𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲

seventy-two: Comfort.

THE NEXT day, down by the docks at the Chateau, JJ is fishing, standing with Kiara, Pope standing nearby them as John B is laying down on the boat, staring at one spot. Kai is sitting beside him, his legs criss cross apple sauce as he tried to find a way to make John B feel... better, some way, somehow.

"He deserved it, right?" JJ suddenly asked as he began reeling in his fishing line. "Are you joking?" Kie asked, looking at him. "Of course he deserved it." She added as Kai looked at John B, feeling worried for his friend, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Never seen anyone blow themselves up like that." Pope says and Kai sighed. "Cross the one off the bucket list." JJ says as Kie walks down the tiny ramp, glancing back. "JJ!" She says in a scolding tone as she approached the boat. JJ looked away, feeling bad he couldn't brighten up the mood within the group.

"Sucks for Sarah."

Kie sits on the other side of John B and Kai looks over at them as the girl rested her hand over the boy's back. "Are you okay?" She asked and Kai glanced away, feeling like he sucked at what she was so good at doing. Comfort.

"It's not me I'm worried about."

Inside the Chateau, Kai was laying down on his stomach, staring at the wall as he rested his head on his pillow, his arms under his pillow. "Why the hell is that asshole, Sterling, calling you?" JJ asked as he marched into the room and Kai propped himself up, looking over at the blond with a scrunched up face.

"Sterling? Calling me?" He asked and JJ holds up Kai's phone, the dark haired boy sighing when he saw the photo and the name. "Why the hell is he still on your contacts list anyway?" JJ tossed the phone onto the bed.

"Oh, maybe because I'm not someone who holds grudges or hates people over one stupid thing... Besides I keep everyone on my contacts list even people I don't like in my phone. Like Rafe fucking Cameron but I never talk to him." He said, getting up with the phone in his hands. "Are you gonna answer it or not?" He asked and Kai glanced up, confused.

"I guess? Can you go?" He asked and JJ scoffed, leaving the room. Kai sat down and raised the phone to his ear, "do you not have anything else better to do than strain the loving relationship between me and my boyfriend?" Is the first thing he asked him.

"What? No hello?" Sterling replied and Kai sighed, raising his hand to his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "what else more do you want, Sterling?" He asked and Sterling let out a sigh. "I wanted to see... if you were okay." He said and Kai grimaced slightly.

"Okay? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" At this moment, Kai's heartbeat began to quicken, Sterling sounded genuinely concerned and confused. "What are you talking about, Sterling?" Kai said softly and Sterling pursed his lips.

"I-I don't think I should be the one to tell you--" "Tell me right fucking now, Sterling. You can't just call and act like you don't have the right to tell me something I want to know about like as if you weren't the one who called in the first fucking place to ask if I was okay." He said, rambling before taking in a deep breath.

"So what the fuck is it?" He asked immediately. "It's your mom... Raphael? Your dad took her to the hospital on Figure Eight, Kai..." The next fee words were hard for Sterling to say, it's true he really thought he shouldn't be the one to tell him this. "Uh, they said she tried to kill herself." For a moment, Kai's mind went blank and all he did was stare off into the distance outside his window, eyes pricked at his eyes and his heart felt broken at the words.

Why would she do that? Why would she... wanna leave Kai behind like this? Would she have even had an explanation? Many thoughts ran through his mind. "What?" His reaction is quiet, almost quieter than a whisper.

"Uh, yeah. M-My mom shared the news with me, you know, she works under the emergency room unit and it's... where she saw your mom. With Raphael. I-I really didn't know that you didn't know. I'm sorry to have to tell you, Kai." He said and Kai just took a big gulp.

"Yeah... thanks for always being so considerate, Sterling." But his voice sounds bitter, and he sort of is before he hung up, not even saying goodbye. He took big deep breaths, wondering what the fuck had just happened before he grabbed his hoodie, realizing he really needs to go see his mom right now.

He grabbed JJ's dirt bike keys, "hey, I n-need to go right now, and I-I'm taking your keys." He said to his boyfriend as he rushed past the livingroom, over to the door. "What? What? Why? Where are you going?" JJ said, standing up. In his mind, he's thinking Kai is rushing off to go see Sterling. With his dirt bike.

"I-It's nothing... I'll be back soon, okay?" Kai said and leaned in, kissing JJ's cheek. As per usual, he doesn't wanna burden JJ. But what he didn't know was JJ had worries, that he's running off to go cheat on him. He left anyway, rushing off towards the dirt bike.

When he gets there, he immediately asked to see his mom. "Aurora Lynch? I'm her son... I need to see her, to see if she's okay." Tears are welling in his eyes and his voice breaks at each word. "She's on the third floor, just ask someone to take you to her room." The receptionist said. "Okay, thank you." He walks off, heading for the stairs and running up to the third floor where he approached the desk.

"Aurora Lynch? I need to see her."

  

  

  

   

   

    

   

  

   

   

    

   

    

   

   

    

   

    

AUTHORS NOTE
lol i did say i had angst planned