♥Chapter 46: ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ♥

❆Jake❆

Corey hums a song while waltzing into the living room with two cups of coffee.

He hands me one of the cups, "Here you go, dear."

"Thanks, wifey." I roll my eyes.

He plops on one of the couches and switches on the TV, settling on a movie.

"Shouldn't your fatass be studying like the girls were?" I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.

I wince at the taste.

Kennedy makes it better.

Corey waves me off.

For a while, it's just Corey and I watching TV.

The front door opens, and I look behind to see Alex walking in, hooking his keys on the wall and taking off his shoes.

His eyes stop on Kennedy's Yoda, and he lets out a deep sigh, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Hey, Papa Bear." Corey greets.

"Hey, kid." Alex greets back, stepping into the house and walking into the kitchen.

"You're back early." Corey notices.

Alex shrugs while downing a glass of water, "Decided to close a little early."

"Come and watch with us." Corey invites. "You've gotta watch this one."

Alex's eyes glance at me and I look away, giving off the expression that I don't really mind or care.

He hesitates in the kitchen for a while before finally coming and sitting on the couch across from me, still in his police uniform.

I feel his eyes on me for a moment before he looks at the TV.

I stop myself from straightening my back.

A little while into watching the movie, someone's phone starts ringing.

Alex shifts in his seat to pull out his phone from his back pocket. He then stands up and walks into the kitchen to answer it.

A minute later, Alex emerges out of the kitchen, fixing his belt on his uniform, looking determined.

"Where'r you going?" Corey asks.

"Some sort of blast at the mall." Alex puts on his watch, hurrying to put on his shoes. "Pretty huge. Half of the mall is on fire."

Corey gives a shocked expression and I frown.

"I hope no one's deeply injured." Corey gives a worried look.

"Gotta go and find out." Alex shrugs and opens the front door to walk out.

"Wait a minute." I start abruptly, frowning.

Corey and Alex look at me.

Corey notices my expression and furrows his eyebrows, "What—"

"Where did Toothy and Ken say they were going?" My eyebrows furrow deeper.

Corey and I frown at each other.

Then our eyes widen.

Both of us bolt up at the same time.

"If you're thinking what I'm thinking—" Corey says.

I nod, quickly pulling out my phone and dialling Kennedy's number.

Corey calls Toothy too.

A few seconds pass.

My heart drops.

None of them answered.

A quiver goes down my body, violently shaking me all of a sudden.

I look at Alex who's already looking at me, picking up on what I'm about to say.

"We gotta go."

✯✯✯

It's like a car chase but without the chase.

Alex speeds on the roads, with his police car sirens turned on, flashing the road red and blue around us.

My feet don't feel stable as they bounce repeatedly with my fingers gripping my phone hard enough to crush it.

I keep dialling Kennedy's number.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up.

Alex tries his best to get us to the mall that caught on fire.

They didn't even tell us which mall they were going to!

Every inch of my being pleads that it wasn't the mall that caught on fire.

The calls going to voicemail tell me otherwise.

Some sort of rage washes down on me that I slam my fist against the back of the passenger seat where Corey's sitting beside Alex.

"I'm trying," Alex calls out, a crease of worry and fear between his eyebrows.

Corey's hands shake on his lap even though he fists them into tight balls.

I swear if anything happened to Kennedy or Toothy - I don't know – I don't know what I would do.

Something hits my gut and for a moment it felt like someone punched me. Except no one had. The last thing I want myself is puking right now because I'm scared shit.

My body jumps up when the mall comes into view.

For a moment, my mouth drops open, gazing at the one side of the mall, completely in ruins, the fire still blazing into the night sky.

"Holy shit..." Corey breathes out.

My heart thuds faster with panic.

Alex doesn't get the chance to stop the car before I pull open the door and jump out, pounding towards the mall.

Footsteps follow behind me, but I don't pay attention for more than a second.

My eyes search everywhere for Kennedy and Toothy, scanning the line of ambulances, fire trucks, people rushing around, and men in uniforms and masks.

Someone grabs ahold of my shoulder, halting me from getting closer to the scene.

"Please stay back." A police officer holds me back.

"Get the fuck off of me!" I shrug him off. I need to find Kennedy and Toothy. The officer stumbles back before moving to hold me back again.

"It's okay, he's with me." Another voice- Alex, assures the police officer. He finally hesitantly lets me go again.

"Do you see Toothy and Ken?" Corey halts beside me, half panting, his eyes darting everywhere.

My head fills with nerves as I shake my head.

The air smells of smoke and burns. Kennedy cannot survive in this air.

Corey clamps a hand on my back and starts jogging towards an ambulance giving a silent indication to follow him.

I jog after him and stop as he reaches a guy wearing a white uniform carrying hospital supplies.

"Have you seen a redhead girl?" Corey asks, a hint of urgency in his voice. "She was probably with a friend; brown hair, tall."

The guy furrows his eyebrows in confusion, and it takes me every bit of control I have to not lunge at him to give a quicker response.

"Not sure...many injured. Till now seven dead bodies found...already some people drove to the hospital." The guy stammers in weak English but I wasn't in my wits anymore.

Seven dead bodies?

No.

Please no.

Please not Ken and Toothy.

Corey's face visibly pales a little, but he keeps himself composed as he nods and the white uniform guy rushes away.

Corey shares a look with me and it's obvious what both of us has on our mind.

He shakes his head in denial, "No, no - It's not them. He wasn't talking about them."

My own brain couldn't think straight as it kept leading to the scenarios White Uniform put in my head.

"We'll ask someone else." Corey declares, taking off in a jog to another ambulance stationing at a distance.

I follow right after.

We ask five more people. Nothing. No one knows anything. My heart hammers against my chest and I'm desperately trying to remain calm.

Alex's going around too, asking other people if they had seen Kennedy and Toothy anywhere.

My legs don't stop running here and there - anywhere, in search of the girls.

I should have asked them which mall they were going.

I should have texted them every minute.

If something happened to them I don't know- I really don't know what I would fucking do!

Images of them being gone forever drift to my head, making my stomach lurch with both panic and pain. My body pauses to get a grip on myself as I pant with my hands on my knees.

It's like having the same reaction after finding my mom cold and dead on the bathroom floor.

Except it's much worse.

Toothy and Kennedy; if they both - if anything— no, don't think that.

They're fine.

They're safe.

They've got to be somewhere around here.

Just keep looking.

"Jake!" Someone snaps me out of my insufferable thoughts.

My head snaps up in the direction to see Corey frantically waving me over from where he was standing near another ambulance.

My eyes widen momentarily before I dash towards him, a heavy feeling settling on my chest.  

"What? What happened? Found them?" I ask.

Corey nods and for a moment, it seems as if I could finally take in a steady breath.

"Where? Where are they?"

"At the hospital. Near that Thai restaurant. They were taken in an ambulance long ago."

Something grips my gut.

"Ambulance? What the - are they okay?"

Corey gives a pained expression, "I don't know."

I resist the urge to grip my hair before gesturing for Corey to follow, "Let's go."

Jumping into the car, we speed towards the hospital, Alex coming with us abandoning his duty for the night. It feels like years before we finally reach the hospital, throwing open the doors and sprinting towards the reception.

"Where are they?" I demand, startling the little reception lady, "Kennedy and Toothy."

"Excuse me-"

"Where are they?" I demand again.

A hand grips my shoulder, moving me back as Corey steps forward, "Two girls from the blast at the mall." He speaks calmer than I spoke, calming the frightened lady. "They said the two girls were sent to this hospital."

The reception lady glances at me before gazing at Corey, "Was one of them asthmatic?"

"Yes." I jump.

"Yes, they were brought in here half an hour ago." She nods. "Floor 2, room 303."

My feet start moving long before she could finish speaking.

Footsteps pound against the tiled floor and stairs as Corey and I rush up to room 303. 

We move through the corridors and nearly tumble to our knees when we come to a halt.

Toothy sits on the floor, her back to the wall, face pressing against her knees with her long brown hair cascading down her body, hiding her.

"Toothy!" Corey yells in half relief, half panic.

She doesn't move.

"Toothy! Toothy! Are you okay?" Corey rushes towards her, crouching down to her level with me on his tail.

Corey moves Toothy's hair back and grips her shoulders, raising it to look at her face.

My lips part at Toothy's wet tear-stained face. Her hands shake violently with her eyes wide and red.

Her eyes meet Corey's, and she breaks down into sobs.

"Toothy." Corey pulls Toothy up and into a hug, "It's okay. Shh. You're fine."

He looks at me and we both share a look that confirms that she had a panic attack.

"Toothy. No one's hurting you. You're fine." Corey rubs his hands down and up her arms and back.

"There were s-so many men..." She whispers, shrinking herself into Corey. "I t-told them not to touch me—I told them to leave me alone—" A sob falls from her mouth. Corey wraps his arms around her tighter.  

She tries holding in her sobs and wiping her tears away, but she fails when her eyes meet mine.

"Jake." She chokes out.

My hand comes on her back soothingly, "I'm here. I'm here."

"Jake." Her eyes are pleading and guilty.

I gaze at her.

"I'm sorry." She whispers.   

I'm terrified. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tears continue to stream down her face, "I didn't know. I didn't know it was going to happen."

"Toothy." I furrow my eyebrows, panic making it hard for me to see straight. "Where's Kennedy?"

She squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head.

My hands tighten into fists.

"Where's Kennedy?" My voice laces with half panic, half demanding.

She shakes her head again.

"Toothy, please," Corey says softly, his hands still around her.

She refuses to open her eyes, a sob coming out of her mouth, "I'm so sorry, Jake."

My mouth opens to yell or cry, I don't know, but I quickly stop seeing Toothy's state.

Instead, I force in a calm breath. This time I level my tone when I ask, "Toothy, please tell me where Kennedy is."

She doesn't look at me, but her eyes look up, gazing at the white walls. They move until they land on a door three doors away from us.

I waste no second.

Something leaps up my gut and I dart towards the door, throwing it open without a second thought. A million bullets stab into my gut. My legs almost gave away.

No.

No.

No.

"Kennedy!" A yell cuts through my mouth and I don't know what's going on anymore.

I'm rushing towards her but there's someone holding me back. I'm yelling but there's someone yelling over me. I'm trying to see but there's someone blocking my view.

"Get the fuck off me!" I yell, "Kennedy! Kennedy!"

"You're not allowed in here!" Someone cuts my yelling, hands against my chest, trying to push me out of the room.

"Kennedy!" My voice gets louder.

"Let the doctors do their job!"

"Kennedy!"

More hands grab my arms, my torso, my t-shirt and finally pull me out of the room, rushing to shut the door and lock it.

Anger flashes in front of my eyes.

My fist slams on the guy closest to me.

"Ah!" His voice, familiar, grunts out.

I look to my side, finally taking in my surroundings.

Alex is clutching the side of his rib, his face twisted in pain as he tries to ease the pain by rubbing the spot.

"Alex." I breathe out.

He looks at me and shakes his head as if saying it's alright.

My throat turns dry.

I don't know what to think.

For a moment, there's guilt for punching Alex then it quickly replaces with panic and fear again.

"Kennedy-"

"Jake." Corey grips my shoulder, and my eyes meet his, "Man, I know, I know. But you gotta let the doctors work."

His face holds understanding and patience but in his eyes, I don't miss the twinge of fear.

Corey continues gazing at me, his hand firm on my shoulder.

It takes me a moment to realize that I've caused havoc in the entire corridor and that there are people gazing at me from all around, heads poking out from other rooms, and two men in security uniforms standing on either side of me.

Not that I fucking care. I want to see Kennedy.

Kennedy.

Her small body on the bed. Her eyes shut. Her chest immobile. Doctors caging around her as if she needs more than a simple treatment. She looked...dead.

I mentally shake my head.

She's not dead.

She isn't.

My insides yearn to ignore everything and rush back in, tearing through anything that comes in my way to get to her. I'll fuck everyone up who tries to stop me this time.

But the look on Corey's face, his hand on my shoulder. I stay rooted to my spot, my long silence giving him my acceptance of the situation.

He takes his hand off my shoulder after a little while, giving me a small nod.

People start leaving, sensing that there wasn't going to be any more commotion. The security guards on my side leave after a moment of hesitation too.

It's just Corey, Toothy, Alex and I in the corridor again.

A tick goes off in my body, it was only for a moment, but I still couldn't help. Pulling back my leg, I ram it hard into the wall, yelling out a loud curse.

A frown appears between my eyebrows with something else dragging its tendrils down my face.

I don't know how long I'm standing still, my chest heaving up and down rapidly.

No one says anything, no one makes a move.

Images of Kennedy lying on that bed, flash against my eyes. My fingers grip my hair, pulling hard.

I turn around, looking at Toothy, "What happened?"

She had stopped crying but her hands still shake. I feel guilty for a second thinking it was because of whatever I did right now.

Her arms wrap firmly around herself as she looks down, "There was a blast and Kennedy was right in the center of it." Her voice wobbles as she speaks. "This wall didn't completely fall, but she was under it. The fire didn't get to her but the smoke-" She gulps, her eyes wetting again. "They found her unconscious and not breathing and I don't know for how long she was like that." Her voice cracks and Corey puts his arm around Toothy's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

She nods, wiping at her eyes, "I was far away but Kennedy-" she gulps again, "Oh God, it's my fault. It's my fault." Her eyes fill with tears again before she puts her hands on her face.

"Don't." Corey brings her head on his shoulder.

"I told her to go to the end of the mall." Her voice comes out choked. "I told her to go there just because I wanted these stupid shoes. And I was the one who took her to the mall—I'm so sorry Jake." She breaks down crying.

A sigh comes out of my lips and my shoulders slump down.

For a moment, I close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

I can't yell at her. It isn't her fault no matter what she says. Things like that are never predictable. She couldn't have possibly ever known.

Toothy continues crying and I open my eyes.

Another sigh comes out of my lips, "Come here."

She shakes her head, but I still take hold of her hand and pull her towards me, wrapping my arms around her.

"It isn't your fault." I murmur in her ear, "It isn't."

"You must hate me-"

"I don't."

"I'm so sorry."

I shake my head and despite my nerves wracking with worry, anger, fear and a million more things that are completely fucking my head, there's also relief that Toothy's okay. I wrap my hands tighter around her. She's okay.

I know what happens to asthmatics who inhale a lot of smoke.

The fear of knowing all that makes my stomach sick.

✯✯✯

They told me to go home.

They told me that the doctors would call us when there was any news.

But I didn't.

I couldn't.

For forty-three hours, twenty minutes and twenty-one seconds, I've been sitting on the hospital chairs, wide awake.

Corey sits beside me, promising me that he's here with me no matter how long it takes. Toothy's head is on my lap, my arm on her body. She tried staying awake, even by downing three cups of coffee, but in the end, I just told her to sleep for an hour or two and she fell asleep reluctantly.

Corey lets out a loud yawn, patting his mouth. I can see the tiredness and sleep in his eyes, but he wouldn't close his eyes for more than a millisecond just to blink.

"Want something to eat?" He asks me. "It's been forty-three hours."

I shake my head.

"Come on, man. You need to eat. At least coffee?"

My jaw clenches.

Only Kennedy knows how to make the type of coffee I like.

I shake my head once again.

"Mind if I leave for five minutes to get food for Toothy and myself then?"

I gesture to him to go on.

He stands up, stretches, gives my shoulder a squeeze and walks away.

Alex left hours ago, not being able to stay here for long because of his duty.

I knew he wanted to stay but still, this small feeling of déjà vu couldn't help but wash over me of the time when I was sitting all alone on the hospital chair after hearing the doctors tell me that my mom was dead.

Of how I called and called for Alex to pick up his phone, of how I broke completely the moment the word 'sorry' came out of the doctor's lips.

I push the memory aside.

This is not the same as mom.

Kennedy's alive and she's going to be alright.

None of the doctors come out of Kennedy's room yet and a ball of anxiety keeps growing larger and larger inside my stomach.

I run my hands through Toothy's hair, to keep my hands busy before I punch another hole into the wall.

Exactly five minutes later, as Corey promised, he walks back with a huge bag in one hand and a tray of cups in the other.

"I'm back." He tells me.

"Oh really? I couldn't tell."

He shoots me a look from the corner of his eye while rummaging through the bag.

From the bag, he takes out a wrapped sandwich and a box of fries.

Before I could even comprehend what he's doing, the sandwich flies at my face, hitting me square in the jaw.

"Asshole." I hiss, catching the sandwich at the last moment before it falls to the floor.

"You need to eat. If you wanna stay awake and not fall asleep then something needs to go into that fat belly of yours."

His attempts at trying to lift the mood work in the tiniest way possible.

He doesn't know that I don't need food to keep me awake and that just the thought of Kennedy on that bed would keep me awake for a whole lot of weeks.

Corey gives me another look gesturing for me to get on with the sandwich.

I glare at him.

The smell of chicken and sauces waft to my nose from the sandwich I'm holding in my hands. My stomach grumbles and I think I might take a bite or two.

Finally, I unwrap the sandwich and take a bite.

"Stop staring at me, asshole." I frown, without looking at Corey.

"Just making sure you're eating it and not secretly throwing it away."

After a moment, he sits down and takes out another sandwich for himself.

Then he passes me a cup of coffee which I refused at first and kept on refusing until Corey's annoying ass annoyed the fuck out of me that I snatch the cup from his hand and take a sip to give him his satisfaction.

He smiles his stupid fucking smile before drinking his own coffee.

Tossing our trash into the trashcan, all there was left to do was to wait again.

✯✯✯

My eyes blink open, a confused frown deep between my eyebrows. My head nestles on someone's shoulder, and I get up, feeling my neck and back sore from sleeping in a cramped position.

"What the fuck?" I mumble, the frown still etches on my face.

"Here." Toothy passes me a bottle of water.

"How the fuck did I fall asleep?" I take the bottle from her, twisting the cap open.

She blows out a breath, moving her hair behind her shoulders where I was sleeping a couple of seconds ago, "Corey put sleeping pills in your coffee."

My eyes widen for a moment before they narrow into slits, "That motherfucker!"

"Shh." Toothy shushes my yell. "There are other people sleeping here."

"Where's that fucker?" I look around to see him gone but pause when my eyes land on someone else across me.

Alex sits on the chair across me, still wearing his police uniform. Something warm seeps into my chest by looking at him just being here. He gives me a small nod when he meets my eyes.

I look away, taking a sip from the water bottle.

"How long was I asleep?" I ask, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Only for five hours." Toothy replies.

I almost shot up through the ceiling, instead I shoot up the chair, "Five fucking hours? Is there any news? Did something happen? Is Kennedy still in there?"

"Relax, Jake." Toothy places her hand on my arm, "Breathe."

"Tell me," I demand.

She sighs, "Yes, there's news."

"And you didn't wake me up?" I almost yell.

"You needed to sleep!" She yells back.

Whatever. I don't want to waste time arguing with her right now.

"What? What news?" I ask.

A little smile comes on her lips, "Kennedy's alright. She's going to be alright."

It's like my dead heart starts beating again.

I almost melt to the ground in relief and happiness and God knows what. I just want to sink into my knees at that moment.

"You sure?" I ask.

She nods, giving my arm a squeeze.

"Can I see her then? I want to see her." I move to run to Kennedy's room, but Toothy's hold on my arm tightens and prevents me.

"You can't go in there right now," She stops me, "She is alright but she's still in a really delicate state right now. They said we need to give her space for a few days and also they're running some tests and giving her lungs a checkup."

I slowly sit back on the chair. Distraught evident on my face.

"How long?" I ask.

"Just a couple more hours." She assures. "She's still unconscious."

A hard feeling comes over me and I nod with a lump in my throat.

She's alright.

She's going to be okay.

I knew she would make it through.

Corey comes back from wherever the hell he went to. He sees me awake and goes dead in his tracks. His eyes widen.

"Come, come." I pat the spot beside me, narrowing my eyes. "Little brother."

He lets out a nervous laugh, "You seem to be awake."

"Oh really? I didn't notice." I bite out sarcastically.

"How was your sleep?" He tucks his hands in his jeans.

"Oh, you mean the one that you planned for me to have?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Good to see you fresh and crisp. You looked like Sleeping Beauty. Not even kidding."

I narrow my eyes again and he grins.

We sit back down and for once, I let myself take in a deep breath of relief.

Kennedy's going to be okay.

She's going to be alright,

✯✯✯

Another five hours pass by.

Corey could no longer stay awake and passes out beside me. His head propping against my arm.

Other times, I would have shoved his head right off me but today I let him sleep.

Alex and Toothy remain seated wherever they were. In between, a small conversation would start up then we'd go back to being silent.

The door to Kennedy's room opens and I jerk up in my seat, Corey's head nearly tumbling down my arm.

A doctor walks out of the room, holding a stack of files in his arms. My body goes tense as I stand up, letting Corey drop onto my seat. Toothy and Alex rise from their chairs too.

"What happened?" I ask, my voice coming off demanding.

The doctor pauses in his step, glancing up at Alex, Toothy, Corey and me. A crease of unease marks his eyebrows making me tense ever further.

"Kennedy's guardian..." He looks at the file, reading, "Alexander Knight?"

"Yes?" Alex says.

"What's going on?" My patience's wearing off as my voice gets urgent. 

"Who are you?" The doctor questions.

"Your death if you don't give me a quick answer." I snap, unable to keep my cool.

"He's my son." Alex intervenes.

"Oh, so you're like Kennedy's brother?"

What?

"What the fuck?"

"He's her boyfriend." Toothy speaks before waving it off, "Never mind who's who. Just tell us how's Kennedy."

Thank you.

The doctor glances at his file again and I'm thinking to snatch the file and look at it myself.

"Could you come with me to my office?" The doctor asks Alex.

"Sure." Alex nods.

They start walking but Toothy and I follow close behind.

The doctor realizes the group behind him but says nothing except for widening his eyes for a second.

We enter his office, and he gestures for us to sit down on the chairs lining in front of his desk. 

The doctor takes his place on his chair behind the desk, placing the file in front of him.

"We found something." He pushes up his glasses, gazing at the file.

A frown comes between my eyebrows.

He takes his moment before speaking and I shoot Toothy a look that says 'if he doesn't speak any faster I'm going to strangle him'. Toothy places her hand on mine.

After giving the file a long gaze, "I'm afraid to say this but..." He looks back up at us.

My body goes rigid.

Afraid?

What the fuck is he Afraid for?

Why the fuck is he afraid?

"We've detected cancer cells in Kennedy's lungs."

Something inside me violently shatters.

"What?" My voice is barely a whisper.

"Cancer cells." He continues. "You don't spot them immediately and they don't show up quite early too."

What...?

Everything around me starts going dark.

"She has lung cancer." He pursues his lips.

The next words coming out of his mouth, makes the room spin.

Never in my life, I thought a darkness like this would shadow me.

"I can't give a specific time but," He hesitates. "Her days are now numbered."

✄ ✄ ✄ ✄

Author: *stares warily at the readers* Umm guys...? Why are you people looking at me like that...? D-do I have frosting on my face?

Readers: *narrow their eyes*

Author: Um haha

Readers: *narrow their eyes further*

Author: *nervously shifts from one foot to another* Did you people want some of that cupcake too?

Readers: *glares intently*

Author: *SCREAMS AND RUNS AWAY AS A SWARM OF TOMATOES FLIES TOWARDS HER FACE*

Author: I'M SORRY *SCREAMMMMMS*

Author: GODDAMIT!  I SAID WAS— *a tomato smashes her face*

Author: Oof! Okay yeah, I think I deserved that.

Question: Do any of you read Penelope Douglas's books? I've finished reading the Devil's Night series and man I miss the whole group so much 😭😭😭 KAI AND BANKS FORVER ♥️♥️♥️♥️ I love Damon and Will too ❤️❤️❤️ I'm going to read Punk 57 next.

My current read:
1) Angry God by L. J. Shen
2) Percy Jackson book 2. Sea of monsters.

Words: 4,700

Date of publishing: 12th June 2022