27
KAIN
“Kain, it’s time to take your meds.” A hand rests on my shoulder, squeezing slightly, and I rouse from sleep, feeling groggy and delirious. I have no idea what day it is or what time. It’s been that way since they slowly brought me out of the induced coma and removed the ventilator. At least, that’s what they told me they did. My mind can’t seem to grasp onto what is reality and what are dreams from the period of unconsciousness. Everything is weirdly surreal.
I clear my throat, wincing at the soreness there. The doctor told me it will take a while to heal. It’s what happens when a person is intubated quickly. “Water,” I rasp and the nurse presses on the button on my bed to raise my head. She’s ready with a small potful of tablets and a glass of cool water. Just the thought of having to swallow those small, white chalky blocks makes me shudder. My whole body feels sore.
“What time is it?” I croak, taking the water. “It’s midnight, sweetie,” she says. “You’ve slept so much today.”
“I feel like I got hit by a train.”
“You might as well have,” she laughs. “That bruise on your chest is all colors of the rainbow.”
I’m wearing a scratchy hospital gown that’s fastened at the back, but I try to open the neck to look down at my body. Even in the darkness under the gown, what she’s talking about is evident.
“Where is everybody?” I ask. The last time I was awake, Dad and Dalton were here. They told me that Gabriella and Blake had been taking shifts, and that my whole team was camping out outside the hospital. Travis is here, too. Back from Germany.
“I sent someone out while I did my checks, but he’ll be back.”
She makes notes while I work through the tablets, gnawing on her lips as she focuses. She must be in her mid-fifties. It’s reassuring to be in the care of someone who seems so experienced.
I flex my feet, relieved that they can move. Even though the doctors have confirmed that everything seems okay, I’m still not one-hundred-percent certain. My body doesn’t feel my own, and my mind is a tangle of confusion.
“Well done,” the nurse says, taking the now empty tablet pot.
“I didn’t do much,” I croak.
“You did what you needed to do. Do you want to lie back down?”
I shake my head. “I’ve slept enough.”
She takes the control pad that works the bed and rests it next to my hand. “If you change your mind.”
“Thanks.”
She nods and leaves, bustling away to deal with another poor soul trapped in this place. I’m grateful for the care but I want to get out of the hospital as soon as I can. Getting well in a place surrounded by sickness takes a whole ton of mental strength. The machines around me are reminders of what I could potentially slip back into.
Travis appears a couple of minutes later, probably given the all-clear by the nurse.
“You’re awake,” he says, grinning and making his way around to my bedside.
“And you’re back from Germany.” I’m sure we’ve already had this conversation, but I can’t remember.
“I came as soon as I heard about your amateur dramatics.”
“Funny,” I choke, laughing. “This shit doesn’t feel amateur.” I let my hand hover over my bruise and Travis winces on my behalf.
“You gave us all a fucking scare, man. I…” He pauses, swallowing thickly. “I couldn’t believe it when Dalton called me. I thought he was joking. I actually laughed.”
“I don’t blame you. This shit is fucked up.”
“It is. I mean, we’re young, aren’t we? Too young to deal with this.”
“Exactly.” I flex my fingers at my sides, wanting to check they’re still working, too. When the doctor talked to me about the risk of cerebral damage from lack of oxygen, I freaked out. But so far, the tests all look good. And despite feeling like I got trampled by a herd of buffalo, my mind seems to be my own. “Where’s your sister?”
“I had to fight her to leave. She’s got a big assignment to do, and she needs sleep.”
I draw my bottom lip between my teeth and Travis’s blue eyes, that are a match to his sister’s, scan my face.
“She told me, Kain.”
“Told you what?”
“What y’all have been doing.”
I lower my lids as the heat of shame colors my cheeks. “I…” What the hell do I say? I’m sorry for banging your sister? I’m sorry for betraying you? Sorry doesn’t cut it in this situation. Getting on my knees at Travis’s feet and begging for forgiveness wouldn’t cut it.
“How do you feel about her?” Travis asks.
“I love her,” I blurt before I have a chance to think through the impact of such a statement. But even with those three monumental words hanging between us, I don’t regret saying them for a minute. “I think I’ve always loved her.”
Travis nods his head once, cataloging an important response and evaluating it to see if it measures up. That he hasn’t punched my lights out is a miracle.
“And Blake and Dalton?”
I blow out a breath through pursed lips, the magnitude of his questions hitting me hard in the chest. Can I speak for my brothers about such an important question? Should I?
“They love her too, Travis. I’m sorry we didn’t come to you before. We should have had the guts to tell you how we felt and ask for your opinion. We were cowards.”
He nods, and then his face splits into a grin. “You think I didn’t know how you felt? You think I’m blind, Kain? I was there all those days we spent together. I used to see you, Blake, and Dalton looking at Gabriella like she was Aphrodite, rising from the waves. I used to see her sideways glances at you all, blushing whenever you came around. All that tension…” He shakes his head and whistles. “Why do you think I told Blake about her diary? I wanted you to know she liked you. I wanted my sister to have a chance to be loved by someone I thought would be worthy of her.”
“Are you serious?” I blink back tears, finding that my time in a hospital bed has made me an emotional wreck.
“I’ll admit, I thought she’d pick one of you rather than all three. Though I should have realized there might be a chance she’d end up with all of you when Ellie hooked up with her stepbrothers.”
“All this time, we’ve been feeling guilty as hell for keeping everything secret.”
He rests his hand on my arm, squeezing. “Kain, you guys are like my brothers. You’ll always be my brothers from another mother. I trust you with my sister, and I know you’ll love her the way she deserves.”
“We will,” I say. “There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?” Travis asks.
“I’m not sure if she feels the same way.”