his face. His beautiful face, filled with so much misplaced anguish and guilt.
"If I had any strength left, Brayden Cavanaugh, I would use it all to slap some sense into you," I whispered, fiercely, shaking my head.
"What?" He asked, adorably confused, and I couldn't help but lean down and gently press my lips to his, briefly, making him smile.
"It's not your responsibility to take care of me. We take care of each other. And for the record, I am a goddamn badass, I can fight my own battles. Yes, what those girls did to me was awful, but I have been through much worse, and I fought back with everything in me. And for a minute, I may have lost sight of why I fought so hard...but then you came into my life, and you reminded me. You reminded me why I fought back, even when it didn't seem like I could win. For that hope that I could. That I could win, that I could be happy. You've never failed me, Brayden. You're the reason I let myself have hope, when I thought I never would again," I sniffled, giving him a quivering smile, and brushing away the single tear that slid down his cheek with my thumb.
Moving up in the bed, he cupped my jaw, softly, and I instinctively leaned into his hand, seeking out his touch, wanting to be as close to him as I possibly could. Resting his forehead on mine, he kissed my nose. "I love you, Pinocchio," he whispered, slightly pulling back so he could meet my eyes.
Grasping his wrists, I smiled. "I love you too, Brady."