Love Me Sweet - SEQUEL (A Kaimelia - Kai Bartley/Amelia Shepherd - fanfiction)

Part 12

KAI

I'm more than surprised to get a call from Ashley at this hour. My phone has been close by since Amelia wasn't home when I got here so I figured she got called in to work and would send me a text when she got the chance. It's not that we have to update each other on all we're doing, but it's simply something we got used to pretty early on.

But instead of a text from her, I see a different name on my screen now and pick up after a few seconds. I say a hesitant 'hello' into the phone, quickly getting that odd sinking feeling in my stomach when I hear Ashley's tone.

"Hey, Kai.. Are you at work? Something.. happened? I don't even know," she sounds frantic and for a moment I picture her hurt somewhere and me being the only person she could think of to call. Surely she has other people she knows here in Minnesota, right?

"Um, no, not at work. What's going on?" I ask quickly, adding: "Where are you?" when I hear the faint noises in the background. Sounds like there's quiet music playing and.. water running? None of that makes sense to me.

"It's Amelia," she says then and I'm up from my seat before my brain can even process a single thought. I grab my car keys and bolt out the door, Fiddle barely managing to lift his sleepy head in the time it takes me to leave. "We were having dinner.. Long story.. And she got upset and locked herself in the bathroom and I honestly have no clue what to do," Ashley keeps explaining, chuckling lightly at the mention of their dinner.

For some reason, that makes me furious for just a fleeting moment. There's something wrong with Amelia and she's laughing? But the ridiculousness of what she's saying also reaches me and the anger subsides. "Upset at what? And where are you?" I bombard her with questions, simultaneously reaching my car and getting in, hurriedly backing out of my parking spot.

Ashley gives me the address and I type it into the gps, taking off in the direction it shows me. Should be an 11 minute drive according to the instructions. I can make it in 6. I put the phone on speaker and throw it onto the passenger seat, trying my hardest to focus on the traffic around me.

"I honestly don't know. I didn't even say or do anything. Just get here quickly, please," Ashley sounds distraught now, probably thinking that I'm blaming her. I was, but I can also sense the sincerity in her voice so now I'm left wondering again what on earth upset Amelia then.

"Okay, I'll be there soon. Just.. don't leave her alone," I sigh, cussing silently in my head at the red light in front of me. Thankfully it turns green pretty quickly and I can take off again, the phone moving around on the seat. Not that I care.

"Wouldn't think of it," Ashley reassures me and with that we finish the call. I'm a nervous wreck during the final minutes of the drive, feeling like I'm about to have a breakdown when I finally reach the parking lot of the restaurant. I try to park as straight as possible between the lines, not really caring about that at the moment.

Of course, my key fob chooses this time to act up again and I just raise a middle finger at the car in frustration. Maybe that'll lock the doors then.

Entering the restaurant, I ask the first waiter I see where the bathrooms are, which earns me an odd look. But I guess something in my frantic behavior scares him into pointing me to the right direction and I head that way, finally feeling some relief when I open the door to find Ashley standing there, picking polish off of her long nails. Something she used to do when she was nervous.

I look around for a second before she points me towards a stall with a closed door. "Amelia? It's me," I approach it carefully, hearing muffled sobs from the other side. The sound breaks my heart but I try to keep it together, hoping for a response that doesn't come. This reminds me too much of her tumor and I feel my stomach twist.