Chapter 25

The next day, towards evening, I was allowed to meet Kol.

The doctors said that he was doing fine. He was starved, dehydrated, and had minor injuries as a result of fighting B back when he was initially taken captive. However, he was recovering well and would even be discharged in a day or two.

The same could not be said about his mental health. The trauma of a week suffering at the hands of a killer was something that would not heal as easily. He was going to need ample of time, patience, love, support, and therapy. But I was told that Kol still seemed to be doing comparably better than expected in that aspect as well.

When I was just about to open the door to Kol's room, a nurse stepped out.

"Are you Zuri?" she asked, holding the door open for me.

I smiled. "That would be me."

"Ah, he has been asking for you since morning." She returned my smile.

I thanked her and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.

Kol was lying on the bed, staring out the window. Hearing the door close, he turned towards me.

"Finally," he said, loudly enough to shatter the quiet, serene atmosphere in the room in less than a second.

I gave him an amused smile. "Someone's eager to see me."

"I can't say the same thing for you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "come on, at least lie or I'll be hurt."

"Maybe I was," I said, sitting down next to him.

My eyes fell on the bouquet on the table.

Kol followed my gaze.

"Freya," he said.

I nodded. "I got you some of Ira's cookies and muffins."

"Great," he said, "hospital food sucks."

I shrugged. "Makes sense. You don't come here to have fun."

"Seriously," he said, "don't be sarcastic."

I laughed at his gloomy expression. "Okay, I'm sorry."

He was quiet.

"What?" I asked.

Our eyes locked and his hand reached out to hold mine.

"I'm sorry," he said, "for the fight, for what I said. I shouldn't have said that. I was wrong. I'm sorry."

I sighed deeply. "I'm sorry too. Neither of us were in control of our emotions that day."

"But I was such a fool. I blamed you for overreacting and exaggerating and then tripped over that same rock. I should have believed you and understood the warning better," he said, "then I wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't have had to go through all of that."

"It's okay," I said, caressing his hand, "everything happens for a reason. Now I don't want you to think about the past. Let it go. And don't you dare blame yourself for it. Seriously."

He gave the smallest of smiles at my mimicry of him and then the tension in the air cracked.

"How have you been today?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Busy."

He raised an eyebrow playfully. "I thought you'd have simpler answers like sleeping, resting and all. Aren't you tired? Why were you busy?"

"Because I found some first drafts in your house this morning when I went to have your locks changed. They were scattered all over the floor of the living room," I said.

Kol's cheeks flushed. "You know."

I nodded. "Yes, Mr. Jayden Fox, I know. What a pen name, though. Nobody can guess it's you."

Kol smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Yeah, you should be." I rolled my eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? You're an international bestselling author. I literally read your own books in front of you, and you kept your lips sealed."

"You did not suspect a thing." Kol chuckled.

"Yes." I groaned. "You were so eager to know what I thought of that book, and I did not give it a second thought. You even gave me a brand-new signed copy and I was still a fool about it. Now it figures why you type on your laptop all day and call it work."

"It was a fun secret," said Kol, "but please keep it to yourself. I don't want anybody else to know."

I nodded. "Why do you write under a pen name?"

"After Liza died, I started to write my first book. It was my escape, my therapy. Inadvertently, I realised that the characters were too deeply a reflection of me. I did not want to acknowledge that publicly. So, a pen name was the best choice," he said, "and I haven't looked back since."

I squeezed his hand. "Makes sense."

A playful smile made his lips curl up. "You used my own book's plot to help me. Quite clever. And ironic."

I chuckled. "I know, right? Very ironic. Did you ever think that one day you would be living the words that you wrote?"

"I already lived them once while writing, so not really," he said.

I nodded. "I kind of understand."

A comfortable silence descended around us.

Kol stared out of the window again and I got up to keep the cookies and cupcakes that I'd bought for him on the table.

"Kol," I said, my voice soft and low.

He glanced at me.

I stopped what I was doing and took in a deep breath. "Were you scared…of dying?"

He smiled. "Not really. Whenever I felt the fear creep up, I told myself that it was all right. Dying meant that I was going to meet Liza again. Then the fear would completely vanish."

My breath hitched in my throat, but I managed to smile back.

"Thank you," he said, "thank you for everything. You risked your life for me. I can never express how much it means to me to know that someone still really cares that much about me."

I helped him sit up and handed him a cupcake.

"That's what you do for the people you care about, right? You take chances together," I said.

He stared at me.

"What?" I bit into a cookie.

"Do you want to get dinner with me?" He reeked of nervousness.

"After I'm out of the hospital, of course," he quickly added.

I blinked, quite taken aback by the sudden question.

Then a moment later, I nodded. "I would love to."

"Great," he said, his face lighting up.

An idea lighted up in my mind. "How about you cook dinner for me?"

He caught on to my reference.

"How about pasta?" he suggested. "Two servings?"