Lucas' POV
My heart is pounding so hard in my chest waiting for the doctor to tell us the condition that Isla is in that I am pretty sure everyone else can hear it thumping too. Impatiently waiting for the doctor to speak, I growl, "Is Isla okay? Can we see her?"
"Follow me." The doctor says, leading us into a more private area so he can talk with us. "At the moment, she is stable. She has been having issues with her blood pressure since she arrived here over a week ago. It gets extremely high and then it will drop low. One of the medications that we have her on made her blood pressure and heart rate drop dangerously low this time. That is what caused her to pass out. Normally the body can regulate these types of things easily, but with all of the stress and lack of sleep and eating, her body is weak."
"But is she going to be okay?"
"I believe so. By chance do any of you know if her parents or grandparents had these types of problems? It can be hereditary."
"No." I quickly say. "Ramiro and Alissa were extremely healthy and took care of ...."
"Stop!" Hayden says interrupting me. "We wouldn't know, and neither would Isla." He tells the doctor.
I glare at him. How the hell would Hayden know anything about her? "Excuse me Hayden, but I've known her since we were kids. Her parents didn't have any health issues."
Hayden turns red in the face. "They're not her parents." He shouts.
"What?!" We all including the doctor look at him like he's grown a second head.
"Are you on something?" I hiss at Hayden. "What do you mean Alissa and Ramiro are not her parents?"
Hayden combs his hair with his fingers. "She was adopted at age five. She doesn't remember her real parents." What? Why would she tell Hayden? I didn't know. She never told me as Luke or Lucas.
"W-when did s-she tell you? Why...Why did she tell you?" I'm hurt and angry now. Isla should have told me not Hayden. I shouldn't be jealous of Hayden, but in the moment, I am and I'm ready to tear into him.
The doctor clears his throat. "Very well then. She is awake, but I would like to examine her first. If you could all give me about thirty minutes, you will then be able to see her, but please whatever you do, don't stress her out." The doctor exits the room leaving the four of us alone.
With anger still bubbling in me I turn towards Hayden. "Why? Why did she tell you and not me or anyone else?"
He glares at me coldly. "She told me yesterday when she woke up. I had asked her a question about something I found, and it was part of her explanation."
"What did you ask her?" I say clenching my jaw. How does that even get brought up in a conversation?
Hayden shoves his hands into his pockets and turns away from us. "It's not my secret to share. I hate that I had to say anything, but I couldn't let the doctor have false information that could jeopardize her health."
I thought Hayden and I were moving in the right direction to become friends again, but now I feel like we just took several steps backwards. If Isla told Hayden that information, does it mean that there is something going on between the two of them?
We wait in silence until we are finally able to see Isla. I am the first person to make it into Isla's room as I want her to see that I never left. Nick and Kaira are right behind me after I enter the room. Isla looks at us and tries to give us a small smile, but I can tell she feels awkward having me and Kaira here.
Kaira is about to say something when Hayden finally walks into the room. Isla's eyes light up the moment she sees him and smiles brightly. Hayden pushes by Kaira and me and hugs Isla tightly. "Love, you had me so worried. I-I don't know what I would have done without you."
Love? Did he just call her Love? Nick and Kaira's eyes widen at him calling Isla love too. I feel the anger course through my veins. "Did you just fucking call her Love?" I bellow.
Hayden looks at me with the realization of what he said. "I... umm... I...yes?" He says but sounds more like a question.
"How dare you?" I growl. You were supposed to be my best friend.
Isla's POV
"What's going on between the two of you?" Lucas growls. "First she tells you that she adopted and now you're calling her love?"
I quickly look at Hayden, and I see the regret in his eyes. "Y-you told them?" I stutter.
"Isla, forgive me please." Hayden begs. "I didn't want to say anything. The doctor was asking about your parents' health. Lucas was telling the doctor that Alissa and Ramiro were healthy. I had to let the doctor know the truth." I watch as tears form in his eyes. It's not like I told him he couldn't tell anyone, and he was doing it for my protection.
I grab his hand and offer him a small fragile smile. "I forgive you, Hayden. You only did what you thought was in my best interest. Thank you." Relief washes over his face and squeezes my hand.
"Are you kidding me?" Lucas yells at us. "You're going to forgive him? That's just great, Isla. So, what about me?"
I snap my head at Lucas. "What about you, Lucas?"
His anger soon turns to embarrassment. "I mean...uh... you forgave Hayden. Do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive me too?"
I scoff. "How can you even compare yourself to Hayden? He did what he thought was in the best interest for me. Pray do tell, how is making out with the girl who has made my life a living hell the past three year in my best interest, Lucas?" I scream and cry.
Lucas turns pales. "Isla... I... I am truly and deeply sorry.... please..."
"Enough." Nick barks. "The doctor said not to cause her more stress. What the hell are you doing Lucas? You aren't even supposed to be here."
Lucas' POV
I look around the room and everyone is staring at me. "I...uh.... I-I'm sorry. I'll be leaving." I walk over to Isla and watch as the tears stream down her cheeks. I did this to her. I hurt her. "I'm sorry, Sunshine."
I grab my jacket and head out the door, but stop when I hear Isla scream, "Wait!" Everyone looks at Isla. "What did you just call me?" I think back to what I said. Crap. I called her by the nickname I used to call her when we were kids. I didn't mean to. That's not how I want her to find out who I am. I shake my head as if I'm asking her to not ask for the answer. "What did you just call me, Lucas?"
"Isla. I called you Isla." I lie. I quickly turn to the door to leave. I can't face her now.
"Lucas! Don't move a muscle." She says in a firm tone. "Everyone else out!"
Hayden glares at me and rushes over to Isla's side, "Are you sure? You need to relax if you want to go home soon."
She smiles at him. "Thank you, Hayden, but I'm sure. It will only be for a few minutes." He kisses her on the forehead and walks out of the room.
"Sit." She demands as she points to the chair next to her bed. She looks me in the eyes, and I can feel her looking deep into my soul. "You called me Sunshine." She whispers. "Only he calls me Sunshine. How would you know my nickname unless...? L-Luke?"
I don't know how to respond, so I just nod my head. Her beautiful brown eye looks so sad. "W-why? Why wouldn't you tell me sooner." She covers her face with her hands. "How could I be so stupid? Of course, Luke would be short for Lucas, and you had the same damn last name. How come I didn't put two and two together?" she whimpers.
"Sunshine, you're not stupid. I just..." She cuts me off.
"No, Lucas. You don't get to call me Sunshine anymore. You lost that when you hurt me. You lost that when you thought shoving your tongue down Chelsea's throat was a good idea." She lifts her head and glares at me. "It was bad enough that you hurt me as Lucas, but you're Luke. You hurt me as Luke. You were my best friend."
I grab her hand. "Isla, I'm so sorry I left you back in sixth grade. I didn't have a choice. I know I hurt you then, but...."
"No! Luke. No. I never held that against you. Not once. I loved you, Luke. I loved you as Luke. Hell, I was starting to even fall for you at Lucas, but what you did with Chelsea... that is what hurt me. I heard about what you and Kaira said about me. Sadly, I was going to forgive you as Lucas. But you are Luke. You are my Luke. The one person who promised to never hurt me. I trusted you. You, Luke, made out with Chelsea. Even though I didn't know it was you, you still did it." She continues to rant, but I think more towards herself. "Hell.... The guy I have been in love with for most of my life made out with Chelsea to hurt me.... To hurt me on purpose."
She looks down at her hands in her lap. "Isla, look at me." She shakes her head, so I lift her chin where she is forced to look me in the eyes. "Isla, I am so fucking sorry. I deeply regret everything that I've done to you. I love you. I have always loved you, but I am messed up in the head. You were the one who kept me sane. You kept me normal. You were always the one there for me, and I'm sorry I haven't returned the favor. Please forgive me. Please give me another chance. It breaks my heart knowing that you trusted Hayden with a secret like that. I want to be the one you tell your secrets too. I want to be the one that comforts you. Fuck. Hayden and Nick shouldn't be moving in with you. It should be me. You're supposed to be mine. You were always supposed to be mine."
I keep searching in her eyes for something saying that she still loves me. I see a mixture of emotions, but I can't decipher what they are. Without thinking I press my lips to hers pouring out all my emotions into the kiss. She doesn't kiss back though. "Luke..." she whispers as she pushes me away.
"Please, Isla."
Her eyes are glassy. She is fighting back her tears. "No, Luke. You can't just kiss me. It doesn't work that way." She cries. "You don't get to hurt me and then kiss me, making me confused with all of these emotions. It's not fair, Luke. You hurt me and yet you are still making me suffer more."
I lean my forehead against hers. "I don't want to hurt you, Sunshine. I just want to love you." I whisper. "Sunshine, do you know why I called you sunshine." She shakes her head. "Because like the sunshine, you always brought warmth and happiness into my life. Only you could and can do that. I promise I will do everything in my power to prove to you that I am sorry. You are and I meant for each other. I will win you back somehow, someway. I love you, and I will gain your trust and love back. Please Sunshine, don't give up on me." I give her a kiss on the forehead and walk out. I want to give her time to think about what I said, and I need to figure out how to prove to her that she belongs to me.
Isla's POV
My hands touched my lips where Luke kissed me. He's back. Luke is back. He's been here the whole damn time. I feel like there is a hurricane of emotions going on inside of me. I've always loved Luke and if I'm not lying to myself, I still do. I don't understand how he could purposely hurt me the way he did by making out Chelsea.
But when he kissed me, there was so much raw emotion. I could feel his love, the regret and even his pain. I wanted to kiss him back, but I couldn't. Not just because of him making out with Chelsea and lying on who he was, but also because I couldn't stop picturing Hayden. But why am I thinking of Hayden? We almost kissed yesterday, but did I want to kiss him? I think I did but do I still want to.... maybe. Hayden was the only one the entire time who was on my side. He didn't get upset at me that day when he saw me at Beth's. Nick wasn't mean like Luke, but I can still tell that he was upset. And wait... Why is Luke in foster care? What happened to his parents? I could really use some Tylenol now. All the emotions are giving me a killer headache.
I lie back on my bed feeling sleepy. What do I do? Do I love Luke? Do I like Hayden? Does Hayden like me? What about the promise I made Luke so long ago, that I will never give up on him? Will I forgive him? Do I even want to forgive him? Of course, I want to forgive. I want things to go back to the way they once were, but I don't know if I can ever fully trust him again. As the many thoughts swirl in my head, I fall into a deep and a very much needed slumber.