~HOSEOK'S POV~

The way back through the trail was a struggle. When Hoseok's arms got tired he switched places with Kai, and when Felix's arms got tired, he switched places with him. They were moving back through the trail much quicker than they had first gone through it, the feeling of a bleeding Kaylen in their arms motivation to move quicker.

When he wasn't carrying Kaylen he was holding your hand, terrified that Kaylen had gotten hurt but yet grateful that no one else did as well. He was feeling incredibly guilty as well, for he was the one that invited Kaylen into the water in the first place.

Everyone was quiet and serious, except for the occasional few words spoken to Kaylen to make sure he was still awake. They wanted him to not pass out if at all possible.

He lost track of time while on that trail. He didn't know how long it took them to get back, but it was several hours. However, when they approached the final mile before finally being back at their cars, they ran into several people who were starting the hike. They warned the people who asked if they needed help to stay out of the water and to be more careful than the group had been.

Hoseok felt shame. He should've known better. They all should've known better.

"Lea, run to the cars and call an ambulance, please," Felix said. Hoseok and he were carrying Kaylen down the last stretch of rocks before entering the parking lot. It was incredibly steep and difficult to maneuver with sore legs, not to mention while carrying a teenager in their arms. 

Lea did as she was told, and quickly made her way down the rocks and to the parking lot.

"We're almost there, okay? Hang in there," Hoseok said to the younger boy who's color had drained out of his face. He was still awake, though, which gave Hoseok some hope that maybe, by some miracle, Kaylen would be okay.

When they finally reached the parking lot, they carefully laid Kaylen down in the bed of the truck while they anxiously waited for the ambulance to arrive. Hoseok's arms were cramping and sore, and he felt sick to his stomach. Nobody was talking; nobody knew what to say.

It only took ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive, and Hoseok felt a sense of minor relief at the fact that trained professionals were finally here to help.

"I'm going with him," Kai didn't ask the paramedics, but he told them.

"That's fine," they said as the loaded him up onto a stretcher.

"Lea, come with me," Kai said, "Please, come with me." At that point, it sounded more like he was pleading. Like he didn't want to do this alone. Like he couldn't do it alone.

Felix pressed a kiss to Lea's forehead before letting her go, watching as she climbed into the ambulance alongside Kai. The doors shut, and the ambulance was off.

"Let's follow them to the hospital," Felix murmured, "We'll leave Kai's car here for now and pick it up later."

Everyone climbed into the truck; Felix and Mia in the front, you and Hoseok in the back. It was obvious that you could sense how tense he felt, how sick he felt. You didn't reach for his hand, but you actually moved to the middle seat and put an arm around his waist, pulling him as close to you as you could.

"I'm here," was all you said, and that was all he needed to hear.

  ☼☼☼

~YOUR POV~

The hospital was cold and dreary like practically all hospitals are. You were surprised by the cool temperatures because you had never once encountered a place on Kauai that could be considered "cold".

You and Hoseok and Mia and Felix ended up sitting in the waiting room for over an hour before Kai and Lea finally came out, both looking tear-stricken and exhausted.

"He's okay," Kai said with a sigh, "but they aren't sure if he's going to lose his foot or not. He needs major surgery. They're prepping him now."

Nobody said anything yet again, because no one knew what to say.

"You guys just go home. We're going to be here for a while," that was Lea

"I'm not just going to leave you here," Felix insisted, going over to her and enveloping her in a tight hug before she had time to argue with him.

"Hoseok, you at least take Y/N and Mia home," Kai said, his eyebrows narrowed at Hoseok. You frowned.

"We should stay," you argued, "We all care about Kaylen here, okay?"

"No. I don't want Hoseok here. Not right now," Kia shook his head, his mind seemingly made up.

"Are you seriously blaming me for this?" Hoseok said in disbelief, "You know that I wanted to protect him just as badly as you did."

"Go. Home." Kai said sharply, before turning around and walking off down the hallway.

"Hoseok, I'm sorry about him. He's just-" Lea attempted to console Hoseok's obvious hurt, but he didn't let her finish.

"It's fine, I'm going. Come on," He said to you and Mia, beginning to walk away without waiting for either of your responses.

Everything was turning so negative, and the tension could be cut through with a knife.

Hoseok didn't say a single word the entire drive home, which was a long time to not say anything. You and Mia didn't talk either.

"I'll call you if I find out anything," was the first time Hoseok broke the silence once he finally reached your house.

"You can come in, you know?" you offered. You wanted to comfort him.

"I want to be alone right now, but thanks," he said in a small voice. "Go rest. Both of you."

Reluctantly, you and Mia both left the car, an emotionally-closed off Hoseok driving away just moments later.

    ☼☼☼ 

~HOSEOK'S POV~

He was unsure as he approached the huge window of your bedroom. It was just past one in the morning, but he couldn't stand to be alone any longer. Neither Kai nor Lea nor Felix had reached out to him, so he had no idea how Kaylen was doing. He just knew he was feeling so angry at those three and so guilty for inviting Kaylen into the water. He thought being alone would help him reflect and accept what was happening, but it only continually made things worse.

He wasn't sure if you were sleeping or not, but your fairy lights were still turned on, illuminating soft lighting from your bedroom. He began having second thoughts; maybe he should've called you instead. Or maybe he should've just slaved to his room, drowning in his feelings alone. Maybe that's what he deserved.

But then his heart was swelling with another wave of panic and pain. He swallowed his pride, carefully tapping on the screen of the open window. There was a second where he hoped you wouldn't hear him, and that he could turn away quietly and go home. But you appeared before him just moments later. You were in your pajamas; an over-sized T-shirt and cotton bottoms that were decorated with pineapples. But, you didn't appear as if you'd been asleep.

"Hoseok?" You seemed confused as you raised the large window screen. "What are you doing here?"

He shifted uncomfortably, suffering through another round of second-guessing and embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shown up like this without calling first," he apologized, but he couldn't find the will within himself to offer to leave.

"It's okay," you replied, "What's wrong?"

"Everything."

He finally felt himself openly break for the first time since he was on the beach, struggling to pull a bloody Kaylen out of the water. He let go of his positive facade, his fake smiles fading away as his face was suddenly overwhelmed with hot tears. In some strange way, it was almost comforting to finally let the wall come down, to properly let all of the emotion come rushing out.

Your face was contorting then, mimicking his sadness as you motioned him to come forward, "Come in."

"Is this okay?" he mumbled, wanting to confirm your permission for him to yet again intrude on your life.

You nodded, your eyes full of compassion as you repeated yourself, "Come in, Hoseok."

And so he climbed through your window into the privacy of your tiny and incredibly humid room, continually swiping tears off his cheeks. You stood in front of him, eyes soft and sad all at the same time.

"Please, just tell me what I can do to help."

"I-I don't k-know. I-I don't k-know what t-to d-do about a-anything anymore," he stuttered through his tears, unable to even express the sheer level of distress that his mind was in. He'd been holding in the emotions. He'd been choking on them, stuffing them down in attempt to not accept the reality of the situation. And because he'd been holding everything in rather than dealing with each wave of grief as it came, he was more overwhelmed now than he ever had been. It was as if his feelings were forcing their way up his throat, and he couldn't breathe right anymore. Everything hurt.

You were suddenly holding him as every wall he'd built came tumbling to the ground without warning.

"Just let it out. It's okay. I'm here," you gently encouraged him, your arms wrapped warmly around him.

"It's all my fault," he cried, feeling as if the only thing that was keeping him from falling apart completely was your arms. "I'm the one that wanted him to come in the water with us."

"It isn't your fault, Hoseok. You're the one who stepped up to try and help him when the rest of us didn't know what to do," you reminded him of reality as he clung to you, his face against your neck, his tears rolling off his face and onto your skin.

"B-But that wasn't enough," he still argued, trying to purge every last thought of regret and doubt he'd been having so that you could negate each one and talk him down. Your voice not only worked wonders at soothing him, but it also helped to draw the hidden darkness out of him; the darkness that he used to always keep hidden.

"You are only human, and there was only so much you could physically do. We all know that you did everything you possibly could. You did nothing wrong, Hoseok. Please, try to start forgiving yourself from all of this pointless blame. Kaylen is alive because of you," he began to panic as the warmth of your body was pulling away from his.

"Please, don't let me go," he practically whimpered. You frowned at him, your hands cradling his cheeks. "I only pulled away so I could do this," you said softly, gently drying up his tears with your fingers. He nodded slightly, allowing his eyes to close for a moment.

"I'm not gonna leave you. I promise," you whispered.

He cried for a little while longer as you silently encouraged him, sitting curled up beside you on your bed. He figured that the position may have been uncomfortable for you, but you refused the idea of him leaving several more times before he dropped it, and allowed himself to continue being vulnerable. He knew he probably looked pathetic and sad, but you were so adamant about taking care of him that he didn't mind seeming that way for a while.

He fell asleep unintentionally, falling into a cycle of spinning nightmares.

☼☼☼

~YOUR POV~

The sound of scared whimpers woke you a mere hour afterHoseok had fallen asleep. You sighed, rolling over to face him.

"Hoseok, wake up," you said, gently shaking his shoulder. He stirred slightly but was still asleep, tears everywhere and shallow breaths being taken in. "You're having a nightmare."

You shook him again and that seemed to do the trick. His eyes were open and his dream was over but he was anything other than calm.

"Y/N?" he cried, desperately trying to blink back his tears so that he could see properly. His hands were reaching for you in the dark.

"I'm right here," you slid your arm over his side, moving closer to him. "Are you okay?"

He easily folded into the safety of your arms. "I will be."

He cried for a little while longer as you silently encouraged him. Your position changed slightly though, as you were sitting more propped up against the pillows, Hoseok's head resting on your stomach. If you were honest, having another human laying on you when the room was already ridiculously hot wasn't the most pleasant feeling. But, Hoseok had looked sad and pathetic when curled up on the edge of your bed as he cried, trying to give you your space. And that boy was currently so deprived of love and consistency that you wanted to do everything you possibly could to help relieve him of all that pain.

"Do you regret coming here?" Hoseok murmured around three in the morning.

"Not at all. Why do you ask?" you ran your fingers gently over his bare back. His shirt was on the floor along with all the blankets and the loose sheet.

"You don't wish you could go back and unsee what you saw on the beach that day? Go back and never have met me, to begin with?"

"I don't," you confirmed,"Do you?"

He sighed, "No. I'm glad you're here."

"You're stronger than you think you are, Hoseok," you reminded him, another relaxed sigh leaving his lips. "Go to sleep now. You need rest."

He shifted, pulling himself off of you. "You need to rest too. You should lay down."

And so you did as you were told, and allowed your eyes to close.