♥Chapter 60: ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʜᴇ ᴘᴜꜱʜᴇꜱ ʜɪᴍ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜꜱ♥

✿Kennedy✿

We reached California within the next thirty hours.

To say I was an emotional mess when I saw the familiarity of the streets, the houses, the sunny breeze, and the ocean smell, is an understatement.

We drove for another forty minutes while I took in everything, the feeling of home hitting so deep within my chest. My chest constricts with all the memories of this place.

"Damn it sure is sunny." Corey puts on his sunglasses.

He brings his face near Toothy's. "Do I look professional, or do I look professional?"

"You look stupid." She pushes his face away.

My stomach quivers with sudden excitement and so much happiness. "Roll down the windows," I tell Jake who's sitting beside me in the driver's seat.

He rolls down the windows and I turn on the music, increasing the volume to its loudest. I've seen many people with their windows down along with loud music, while they drive along the streets. The feel of doing it myself gets me all excited.

The cool wind hits my face and my hair flies all around and over my face. The music makes me want to start dancing. I can't help the laugh that comes out of my mouth. Jake's lips twitch up at that and he speeds up, letting more wind hit me.

Corey sticks his head out the window from the backseat, with his phone out, recording. "CALIFORNIA! WHOO!" He grins with the wind hitting his hair.

Some people passing by us, grin and wave at us.

"We should come here in July," I tell Jake. "They're all throwing water balloons and there's a water fight going on around everywhere. It's really fun."

"Whatever you wish for." He replies, placing my hand on the console of the car and keeping his hand on mine.

"Ooo we can meet Gary! I can show you the hospital I was in!" I could barely keep my excitement in. "I can show you so many places! We have to go to all those places!"

He smiles, glancing at me from the road. "I'll go wherever you want me to."

✯✯✯

❆Jake❆

My feet hurt and I want to die.

"We're lagging." Toothy murmurs into my ear.

I turn my head and meet her blue eyes that are close to mine.

I scowl. "Oh yeah?"

"Jake, I'm slipping." She pats my shoulder.

I gruff and hike her legs up properly around my waist. She wraps her arms around my neck from behind.

"I'm never doing this ever again," I tell her.

Kennedy decided to walk through the streets where people had set up many different stalls and small shops. Basically, it was somewhat like a fun fair.

I hate it.

Toothy wore fucking heels, her fucking heels. Her feet start to hurt, and she told me to carry her around like I was her fucking pig.

"I didn't know we were gonna be walking," Toothy argues. "I thought we were gonna be driving the whole time."

I grunt in response.

While Toothy and I are being the black clouds, Kennedy and Corey are bustling and running around from one stall to another as if they have extra pairs of feet in their pockets if they get tired.

"She looks happy." Toothy murmurs and I look up to see her looking at Kennedy.

Her smile lights up her entire face and she's constantly laughing and clowning around with Corey.

She does look really happy.

"I still can't believe you're married." Toothy frown. "Like...how? Just how?"

I roll my eyes. "Shut up."

"I mean there are like ninety-nine percent more chances of Corey getting married before you, but here you are," she waves her hand at me, "married before him."

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, a married couple gets their wedding nights all to themselves." I glare at her.

She looks at me. "There was a dog." She explains.

I roll my eyes.

"Jake!" I look up to see Kennedy calling me over to a stall. She waves me over.

I hike up Toothy around my waist making sure this dumbass isn't slipping down, before trudging over to Ken.

"Look at these cute hats." Kennedy coos picking up something really pink and sparkly. "Try it on."

I blink. "S'cuse me?"

"Ayo, you heard her." Corey grins at me, wearing a huge bigass shark hat on his head. "Put on the hat."

Kennedy holds it out for me.

"Put it on, Jake." Toothy ushers.

"I'm gonna look like a unicorn's ass," I grumble.

"Don't you always though?" Corey raises an eyebrow.

I shoot him a look. He breaks into a grin.

"My arm is getting tired," Kennedy says, still holding out the hat.

I really do not want to try on the hat in front of Corey and all. If it were just her and me alone then it was fine. I would dance for her on a table in my fucking underwear. Just not in front of everyone.

"Jake, my arm is gonna cramp permanently now," Kennedy says.

A sigh comes out of my mouth and I scowl, snatching the hat from her and yanking it on my head.

"Happy?" I grumble.

"AWWW!" Kennedy melts into cooing. "We gotta take a picture!"

"Already on it, baby doll." Corey snaps a picture of me.

Toothy laughs.

"Fuck off," I mutter unhappily.

"You look adorable." Kennedy pinches my cheeks, reaching up to kiss my cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Can I take it off now?" I ask.

"Sure." She smiles.

After an hour more of walking through hell, we finally stopped at a diner with bags full of shit at the back of the minivan that Corey and Kennedy bought.

We met Dr. Gabriel at the hospital, catching him off guard during his working hours.

"Garyyy!" Kennedy squeals when he comes into view, appearing at the end of the corridor.

He looks up, startled, then drops his jaw.

Kennedy breaks into a run toward him, and his eyes widen before he quickly drops every bit and piece of paper and files in his hands to the floor just in time to catch Kennedy as she throws herself on him and wraps her arms around him.

"What the—" Gabriel frowns in distaste as if he didn't want Kennedy touching him but he wraps his arms around her tightly.

"I missed you!" Kennedy hops off him and grins up at him.

"I thought you left this 'prison' for good," Gabriel says. "What are you doing here? When did you come?"

"This morning." She replies.

"Get out before the nurses see you," Gabriel says, bending to pick up his fallen papers and files. "Or else they'll scream and kick you out themselves."

"Oh, they already saw me." She grins.

"Shit."

Next, we head to her parent's grave which was the hardest fucking thing for me to do. Kennedy cried a lot and I only held her as she did, telling her that they were in a better place now.

It makes me think of visiting my mom...

I shake my head.

No.

Not yet.

I'm not prepared for that yet.

Another fifty hours later, we're back in New York and at our house.

Corey, Toothy and Kennedy pass out immediately on the couch leaving me to carry their fucking bags into the house.

"Need anything else for me to do, sir and madams?" I say sarcastically, dropping the bags to the floor and kicking the door shut.

"Massage my feet bro." Corey looks really tired. "I think they're gonna stop working."

"We've been in the car for almost forty hours, and you weren't even driving." I glare.

"Tell that to my feet." Corey points his toe in my direction.

I chuck a suitcase at him, and he yells, moving just in time before it hits his face.

"Watch the face, man!" He glares, settling back onto the couch.

I ignore him and busy myself by taking off my shoes and socks at the door before heading into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

My eyes fall on the kitchen counter and see a fresh box of donuts for Kennedy. Alex must have bought them for her before heading off to work this morning.

I fill up three glasses of water, place them on a tray and carry them to the living room for the brats along with the box of donuts. My eyes lift and I freeze in my place.

Kennedy's sitting up straight and Toothy and Corey are looming beside her staring intensely at her hands. Kennedy twirls thick strands of her red hair between her fingers, a look of unhappiness on her face.

"They're falling out faster now." She says without looking up, but I know she's talking to me.

I set the tray and donuts down on the coffee table before walking and kneeling down in front of her. I watch the fallen strands of hair between her fingers before looking up at her eyes.

There are tears in them, but they aren't falling.

She finally looks up at me with sad eyes and a pang hits my chest looking at that. I gently place my hand over hers, rubbing the pad of my thumb over her skin.

"We need to shave it off, don't we?" She asks quietly.

I stare at her, knowing this might be one of the hardest things she'll have to do. She loves her hair just as much as I love them.

She wipes her eyes, breathing in. "Let's shave it off. Once and for all." She decides. "Or you might all accidentally choke on hairballs."

Toothy places her hand on her shoulder. "Corey won't mind choking on your hair and dying."

"Ayo what?" Corey blinks.

Kennedy breaks into a little smile, and she looks up at Toothy. "Will you do it?" She asks her. "Will you shave my hair?"

Toothy breathes in, looking shocked. "I...yeah...sure."

She nods and looks at me. "You won't find my hair lying around the house anymore. You can stop abusing the brooms and the shower drainage now."

"To hell with that," I mutter. "I never minded it."

She scoffs. "Liar. You tried tying my hair once all by yourself when it kept getting in your mouth."

"You move too damn much," I reply.

"You sleep with your mouth open." She replies back.

"You yell in your sleep."

"You yell back!"

"You hit me in your sleep."

"You take up almost all the bed."

"What?" My mouth drops open in disbelief. "I sleep on the fucking edge every night as if I'm planning on to suicide by rolling over at any moment!"

"What are you talking about?" She questions innocently.

"That you take all of the bed."

"Now that's just organic bull crap." She says.

I narrow my eyes at her.

A few minutes later, four of us are standing in the bathroom with an electric shaver in Toothy's hand.

Kennedy's sitting on a chair facing the mirror.

Toothy grips the shaver with firm hands, breathing in. "Ready?"

Kennedy sucks in a breath, gazing at herself in the mirror. She meets my eyes and I give her a nod. She looks back at herself and gives Toothy a nod, sucking in a breath.

"Do it." She says.

Toothy bites her bottom lip, looking hesitant. The buzz of the shaver vibrates through the bathroom, and I find myself fisting my hands. Kennedy doing the same.

Toothy brings the shaver close to Kennedy's head, tears spring to Kennedy's eyes, and I almost back out and run out the bathroom, not being able to watch this. But I remain, rooting to my place.

Toothy brings the shaver to Kennedy's hairline, takes in a breath, grips the razer firmer, and runs it back Ken's head.

We all stop breathing.

The hair Toothy shaved, falls down. A line of uncovered head marks Ken's head.

All of us have our mouths hanging open, staring at her in disbelief.

It's Kennedy who speaks first.

"Woah...I look weird." She touches the shaved part of her head and gasps. "Jake, touch it! It's so smooth!"

"I wanna touch!" Corey jumps in and runs his finger on her head. "Damnnn."

While Corey and Kennedy talk, Toothy gives me a secret look of unease, telling me that she felt unhappy doing this. But she's the only one whom we could trust to do it.

I wouldn't have the nerve to even plug in the shaver. And I wouldn't let Corey with a fucking shaver near my girl's head.

"Okay let's do the rest," Kennedy calls.

Toothy brings herself to shave the rest of Kennedy's head. Carefully running the shaver up and down, until every strand of hair falls to the ground.

The whole time, my lungs refuse to breathe, and my body wouldn't relax. My gaze remains locked on Ken, watching her stare at herself in the reflection.

One by one, her hair goes down.

Toothy turns off the shaver once every strand of hair was shaved. Silence descends the bathroom and no one says a word, gazing at Kennedy's now bald head.

"Damn you got a small head." Corey comments.

Toothy and I snap our glares at him.

He holds his hands up in defence. "What? I meant it looks cute."

Kennedy touches her head, gazing at herself in the mirror. "This feels...smooth." She says. "I look like a boiled egg."

"You look fucking beautiful." I glare and I mean it. She's always beautiful.

"You can literally polish my head squeaky clean." She observes. "I look like the end of the boat oar."

"Shut up."

"Like a basketball ready to be kicked." She continues.

"Don't make me kick your ass," I grumble.

She smiles at me.

"Corey, your turn to clean," Toothy says, gesturing to the hair on the floor.

Corey points a finger at himself in disbelief. "Moi?"

Everyone nods.

"Come here." I pull Kennedy up the chair and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tight to myself. I kiss the top of her head. "You okay?"

She nods.

"Tell me if you need anything, alright?"

She nods again.

"Group hug!" Corey hollers before tackling Kennedy and me into a hug.

I start pushing him off not wanting his cockroach hands anywhere near me. "Get the fuck off me!" But he tightens the hug, pulling in Toothy too.

We all pull away from each other after a few seconds.

Toothy holds onto Kennedy's hands. "You want to try on wigs and hats and other stuff?"

A smile breaks on Kennedy's face. "Any colour?"

"Whatever you want." She replies.

"Blue," Kennedy says immediately.

"Done. All in different shades." Toothy replies.

Corey pulls Kennedy into a tight hug and I had to hold myself back from kicking him in the face by how tight he's hugging her.

"It's okay. You don't have to go through this alone." He says. "Jake will shave his head for you too."

My eyes widen. "What?"

He gives me a mischievous smile. "He'll do anything for you."

"Really?" Kennedy turns towards me with awe and happiness on her face.

"I...uh...Corey will shave his head too since he's such a good friend." I throw him under the same bus he pushed me under.

Corey's mouth drops open before he quickly composes himself when Kennedy looks at him.

"Yeah?" She asks, tears forming in her eyes.

"Uh..." Corey stammers while I know all too well how much he loves his hair and is obsessed with it. Asshole would give away his arms to save his hair. "Yeah...sure...why not? Toothy will too."

Toothy looks startled. "What?"

She secretly glares at Corey, while he avoids our eyes, knowing damn too well that we'd have to shave our heads because he opened his fucking mouth.

"Aww thank you, guys." Kennedy awes. "You people are the best."

We all nod quickly.

"But it's fine. I don't want you all to shave your heads." She says. "Please, don't do it."

We quietly sigh in relief.

"Anything you want, babydoll." Corey smiles at her. "Now, let's munch on those donuts kept outside, shall we?"

✄ ✄ ✄ ✄

Words: 2,600

Date of publishing: 19th June 2022