Now I understood why Mr. Holt was so eager to make Hayden take over his business. Soon he won’t be around anymore. He won’t be there to maybe hire me himself one day. And just thinking about that makes me sad.

Hayden went off somewhere a while after we were given the news that his father won’t have much longer to live. I'm a little upset that he left to go and grieve somewhere alone, but I guess that is the type of person he is. He isn’t very good at showing his emotions.

Whereas I think I show a little too much.

I guess we both have some things to work on.

Mrs. Holt is sitting beside her husband, talking to him quietly as he listens silently the entire time, looking off and deep in thought. I wonder if he's still thinking about the look on Hayden’s face when he told him - after keeping it from him for so long.

Because I am. It's embedded in my brain.

“Charlie…” Mr. Holt calls weakly, making me snap my head upwards. His wife looks at me with hesitation. Slowly, I stand up and walk over to him so he doesn’t have to assert himself too much to speak any louder.

“You should go find Hayden,” he says.

“But I…I think he wants to be alone.” I scrounge around for words. Hayden did just walk off so it's pretty obvious he doesn’t want me annoying him right now.

Mr. Holt just smiles. “I know him really well and he might make you think he wants to be alone but he’s too stubborn to actually admit he wants you there. So please,” I look over to Hermione when he says this and she gives me an encouraging smile.

“Okay.” I gulp.

I exit the room in search of Hayden, getting exhausted in a short five minutes before I decide to call him. I just hope he picks up…

“Hello?” I hear his shaky voice from the other hand and my heart stills. “Charlie, where are you?” It takes me a moment to reply because I’m surprised he’s asking where I am when I'm the one looking for him.

“I’m beside the receptionist desk, where are you?”

“I’m outside the hospital.” When he says this, my feet start moving immediately. “Come out, please?” Hayden asks and he sounds anxious. It sounds like he needs me.

“I’m on my way.”

…

Hayden stands up from the side of the curb when he sees me exit the hospital doors, his eyes bloodshot before I’m running and catching him off guard with a tight hug. Slowly, he bends down to wrap his arms around me, nuzzling into the crook of my neck and I can't help the tears that stream down my face.

Hayden pulls away, shocked when he notices the tears dropping onto the pavement. “Why are you crying?”

“I-I’m so sorry,” I say, shaking my head and lowering my gaze so he can’t see my ugly fat tears. I can’t even explain why I'm crying and it's embarrassing, I also don’t want him to worry for no reason. I just want to be there for him and it frustrates me that I don't know how exactly, to be there for him.

He lifts my chin, looking down into my eyes with sadness. “Don’t be sorry.”

I only lean back into his embrace, my tears probably wetting his shirt. It's just so unfair, why does this have to happen to Hayden? Why does this have to happen to Mr. Holt?

“Are you okay?” I'm so unsure of what to say, it's always weird because I'm afraid I'll ask the wrong questions, say the wrong things. Because he's always saying the right things.

“I just wish he told me sooner,” Hayden sighs. “I regret not being there for them when they needed me the most. He might not have long to live and now it’s too late for me to take back all the times I never came home, I’ve never called, all the times I hurt him.” My heart breaks for him, and he looks away, off into nothing.

Hayden's eyes water, getting so close to shedding a tear, but he hasn't cried even after he got the news. It's like he holds it back and I don't know how much strength it requires to hold all that in.

“He would never blame you for the things you’ve done in the past. You may not be your father’s perfect golden child, but it’s not too late, just be there for him now.” I tell him, placing my hand on his jaw to look at him better. “I’ll be there with you every step of the way.” Hayden stares at me with eyes that look almost blue as his unshed tears reflect the light before he smiles.

That wasn’t my brain that was doing the talking, I realize. It was my heart. Hayden isn’t perfect. No one is. But he's smart, he's funny and sarcastic as hell but most of all, he is caring.

And I want to be there for him. The fact that he's going through this, the fact that I cant prevent any if it hurts more than I thought it would.

His eyes continue to fix onto mine, and they blaze with a ferocious intensity behind them before Hayden leans down to kiss me. My eyes flutter shut, loving the way his soft lips feel against my own. His fingers dig into my hips, pulling me against him as if he never wants to let me go. This is more than being just wanted. Hayden needs me right now. To be wanted and needed is probably the greatest feeling I have ever known.

Especially when I want him and need him just as much as he does.

We pull apart, our foreheads touching each other as our harsh breaths mixed as one. There was something different about that kiss, Hayden’s kisses are always amazing but this one; there's something that made it different from the rest. Special.

“Let’s go back inside,” I propose, lifting one of my brows as I look at him.

“Yeah.” He smiles, grabbing my hand before we walk in together.

“You know I realized something,” I find myself saying.

“What’s that?” He says, swinging our hands as we walk. It makes me feel happy that I was the one to calm him, even if it's just at this moment.

“Your eyes aren’t black in the light, they’re dark brown,” I say through a frown. Hayden looks down at me, tilting his head when he chuckles.

“You know there’s no such thing as black eyes.” He says this through a smile and I’m happy he’s at least smiling again. I missed his dimpled and beautifully crooked smile.

“But yours are,” I say through a pout. “I was positive they were black.”

“Do you spend that much time looking into my eyes,” he says mockingly, smirking as I flush a similar color to my hair.

Yes.

It's the first thing I've ever noticed about him.

“No,” I say quickly, through a huff and this just makes his smirk widen for some reason.

“That’s too bad; I was hoping we had shared this similar hobby.” He shrugs and it takes me a moment to understand what he means by that exactly.

“You’re not supposed to say cheesy things like that you idiot,” I say, bumping shoulders with his as he laughs. Hayden tucks my hair behind my ear to catch a glimpse of my flushed state. I groan, turning away.

The way back to his father’s hospital room leaves Hayden silent once again.

I know he's afraid to face his father after that.

But sometimes I wonder if he ran off because he doesn’t want anyone catching him crying, he hasn't cried since he heard the news and I'm worried he's keeping it all bottled inside, I'm worried he'll burst when he no longer can hold it in.

When we enter the room, Hayden takes a large inhale of breath before we’re being crushed into a hug by his mother. She sighs.

“There you two are, you had us worried.” She smiles at the both of us when she pulls away, her gaze lingering on me for a bit. She smiles and it feels like she's silently thanking me and I can't help but smile in return.

“Hayden, Charlie,” Mr. Holt smiles when we walk closer to him. “I’m sorry we kept this from you for so long, you were focusing on getting into college and I didn’t want to trouble you.”

“Dad,” Hayden shakes his head. “Please don’t apologize to me, it’s my fault. I should’ve been around more; I’m the one... I'm the one who's always troubling you.”

“Honey, don’t say that,” his mother says from beside him, gripping onto his arm and making him face her. “We’ve been nothing but proud of you, we’re just so happy you’re here now, and that’s all that matters to us.”

Mr. Holt takes his wife’s hand when she says this, both of them smiling at their son.
We’re all surprised when Hayden bends down to hug his father tightly. Mrs. Holt smiles sadly as her husband freezes momentarily in shock, before he grips onto Hayden, tears filling into his eyes. Hayden trembles and the sight leaves my eyes watering.

“I’ll do my best dad; I’ll make you and mom proud, I promise.” Mr. Holt smiles when his son says this and I wipe a fallen tear from off my face. I'm such an emotional person, I can literally cry for anything so standing here and watching the scene…

It's so hard not to ball my eyes out.

“You already have,” Hayden’s father whispers back, a content look on his face for a man who knows he’s about to die. “Besides, it’s only been the doctor says even though its spread, I have months, maybe even a year left if I’m lucky.”

Hayden doesn't react but I know this revalation means nothing. It still means his father will be gone soon. But Mr. Holt looked hopeful and he didn't want to take that away from him.

“I promise I'll be there to watch you make me proud, Hayden. I'll always be there."

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Hey guys! I hoped you enjoyed this update and I can't wait to write the upcoming chapters, I wish I could just post them all at once but you guys have lives and so do I, lol.

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