#Fate

by Cambria Hebert

  My stomach dropped.

  “Do you want to see?” he offered, ready to pull the bandage away.

  “Have you seen it?” My voice was hoarse.

  My legs were shaking. Trent felt them and shifted closer.

  He nodded. “I was in the room when they took it out.”

  My eyes widened. “You were?”

  “I think your mom was feeling guilty. She didn’t have the heart to tell me to get out when I barged in.”

  I took his face in my hands. “Thank you. For everything you did while I couldn’t do anything.”

  “I wish I could’ve done more,” he whispered, tying my gown back into place.

  I shook my head, making his eyes come back to mine. “It was enough. More than enough.”

  “C’mon.” His voice was gruff.

  Halfway to the bed, my legs buckled, but I didn’t fall. Trent lifted me like I weighed nothing at all.

  “How much fucking weight did I lose?” I bitched, glancing down at the floor.

  He carried me back to the bed, held the IV pole, and managed to not jostle me at all. “I’m not sure I wanna put you down,” he mused, standing at the edge of the bed, still cradling me in his arms.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted him to either.

  Hungry. I was still hungry for him.

  The door opened, and Patrick came in. He was wearing hot-pink scrubs and a pair of matching Crocs.

  “Morning!” He stopped, noting our position. “Is everything okay?”

  Trent gracefully put me in the bed. “Yeah, I was just helping him to the bathroom.”

  “Short walks are good for you. I’ll get some crutches and a walker in here for you,” he noted.

  I started to refuse. I didn’t want that shit, but Trent caught my eye and shook his head.

  I fell silent.

  Since when did I get so obedient?

  “Did you ask about this IV?” I asked.

  Patrick nodded. “It can come out. Just make sure you drink lots of liquids.”

  I started peeling up the tape on the back of my hand.

  “Woah,” Trent cautioned, grabbing my fingers. “Wait a minute.”

  “I want it out,” I demanded.

  “Well, let Patrick do it.”

  Patrick came over and swiftly removed it. It hurt, and I cussed at him. Trent laughed like he thought it was cute.

  I glowered at him while rubbing the bandage on the back of my hand. “I want some coffee.”

  “Coffee dehydrates you,” Patrick rebutted.

  “It’s made from water,” I argued.

  “It’s a diuretic.”

  “How about a small coffee and a large bottle of water?” Trent compromised as though he were placating two arguing toddlers.

  “One small coffee,” Patrick allowed. “Your breakfast will be here shortly.”

  “It better not be Jell-O.”

  “Applesauce and eggs.”

  I made a face.

  “The doctor will be in later to check on you and look at your head wound. By then, he should have some test results from yesterday and the labs from this morning.”

  “Thank you,” Trent said, but I didn’t.

  Applesauce and eggs.

  When he was gone, Trent picked up my IV-free hand and kissed the back of it. I’d be damned if it didn’t put me in a better mood.

  “French fries?” I asked, hopeful.

  He laughed under his breath. “Let’s see how the coffee sits first.”

  “You need to eat something,” I told him.

  He nodded. “I’ll get something when I grab your coffee.”

  “Is the coffee decent here?” I asked, grimacing.

  “There’s a coffee cart downstairs. It’s decent. As soon as someone gets here, I’ll run down and get it.”

  “You can go now.”

  Before the words were even out of my mouth completely, he was shaking his head. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  I didn’t argue. Resolve and anxiety mixed in his eyes when he spoke, and I knew better than to push. I was the one in the hospital bed, but T and I both had scars and shit to work through from this accident.

  What pissed me off most was that his scars had been avoidable.

  Not too much later, the door opened again, and Camden walked in. I’d barely seen my brother since moving to Maryland, so seeing him now was also a reminder of just how bad things had gotten.

  “Cam,” I called, smiling. “I heard you were rattling around.”

  Smiling wide, he came toward the bed and offered his hand. “I was here yesterday, but I figured you already had enough to deal with so I wanted to give you a few to adjust.” His eyes slid to Trent. “How ya doing, Trent?”

  “Cam.” Trent inclined his head. “All good. Thanks for coming.”

  T was cautious with my brother. It put my hackles up instantly. Had Cam said something to him?

  “Why don’t you go get that coffee now?” I said.

  Trent glanced between me and my brother, then slowly nodded. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Of course. My little bro couldn’t kick my ass even with me like this.”

  Cam guffawed. “I might be younger, but I’m bigger than you!”

  “Not for long.” I rebuked. “I’ll gain it all back.”

  Trent leaned over the bed, cupped the back of my head, and kissed the top of it. “Security is right outside. Just yell if you need them.”

  He spoke loud enough for my brother to overhear, but Cam didn’t act offended.

  “Hurry back,” I said because I did want him to hurry back but also because I wanted him to know I would miss him.

  He kissed my head again.

  “You want a coffee, Cam?” T asked on his way out.

  “Nah, I had one before I came.”

  Outside the door, Trent said a few things to security that made the men peek around the doorframe and look in the room.

  Overprotective bastard.

  I loved him.

  When he was gone, Cam sat down in the chair beside the bed.

  “We should talk,” I said.

  He nodded.

  34

  Trent

  * * *

  I trusted Camden Forrester. To an extent.

  It was true Ivy called him here to try and talk some sense into their parents. I also knew Cam said he supported mine and Drew’s relationship. I knew he tried to reason with their father, but I also knew he wasn’t successful.

  Truth was it was easy to accept something from afar when it didn’t affect you.

  It got a lot harder to do when it stared you in the face. Especially when it was the kind of thing that literally ripped families apart.

  I didn’t think Cam would hurt Drew. If I thought that, I never would have given them the room.

  But I wasn’t stupid.

  I had enough experience with people to know Camden might not be as cut and dry about his brother’s relationship as Ivy.

  I would buffer Drew from as much as I could, but this? His brother? We couldn’t stay in that bubble I’d built around us. At the very least, we had to know who we could trust. If Camden changed his mind about supporting his openly gay brother, then Drew needed to know.

  Boy also needed his coffee.

  He was growly and needy all at the same time.

  It fucking turned me on, pumping me full of adrenaline unlike anything else. Drew had never been one to shy away from contact, from affection, but he was almost clingy now. It might worry me if I didn’t know.

  If I didn’t feel the shift in our relationship, if I wasn’t coming to understand the way things had been realigned.

  I think I liked it. No. I didn’t think. I did like it. I liked it so much that twinges of guilt pierced me as I thought about it. About him.

  I never wanted this accident to happen. If I could go back and stop it from happening, I would in a heartbeat. I would surrender my safety for his. I would do anything to keep him sheltered.

 
But the accident happened.

  And now we were subtly different.

  I was still feeling out exactly how, but Drew was more yielding. More dependent.

  Of course he is, asshole. I scolded myself. He’s a busted mess, and he needs you more than he ever has before.

  But it was different. This wasn’t just because he was injured.

  He wants you to call him baby.

  My stomach flipped, giving me a slightly shaky feeling. Without thinking, my feet hurried a little faster to get his coffee, because the faster I got it, the faster I could be with him.

  Of course, the press was out.

  Damn vultures. I sincerely was awed these people still hung around this hospital, hoping for a glimpse of me, the family, or even of Drew. Didn’t they have anything better to do? Fuck. Go take a picture of a puppy.

  If these people put half as much effort into making the world a better place as they did trying to get gossip shots, this world might not be so fucked up.

  “Trent!” someone hollered as I approached the coffee stand.

  My shoulder blades snapped together.

  “Trent!”

  I ignored them. A few clicks of the camera made my jaw tick, but I let them take the pics. They were boring shots.

  At the head of the line, I ordered two coffees and grabbed a breakfast sandwich from the small heated display.

  Setting it in front of me, the cashier recited the cost, barely looking up.

  Shit.

  I had no wallet. No cash. No phone to call someone to bring me some.

  For the last week, my entire life revolved around a hospital bed. I didn’t think about money or phones or food.

  “Ahh…” I faltered. “I, ah, left my wallet upstairs in the room,” I said, feeling like a dumbass. So nice the vultures could get my stupidity on camera for later.

  “I’ll have to, ah, leave this and come back.”

  The cashier glanced up for the first time.

  “Sorry,” I said, glancing at the two coffees on the counter. I picked up the one that was Drew’s. “Can I take this one? I promise I’ll run the money right back down.” I couldn’t leave his coffee here. He asked me for it. I was going to make sure he got it.

  “Here, I got it,” Romeo said, stepping up beside me and handing over a wad of cash. “Keep the change.”

  “R-Romeo Anderson,” the cashier stuttered.

  More camera clicks went off.

  “How ya doing?” He gave the girl a smile.

  I picked up the rest of my stuff, and we stepped out of the line.

  “Can you pose for a couple pictures?” a few photogs yelled. “Please!”

  Romeo and I stopped for two seconds, glanced at one camera, then started walking again. Questions were shouted at us until we got into the elevator and the doors firmly closed.

  “Thanks,” I said when the elevator started moving.

  “Anytime,” he said. “Glad to see you eating.”

  I made a sound. Why did I suddenly feel awkward? Why did my tongue feel thick against the roof of my mouth?

  I stared at him a few seconds longer, wondering what the fuck was wrong with me, but then he spoke. “Everyone else already headed upstairs.”

  Nodding, I said, “Cam stopped in to see Drew.”

  “What do we think of him?” Rome asked.

  “We?”

  He nodded. “Your opinion is the family’s opinion.”

  Blind loyalty. Don’t ever let anyone tell you it doesn’t exist. It does. And it’s exactly why these people were my family even if they weren’t my blood.

  The elevator doors slid open. Any awkwardness I’d felt was gone. “I haven’t made up my mind. I’ll see how Drew is when I step back in the room.

  Romeo nodded. “Good call.”

  “You know I really wanted to deck you for telling Drew about his father,” I said outright.

  Romeo smiled and rubbed his jaw. “Surprised you didn’t.”

  “I promised Drew.”

  “Ah,” he mused.

  “At first, I was hella pissed. But then I realized that’s what family does. They say the hard shit even when it’s really hard.”

  Nodding, Romeo lowered his voice. “He needed to know. We’ve been just as worried about you as we have Drew.”

  “I really appreciate you guys being here. I’m not sure I would have been able to handle everything if you weren’t.”

  He slapped me on the back. “Like you said, it’s what family does.”

  As we approached Drew’s room, a familiar cry echoed down the hall. My footsteps paused, but the urge to follow the sound was remarkably strong.

  I am getting attached. Attached to a child that wasn’t mine. I want her.

  “Trent?” Romeo’s concern interrupted the startling thoughts assaulting me.

  My head snapped up. “Yeah?”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, backtracking so he was at my side.

  “Ah, nothing,” I said, trying to shake off the feeling. I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it while that little peanut was crying her heart out.

  Patrick appeared a few feet away at the nurses’ station.

  “I’ll be right there,” I told Romeo. “I need to ask the nurse about something.”

  He nodded and went ahead into Drew’s room.

  “Patrick,” I called, going to the desk. “Why is that baby still crying?”

  “That’s what baby’s do.”

  I felt my lips thin.

  “I can go check on her if you want?” Patrick offered.

  “You’d do that?”

  “Considering you’re paying me very well to basically be at your and Drew’s beck and call, yeah, I can do that.”

  “Aren’t there enough nurses around here for someone to hold her?” I griped, the sound of her cries making my heart ache.

  “They do hold her. But she cries anyway. It’s the NAS.”

  “What do you know about NAS?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not much. I’m not a neonatal nurse.”

  I gazed off in the direction of the nursery. “Will you let me know when Travis gets here? I’ll come by and spend some time with them.”

  Patrick turned thoughtful, then rummaged through a few drawers at the station. “Ah,” he said, pulling out a piece of paper. “Why don’t you fill this out? It’s a form to be a volunteer. Nursery could always use volunteers to help out.”

  “Then I could see her more?” I asked, setting down the coffee to tuck the form under my arm.

  “Well, no one on this floor would really stop you from seeing her now,” Patrick quipped. “You’re pretty popular among the nurses.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “But it would keep us all out of trouble.”

  Nodding once, I picked up the coffee. “I’ll fill it out and give it to you in a few.”

  “I’ll go see if she’s okay.”

  “I really appreciate it.”

  Patrick giggled, tugged on the ear with the diamond stud, and smiled shyly. I mean, I knew the guy thought I was good-looking, but suddenly, I realized he had a full-blown crush.

  Clearing my throat, I backed down the hall a little. I was kinda embarrassed.

  “Trent,” intoned a voice that was definitely not someone who had a crush on me.

  My heart lurched, and a shaky feeling swarmed over me. Pivoting, I saw Drew’s father striding down the hall toward me.

  His face was dark and sour, the lines around his mouth were deep. He looked tired.

  I’d be tired, too, if I had so much animosity and hate inside me.

  This man made me nervous. Uncomfortable. Judged. He was someone who made me feel less than. Less than human. Less than worthy. Just less.

  I hated it. I hated he had that power. No matter how much I told myself none of it was true and that he was wrong, I couldn’t shake it. Maybe because he’d attacked me at my weakest moment.

  Maybe because, deep down, I was terrified he was right.

&
nbsp; Despite it all, even the tremor in my hands, I raised an eyebrow to regard him coolly. “You actually know my name?”

  “I want to see my son.”

  A bitter flavor coated my mouth. “Sucks to have to ask for something like that, doesn’t it?”

  “I know you think you’ve won here,” he said, stopping in front of me. I was taller than him, and I enjoyed looking down and hoped it made him feel small. “But I still have power of attorney. I’m still his father. And you? You’re just a phase.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek while his words hit their mark. Don’t let him get to you.

  “This isn’t a competition,” I said, suddenly very weary. “I’m not trying to beat you. All I’m trying to do is be with the man I love.”

  He drew back as if I’d slapped him. “You dare say that to my face?”

  I blinked, confused for a second as to what I’d said that was so heinous.

  How stupid.

  How fucking ridiculous was it that this man was offended someone loved his child?

  Shouldn’t he be thankful? I think I would be if someone ever loved a child of mine just half as much as I loved Drew.

  I guess to him, my love was unworthy. It always would be.

  “That I love your son?” I questioned, disgust ill-disguised in my tone. “I do. I love him more than you could even comprehend, and it’s because of that that I haven’t said one disparaging word to him about you.”

  He snorted. “I’m sure you’ve done nothing but fill his head with garbage since he opened his eyes.”

  The definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That’s what it was like talking to this man. Insanity. And now I was done.

  Funny how I was so scared to set this man off before. So scared he would take Drew away. Now that Drew was awake, the fear was gone. I could say whatever I wanted to him right now and not be worried it would come back and bite me.

  I didn’t want to say anything. It wasn’t worth it.

  “If you want to see Drew, you can ask him. I don’t make those kinds of decisions for him.” I turned to walk away. This conversation was pointless.

  “No,” he called, sarcastic. “You’re responsible for him being in that bed to begin with. If you hadn’t dragged him down into a life of depravity, he wouldn’t be being punished right now.”

  I sucked in a breath. My hand tightened around the coffee as so many emotions pummeled me at once. This man was good. Good at making me feel like a villain.