Chapter 84

Chapter 84
Kaelen's POV 

I used to love isolating, just spending hours on my own doing my own thing. I remember it being peaceful, being everything I ever wanted. But now, all alone in a private hospital room with no company but a TV that keeps repeating the same programs over and over, and my mind drifting distances past the guard outside my door, past the hospital doors, reaching for something-- someone I can't quite reach... I hate it. I can't even remember why I ever chose isolating.

The pain is still there. Every movement reminds me of the bullet that tore through me, and my body protests whenever I shift too quickly. But I'm sitting up now and I can walk short distances around the room. The monitors that once surrounded my bed are gone, leaving only an IV line and the occasional nurse checking in.

A knock sounds at the door before it opens and the doctor walks in with my chart. He smiles when he sees me sitting upright.

"You are looking much better everyday, Kaelen."

"I feel much better," I admit.

He flips through a few pages, checking the latest notes before closing the file. "Everything is healing nicely. Your vitals have been stable for days now, and your wound is progressing exactly how we had hoped."

I wait, sensing there is more. He nods once. "I think you are ready to be discharged."

"Really?" I ask, unable to hide the hope creeping into my voice. "I can go home now?"

"I don't see why not." He smiles. "When your parents come in later, they won't be leaving you behind."

My smile comes easily. Finally. No more hospital food, no more endless white walls, no more waking up to nurses checking my blood pressure before sunrise. And finally... maybe some hope to reach Jordan.

Then the second part of what he said settles in-- my parents. The relief fades and unease takes its place. I force another smile anyway. "Sounds good."

"We will get the paperwork started."

He gives me a few instructions about medication, dressing changes and avoiding strenuous activity before leaving the room.

I lean back against the pillows and let out a slow breath. I'm finally getting out of here. That should be the only thing on my mind. Instead, all I can think about is how I'm supposed to avoid being picked up by the last person I want to see.

If Dad gets here first, I don't doubt he will have me flown straight home and keep me there until he finds a way to ship me overseas.

A quiet knock pulls me from my thoughts and the handle turns. I glance towards the door. It opens just enough for someone in a white coat to step inside before quietly closing it behind them.

My chest tightens. The doctor just left. Did something go wrong?

The person keeps their head lowered as they lock the door and my pulse immediately picks up. Why lock the door?

I push myself straighter, now alarmed. "Is... everything okay?" The figure turns, my eyes widen in surprise. "Lucas?"

A grin spreads across his face. "I leave you alone for a few years and you decide getting shot sounds like something to tick off your bucket list."

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. I wince, pressing a hand against my side to still the sudden pain. "You really had to make me laugh first?"

"I had to make sure all your organs still worked."

I shake my head, still smiling. "What are you doing here?"

He walks over, pulling the coat open just enough to reveal a plain shirt underneath. "I have always wanted to play doctor."

I roll my eyes. "Seriously, how are you here?"

He drags a chair over and sits beside my bed. "Old age didn't take away my skills to evade Mr Ashford senior. And I was counting on him not knowing I was going to show up."

I laugh again, much more carefully this time. "How did you even know?"

"Mom got worried you were going to..." He trails off.

"Die?" I finish it for him.

He nods. "She called, though I'm not sure how she found me. I was going to come right away, but I got held up." Silence settles between us for a moment. Then he looks at me. "What happened, Kae? You used to be the perfect son who never got into trouble." 

I take a slow breath. Where do I even begin? 

It comes to me naturally the moment I open my mouth. I tell him about college, meeting Jordan-- because the story can't be complete without that part, the most important part. How someone I couldn't stand somehow became the person I couldn't imagine living without.

I tell him about hiding us, about trying to keep everyone happy and failing. The breakup, that psycho Vince, and the kidnapping that ended with the gunshot. 

The room grows quieter the longer I speak. Lucas barely interrupts. By the time I finish, my throat feels dry. Neither of us speaks for several seconds, then he leans back in his chair.

"I met Jordan."

That's the first thing he says and my head lifts. "You did?"

"He seems pretty cool."

I stare at him. Those four words catch me completely off guard. Everyone in my family has had nothing good to say about Jordan, never even bothered seeing him as a person. Yet Lucas... He is speaking about him like... he already likes him.

"Where? When?" I ask, just to confirm I didn't imagine it. "And you knew it was him when I-- I didn't even tell you how he looks like."  

"You didn't have to. I spent some time with him and Elise, knew it just by looking at how fondly he spoke of you." He leans forward, his gaze softening. "I don't care who you fall in love with. That shouldn't even be a question, Kaelen. All that matters is that you are happy."

My chest loosens, not because I needed his approval but because for the first time since this whole mess started, someone from my family is seeing me instead of seeing an Ashford. 

"I am..." I begin before I correct quietly
 "I was but I messed up before I got shot. Jordan didn't want anything to do with me, and then all this happened. I haven't seen him or talked to him long enough to know if we are good good or if he just cared because of what we had before."

I rub a tired hand over my face. "And Dad..." The rest dies in my throat.

Lucas watches me for a long moment then asks, "How much do you love that boy?"

The question is so direct that anything less than the truth would feel ridiculous.

"More than anything," I don't even hesitate. "I think I found my person too, just like you found Marielle." A smile touches his face, lighting him up. "I'm just..." I shake my head. "I haven't been as courageous as you always were, Lucas. But I don't want to lose Jordan."

"You know where Dad stands," he says calmly. "And you know where he will always stand." I nod. "What are you going to do about it?" His gaze never leaves mine. "You need to make a decision, Kae." 

"I already have." The answer comes before I even think about it. "I'm choosing J. I don't care what happens to me."

Lucas studies me for a few quiet seconds before giving a slow nod. "You know our old man isn't going to make it easy, right?"

"I know. He already has plans to have me transferred from my current school to another one overseas." I shake my head, a humorless chuckle slipping out. "It's funny how he forced me there, and now that I finally adjusted, he wants to force me out."

"We both know it's not the school that's the problem."

I know that Jordan is, as hard as it is to process that. He would rather pour cash into uprooting me from my life mid-semester, than believe Jordan is not the problem.

Lucas folds his arms. "What plan do you have? I don't think you can just convince Jordan to skip town with you like I did with Marielle."

"I know, that's why I'm not leaving." The words settle between us with certainty. "I'm staying right here and deal with it however it comes. But I'll need your help getting out of this hospital before they arrive to get me." I gesture toward the door. "I'm supposed to be discharged today." 

"Damn! You might just be the braver Ashford spawn," he says, a familiar grin spreading across his face. "I got you, little bro."