Surprisingly, Kylie coughed softly this time.
Mostly because the scene unfolding in front of her was too endearing and adorable and she was too transfixed by the sudden shift in their behaviour that she forgot to be dramatic.
What did she miss in the past days?
Hearing Kylie's little cough, Sean and Kaycee immediately distangled themselves from each other with bright red faces.
While Kaycee thought it was the drugs and medicines responsible for her act, Sean blamed his anxiety and separation syndrome.
"So..." Kylie started, looking at the two flushed adults. "...should I call Serris and Sarah?"
"They're here?!" Kaycee jumped in her seat, excitement laced in her voice.
Over the past few months, being with them all the time, especially since Sean would go on random visits to his office for a meeting or deal, made her grew really close to the sisters. They were almost like her own sisters at this point, with their occasional teasings.
"Hey! Hey, easy on the excitement there buddy. I'm still your real sister. You should be excited to meet me." Kylie pointed an accusing finger in her direction.
Kaycee dramatically rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. Go call them."
Sean was trying his level best to hold his giggle in, but their banter reminded him so much of him and his sisters and he wondered if this is how they looked like to the others watching them.
"You're lucky you're in the hospital. Otherwise I would've shown you."
"Yeah, yeah whatever."
Kylie squinted at her. Then she slowly started walking sideways, all the while squinting at her suspiciously.
Kaycee could only shake her head at Kylie's overdramatic possesiveness.
Finally she walked out of the room, telling them to not miss her much.
Sean and Kaycee both rolled their eyes at her.
It was just the two of them agaim and Kaycee could feel the awkward air about to set in again. She busied herself with the sheets of her hospital bed, moving them around, to distract her mind from Sean's stare.
He's probably going to say something, is what Kaycee thought but let out a huff of breath when he didn't.
He just continued staring at her.
But she didn't know he was trying to understand something.
"Kaycee?"
"Hmm?" She didn't lift her head, afraid he would see her blushing.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Uhhh...." Clearing his throat, he fiddled with his shirt before opening his mouth again. He was clearly uncomfortable or afraid to ask the question.
"You....you said you had nightmares. Why?"
Sean was expecting her to become uncomfortable, avoid eye contact or tell him that she didn't want to talk about it. Sean would've understood. He wouldn't do something that she wasn't comfortable with sharing.
But surprisingly Kaycee raised her head slightly and gave him a sad smile. Breaking eye contact she looked to the ceiling and took a deep breath.
"I-I guess it's time you guys know about it. Miya and Cheuk know about it, so you guys should too."
"Kayc, if you're not comfor-"
Her heart melted into a puddle of goo at the soft, little 'Kayc'.
"No, its okay. I want to say this. I haven't spoken about it to anyone." She breathed out. Then chuckled bitterly, "Not that I had anyone."
With two long strides, Sean was beside her again, rubbing small comforting circles on her back.
Kaycee had made up her mind to resist his embrace as much as she could.
But as soon as Sean was beside her, wrapping an arm around her, she couldn't help but lean towards his touch. It was so endearing and warm, and unlike anyone's embrace she had ever been in.
The door creaked open.
"AWWWWWW!"
"YOU GUYS ARE SO-"
"I KNEW IT YOU WOULD-"
And suddenly she was crushed under two pair of arms, with squeals and gasps scorching her ears.
"Hey, hey excuse me! That is my sister. Move away!" Kylie barked, wriggling her way between them.
"No! She's our sister too." Serris huffed, tightening her hold on Kaycee while she laughed buried between them.
"Yeah! You can't claim her." Sarah smugly remarked as she elbowed Kylie in the ribs.
"Nooo, Kaycee, tell them they're wrong." Kylie whined.
"Nope. They're not wrong."
Kylie clutched her heart dramatically as she staggered in her steps and grabbed the side of the bed as if she was in pain.
"Oh, stop it." Kaycee rolled her eyes as Serris and Sarah both broke their demeanour and started laughing.
A soft voice from the corner of the room broke their little moment.
"What about me?"
Kaycee and Kylie awwed at him while Serris rolled her eyes.
"What about you? You're adopted."
Everyone in the room giggled while Sarah gasped for air, laughing hysterically. Kaycee smiled warmly at him, who was busy glaring at Serris.
A warm fudgy feeling took over her mind and that was the only explanation she could come up for her next actions.
Kaycee spread her arms and cooed, "Come here."
Sean was taken aback by her sudden too affectionate side since she wasn't a very touchy person. He knew that from personal experience in the past but he didn't hesitate.
I mean who would say no to a Kaycee hug?
With long strides, he was beside her in mere seconds and quickly strode over in between her arms as she ruffled his hair.
"I'm sure you're not adopted even though you're a bit annoying." She smiled on his shoulder.
Sean's entire body felt so energetic and warm that he felt he could shoot up in the sky like a goddamn rocket launcher.
When Kaycee finally had her mind fall back into its place, she slowly pulled back even when her heart screamed no.
When she turned around, she saw three wide open mouths.
"Sorry for my language," Sarah started, "But what the fuck."
"What in the name of fucking hell was that?W-When? H-How?"
"That's exactly how they've been ever since I'm here. All touchy and huggy and shit. I was going insane." Kylie shook her head and resisted the urge to throw a glass of water at their heads.
"But..... when?"
"Do you think I know?! I came here with you."
"Yeah but you're her sister. You should know."
"Weren't you the one who said you are her sister too?"
"Uhhh... no I don't remember."
"Ohh backing off I see. Well-"
Kaycee suddenly remembered something.
"Guys! Guys! Calm down. I have something to say."
They would probably go on and on about Sean and her so it's better to break them off by telling them everything right now. They've been nothing but supportive. They deserve to know everything.
Sean jerked her head towards her. "N-Now?"
Kylie and the sisters turned around to face them.
"Yeah, now."
Kylie's eyes wandered between Sean's worried face to Kaycee's determined look.
"OH MY GOD! YOU'RE PREGNANT?"
"WHAT?!"
"OH MY GOD! IT MAKES SO MUCH MORE SENSE!"
"I KNEW SOMETHING WAS OFF. I-"
"NO!! Guys listen-"
"NO WONDER YOU LOOKED LIKE-"
"SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE BEING SO-"
"I'M NOT PREGNANT!!" Kaycee screamed.
Silence.
"Pregnant women tend to have a lot of mood swings." Kylie whispered to Serris.
Kaycee took a deep breath, summoning and praying for patience. Then, she stared straight at Kylie. "It's about D-Devon."
Kylie whipped her head towards her. "What?"
"Yeah, they should know." Kaycee was determined.
"Are you..... are you sure?"
"I am."
Sean and both Serris and Sarah looked between the sisters' silent eye communication, confused.
"Who's D-Devon?" Sean asked cautiously. He didn't know if it was a sensitive topic or a taboo. He didn't want to risk anything.
Kaycee released a breath. "The reason Kylie ran away from home and I was locked in my house."
Kylie looked away as she sat down in one of the couches by the window.
Both Serris and Sarah walked closer to Kaycee. Sean was already beside her, an arm around her.
He was getting too comfortable.
"Devon was our brother. Oldest brother." Kaycee started, staring off at a distance. "He was the most supportive and kind hearted person I had ever met and me and Kylie often joked about how he definitely wasn't our parent's son because he was so kind unlike them.
She stopped.
Serris finally voiced the questions going on in the Lew sibling's minds. "W-was?"
"He committed suicide at the age of 23."
Serris gasped.
Sarah's hands shook.
Sean froze in his position, as his hands holding Kaycee turned cold.
"We saw it. We saw him. Me and Kylie. Handing from the ceiling fan with a rope. In his room. I was 15. Kylie was 19."
Kylie didn't say anything but a few tears silently slid down her face. Kaycee's face was impassive. Her face remained stoic and blank as she stared at a spot on the wall.
Then she chuckled. Bitterness laced in her voice.
"Ever wondered why we started hating our parents?" She mused monotonously. "Because of what they did after that. We discovered his body. We screamed and screamed and screamed until they came running down. They took a look at him and mom broke down. We were crying so hard we didn't even regsiter what was going on. Next morning we woke up and found his bedroom spot clean. Everything was gone. And our parents were in the dining room eating breakfast like nothing happened."
Kylie suddenly fired up. "We didn't even have a fucking funeral. They told us to behave like he didn't exist. To forget him. Like he wasn't a brother of ours. Because..." Kylie quoted her fingers. "It elude ruin his reputation in the business industry. He said and I quote, 'Your brother was weak anyway. He wasn't meant for the business world.'"
Kaycee spoke up again as Kylie buried her face in her hands. "That was the first time we clearly saw how little they cared for us. They only cared about their business. If it doesn't help their business, then its worthless. Like Devon. He used to say. And the worst part is... my mom never protested. Always nodded."
By this point, Kaycee was buried in Sean's arms and Serris had walked over to Kylie to comfort her.
"We pretended for barely two months. But it was ripping us from inside. We used to have nightmares and woke up screaming every night. Kylie got her Anxiety Disorder from that. And I grew up with PSTD for seven years. And I still sometimes grow nauseous or feel like crying whenever something is mentioned about him."
"I'm... I'm sorry." Sarah managed to cry out, in between sobs.
Kylie was already on Serris's shoulders crying.
"Kylie couldn't take it anymore. She ran away. She told me to run away too. I wanted to but I was scared so I gave up at the last second. When they found out about it the next morning, I was locked up inside the house. Never allowed to go out again. I occasionally sneaked out but I was never brave enough to run away. I was never brave like Kylie."
"They refused to acknowledge me as their daughter and removed me from everywhere."
"I was forced to lose contact with her and not talk to her. But I did. Like once in two months whenever I managed to get hold of a phome booth. This month was the first time we met in nine years."
Sean pulled her to his chest, burying her face there. Tears were streaming down his face but right now, Kaycee needed them.
"We never told this to anyone."
The only noise in the room were whimpers and sobs after that.
When a loud sob escaped Kaycee's mouth, Sean could physically feel his chest caving in.
He raised his head slowly and only wished for one thing.
Please God. No more pain for her. She doesn't deserve this.
_________________________________________
Hi!
I know this chapter is short. But I don't care.
So what do you think? Do things finally add up? Do their little snippets make sense?
If you have a question, please ask me. I'll answer them if they're supposed to be answered by now. I'm trying to cover any loopholes.
Anyway, enough of the sadness. How are y'all doing? You know I realised I know only like a few of your names. So if you're comfortable, why don't you comment your names, so that I can answer you with your names in the future.
I mean we're obviously friends. No questions.
No, you don't get an option. Sorry not sorry.
Also in case you didn't know, most people call me An here so....
Hey there I'm An. Nice to meet youuu! ♥♥
Anyway😂
If this chapter made you laugh a little at the funnier parts or made you a bit upset (I trief okay) at the end part, then please leave a vote. 🙏
Okay, enough of me.
Byeeeee! Have a nice day! ❤❤❤❤
I love y'all. ❤❤❤