by Lexy Timms
Cayden stayed quiet.
“Well?” she prodded.
“I don’t want you to take Andrew in.” At these words, Lillian’s mouth tightened into a thin line; he kept going anyway. She asked what I wanted to say, after all. “I can understand helping out while his parents are away, but the whole time? Like I said, that will be months. He got pretty beat up in that wreck. Yes, it could have been a lot worse, but it’ll be four to six months before his femur breaks heal. And that’s assuming all his physical therapy and tests run smoothly.”
Lillian didn’t say anything. Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip and the light reflected off her eyes.
“So, yeah,” he ended, shrugging. “That’s how I feel.”
“You know what, Cayden?” she whispered, but he quickly realized that she wasn’t whispering to stay quiet. Her voice trembled, and he saw the light glinting off her eyes was because they were wet. “I lost Amelia in this same hospital. If I could get into the ICU, I would be able to walk you to the room where she stayed with my eyes closed. I didn’t get a chance to take care of her and make sure she could walk again.”
Cayden’s heart dropped to his heels.
“Amelia would appreciate me taking care of Andrew, since he actually made it out alive.” She set her jaw. “Because she didn’t. She was wheeled out and put six feet under.”
“Don’t be so dramatic” he interrupted, pulling her against his chest. He didn’t say it to be mean; he meant that Andrew was alive and nowhere close to dying. She pulled away from him at first, but he didn’t let go, and immediately she relented, collapsing against his torso and sobbing. He knew that holding her like this always had a way of calming her down; why, he didn’t quite know. But it had helped every other time, and he desperately hoped it would now.
“You don’t deserve to have so much sadness and guilt inside you, Lil,” he murmured into her hair.
She didn’t respond, trying hard to gain control of her emotions. They stood there outside Andrew’s hospital room for a few minutes. At last, her body began to tremble a little less and her breathing started to grow more even. Finally, she drew away and looked up at him.
He wiped her tears with his sleeve and she held onto his wrist. “They’re my family, Cayden,” she whimpered. “I want you to be part of our family, too.”
He nodded.
“I’m sorry for keeping my feelings inside. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t start this,” he said, wiping another drop off her chin. He felt like such a jerk. Why did he have to let the past try to control his future? He trusted Lily. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“But—”
“Listen to me,” he said softly. “You have nothing to apologize for. And you have no reason to feel so much guilt over so many things all the time. We’re going to be honest with each other from now on, okay?”
“I don’t like it when you don’t trust me.” She sniffed.
“Well, that’s my fault, isn’t it?” Cayden felt the sickening sensation of his ego being crushed; the words felt like acid in his stomach. “I do trust you, Lil. I promise. And I’m glad you want me to get to know your family instead of trying to keep me away from them.” Under his breath, he added, “My ex always went out of her way to keep me away when her family visited.”
A little smile flashed in her eyes.
“There we go, she’s feeling better now.” He kissed the top of her head, glad he didn’t have to make any more confessions. “Are you hungry?”
“I could use some water, but I’ve got a bottle in there.” She glanced toward Andrew’s room. She grinned. “You’re hungry again, aren’t you?”
“I’ll survive.” He smiled. “When will Andrew’s parents be back?”
“I don’t know. I guess after they eat lunch. They’re probably going to want to stay here all afternoon since Andrew’s awake now.”
“You need to be here, too, to talk to the doctor about getting Andrew back home and scheduling his appointments.”
“Hey, uh...” Suddenly shy, Lillian put her hands in her pockets and looked at her shoes. “I was thinking about something earlier, before we came out here.”
“Okay...?”
“Well, it’s about Andrew and his rehab.”
“All right. What about Andrew and his rehab?”
She looked for the words, and finally shook her head. “Nah, I think I should talk about it later, maybe.”
“Why not now?”
“I don’t think now is a good time.”
“Give me one good reason why now isn’t a good time.”
She frowned. “There’s not, I guess.”
“Okay, so what is it?”
“I was just wondering if, maybe, uh...” She took a breath. “You might not like this idea, but I was thinking that it’s perfect and it would make me happy to see it, but I was thinking that maybe you can help Andrew with his physical therapy.”
Cayden’s heart stopped mid-beat. Are you kidding? his mind yelled. He punched that voice down and tried to think about how much Lillian would appreciate it. She literally just said she wants you to be involved with the family, Cayden, he told himself. You finally managed to get her back after everything that happened. Saying no to this is not starting this second round with a good vibe.
He did his best not to show any expression on his face that would hint about his reluctance. “Well, Lil, you know I would, but physical therapy is nothing like what I do. It’s a whole other ball game, really. I’m a personal trainer. I’ve got a degree in kinesiology and athletic training. Not much focus on physio. I mean, there are some aspects that are the same, but I don’t think—”
“Of course, he would still go to therapy, Cayden. I know you’re not a PT. I was only thinking that you could help him with his exercises that he’s supposed to do at home.”
“Anybody can do those, Lil. He could even do them alone.”
“I know,” she said roughly, getting frustrated. “I was thinking that since you know a lot about muscles and building strength and all, maybe you can help shed some light on the exercises in a way that I couldn’t if I were to help him or if he were to do them alone. But, listen, never mind. I know you’re busy.”
“I will,” he said quickly, seeing her getting caught in the downward spiral again.
She looked up. “You will?”
He nodded.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I will. I’ll help him. Who knows, maybe I’ll discover that physical therapy is the most incredible thing ever and it’ll become my new passion.” Trying to play it off as nonchalant, he shrugged again. “I never thought about it, to be honest.”
Lillian threw her arms around him. “Cayden, I thought you would say no. Thank you so, so much.” She planted a big kiss on his mouth, and a nurse quickly passing by smiled to herself at the sight. Red-faced, Lillian hopped away from Cayden.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “We’ll both help Andrew, and things will be all right. He’ll get better in no time with the two of us at his side.”
The joy on Lillian’s face made her glow in the white fluorescent lights of the hospital. Together, they went back into Andrew’s room to wait for his parents. Even in the presence of Lillian’s overwhelming happiness, Cayden couldn’t shake the reluctance inside him that scratched at his bones. This whole Andrew situation was the exact opposite of what he had envisioned for his and Lillian’s time together, and now he was basically inviting the guy to interrupt their relationship—again.
It will mean a lot to her, he thought, but it didn’t help him feel better. If you want to keep her, you have got to do this. You’ve got to show her that you’re serious about her, and part of that includes her family.
He sighed, but she didn’t notice. He looked at her face, which looked infinitely less burdened by stress than it had yesterday.
I really hope this will all work out all right.
“HEY.”
Everything was dark. Some
thing poked his shoulder. He didn’t move.
“Hey,” the voice said again. Instead of a poke, this time it was a firmer press of what felt like a finger or two. He groaned, still stuck in the blackness.
“Hello?” The voice was louder this time, and it was clearly done with playing nice. A whole hand pushed his arm, forcing him onto his back. “Are you alive?”
He was completely unable to open his eyes, but he was slowly waking up enough to know who the voice belonged to. Right before she started poking him, he had been immersed in a dream about a workout with Katharina that was playing with his perception of reality.
“I’m stuck,” he managed to get out.
“Stuck?”
“Dream,” he grunted.
“Wake up, sexy. Come on. I’m here waiting for you.” She sounded like she was smiling. Cool hands touched his face and combed back the thick strands of hair that had fallen against his forehead.
He felt a kiss on the tip of his nose and felt the blood flow back into his arms. Mostly conscious, he reached up and rubbed his eyes. When he had scraped away the dried sleep that had gathered in the corners, he looked up and saw Lillian’s face hovering above his. That cheeky smile of hers was already teasing him in his first waking moments.
“Hey,” she said again, running her dainty finger along his jaw line.
“Well, hey there.” His voice was as rough as sandpaper compared to her smooth, velvety one. “How do you always look so beautiful when you wake up?”
She giggled; it put a smile on his face to see her so happy. He pulled her close and she wrapped her arm around his torso. “I’ve been awake for a little while, actually.”
“Oh, sorry. You should’ve woken me up.”
“You were too cute to wake up.” She pinched his cheek. “You were hugging my pillow like a kid with his stuffed animal. It was adorable.”
“I’m not adorable.”
“Yes, you are.” Lillian scrunched up her face. “Did you sleep all right?”
Cayden yawned. “I had a really weird dream about Katharina.”
“Oh yeah?” She grew solemn.
“We were working out, but it was in a kids’ playground instead of a gym. And all the equipment kept disappearing then reappearing in a different place. It was so frustrating.”
“But it was probably a good workout, having to chase everything around all the time, right?” Despite her joke, her eyes were still serious.
“I guess.” He grinned. “I had another one, too.”
“What was it about?”
“Come here.” Before she could protest, he drew her against his chest again and held her tight. “It was a really nice one.”
“I like the sound of this,” she purred.
“How do you feel about a fireplace, a cabin, and a snowstorm?”
She nuzzled him. “Doesn’t sound bad at all. Until you realize it also sounds like a horror movie.”
Cayden groaned. “Way to ruin the fantasy! I was literally smelling the wood just now.”
“Whoops.”
“Well, it has definitely inspired me, so I’m going to look into getaways for us sometime in the near future, just so you know.”
“Excellent. I’m down for that. I could probably get some good reading done there, too.”
He ignored her joke and winked. “I’ll read your body while we’re there.”
Lillian squealed, and jumped away from him. “So naughty!”
“I can’t help it. You do that to me.”
Her cheeks grew rosy. “You know, we keep going down to breakfast every day half an hour before it’s over. We always miss the good stuff.”
“Hey, they have hot pancakes and bacon. That’s all I need in life. Aside from—” he stopped, and jokingly covered his mouth. “I was about to say something naughty.”
“You can show me later.” She blew him a kiss and stripped out of her pajamas, changing into a long- sleeved T-shirt and jeans. “Do these make my butt look okay?” she asked, turning to look at herself in the full- length mirror.
Cayden whistled. “That whole outfit makes everything about you look phenomenal.”
She scoffed. “It’s literally just a shirt and jeans, Cayden.”
“I’m a simple man, as I’ve said before.”
Lillian rolled her eyes, but he could see the pleasure on her face. “I’m hungry. Come on. Andrew is being discharged right after lunch, so we need to get back there to prepare.”
“Prepare? Does he have a lot of luggage?”
“My guess is getting him into the car with crutches and a leg that doesn’t bend is going to be no easy task. We’ll try scooting him in one way and have to make some adjustments.”
Cayden thought for a second. “I don’t think so.”
Lillian gave him a questioning look.
“Fitting him in there will be pretty easy. It may involve a foot between the two front seats, but I don’t think it will be so difficult.”
“You do realize how tall he is, don’t you?” she asked.
“Of course. But—” He smirked and lowered his voice, “you know I’m an expert at fitting long things into small spaces.”
Lillian let out a giddy shriek and ran into the bathroom, covering her face. Between the gaps in her fingers he caught a glimpse of the flaming red embarrassment coloring her cheeks, and he grinned. Her reactions got him every time; she was so funny when she didn’t know what to do with herself.
They managed to settle down and get the last scraps of food before heading off to the hospital. Cayden chowed down on his pancakes and bacon and fruit, silently mourning that today was the last day of his beloved continental breakfast. Lillian calmly sipped her coffee and ate a bagel, every so often sharing how grateful she was that she hadn’t had a big flare-up since arriving in Rodney. Making a joke about how their conversations were sometimes as boring as a couple who had been together for fifty years, they checked out of the hotel and loaded up in the car.
Lillian stayed in the car with Cayden while he found a parking space this time. Enjoying what he assumed would be the last little chunk of time together without anyone else being there, he held her hand as they strolled across the parking lot. When they arrived in Andrew’s room they were both shocked to see him in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, looking as ready to go as he could with some fading yellow bruises splattered across his arms and the side of his face.
“Are we ready now?” Lillian asked excitedly, letting go of Cayden’s hand and giving Andrew a hug.
He nodded, opening his mouth to reply.
Frances interrupted. “The doc said he could go early if he wants to.”
“Have you already had the final checks?” Lillian asked Andrew.
“Yeah, they said I’m free to go. They keep saying I’m a strong, resilient guy.” With a stereotypical superhero grin, he puffed his chest out a little. “It’s not getting to my head, I swear.”
Lillian groaned jokingly. “Geez, Andrew, the dryness of your humor turns me into a prune sometimes.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Well, you all are going to have a miserable time together, I imagine.” Frances winked at her husband. “Let me take a photo.”
“Cayden,” Lillian called, beckoning him over. “Come over here.”
“Nah, just let it be you two.”
“No way. Come here.”
“Come on, buddy,” Andrew called, sounding like he was talking to a baby.
Fine, he thought, and joined the other two on the bed. Putting his arm around Lillian, he smiled for the photo. Frances was obviously aiming the camera much too high, and looking just above the top edge of her glasses was not seeming to help her eyesight.
This is a special day, he thought, and stood up. “Hey, you two,” he said to Andrew’s parents, “go get in the photo. I’ll take it.”
“Are you sure?” Frances asked, obviously thrilled, and didn’t wait for an answer. She grabbed her husband’s wrist and pulled him into the photo
. It took a minute for Cayden to instruct them where to move so the photo would come out better than a simple hospital snapshot; he could see that Andrew’s parents were impressed with his photo skills. I guess being around Katharina has taught me a few things, after all. He smiled to himself as he counted down from three, taking a couple of photos.
“Hey, Lillian,” Andrew said, looking at her with a sudden beaming grin on his face, “remember how you and Amelia and I used to do that stupid pose?”
Lillian’s eyes lit up. “Oh, my gosh. I totally forgot about that. Cayden, take another one!”
“What pose?” Frances asked.
“Just some stupid thing we used to do,” Andrew answered.
“Can we stay in the photo?”
“Yeah, you and Dad stay in! Just do something dumb.”
Cayden counted down, and at the last second Andrew and Lillian burst into ridiculous faces that were so contorted they barely looked like themselves. The photo made them look even worse, and even though Cayden didn’t understand it he knew it meant a lot to Lillian. She and Andrew were bringing up inside jokes to each other, and his parents clearly didn’t understand any of it. Tanner shrugged at Cayden, who handed the phone back to Frances.
“I’m guessing you’re the adult in some situations,” she joked, and scrolled through the photos he had taken. “Oh, they look so terrible in these!”
“They’re having fun, Frances,” droned Tanner.
“The good ones are here.” Cayden pressed a thumbnail on her camera roll, which was full of accidental pocket photos.
“These are much better. I think I’ll get this one developed.”
“Get them both developed,” Tanner said. “Make sure everyone looks good and not just you.”
Frances stuck her tongue out at her husband and turned to Cayden. “Thank you. It’s the first family shot we’ve had in...” She paused to think, but the pain on her mind was apparent. “Well, it’s been a long time.”
“No problem. I’m glad I was able to be here with all of you.”
“We’ll see you when we come back from Europe, right?”
