If Not for You (Completed)

Chapter 17: Kazzi

17 Kazzi

"Is he really okay?" Kate asked after Kale had been gone several minutes.

Though I frowned, I nodded, my eyes looking through the door window, watching for him. "He's sick right now, but he'll be alright," I said, my back to her.

"What kind of sick?" She asked, and suddenly, she was standing beside me, looking into the hall as well.

Turning, I leaned my shoulder against the door and faced her. "He has Hepatitis B," I explained.

"What? How?"

I shook my head. "It's not my job to spread his past to you. He can tell you later if he wants to."

"Hep B is an STD." She said, "Not too many ways to get that."

I shrugged. "Your brother has had an exceptionally hard life, Kate. More than most people could handle."

She nodded slowly, her expression sad. "Yeah, me too. Guess it's the Jackson curse."

Huffing, I looked back out the window. "We went to see your mother the other day."

"Really? How'd that go?"

"Probably as well as you're expecting. She told Kale she thought he was dead, then..." I shook my head and shrugged. "She hadn't seen him in twelve years and yet acted like she couldn't have cared less that he was there. Only good thing about the whole trip was that Kale got to meet his niece. Your daughter."

Kate's expression sank. "God, I miss her like crazy. Mom was the last choice for a guardian for her, but I had no one else. I didn't want to see her end up an orphan in the system."

"What about her father? Is he not in the picture?"

She shook her head. "No. To be honest... I'm not even sure who her father is." She frowned as she shrugged. "Kind of men I've had over the years though... I wouldn't want any of them to be her father anyway."

Looking back to her, I nodded, understanding more than she could know. "If you would really rather your mom not have her, I can make it happen. Kale and I would gladly take her in."

At that, her face brightened into hope. "If you could honestly do that, I'll give you anything and everything I have, my soul included."

I nodded. "I'll see what I can arrange."

"Thank you." She smiled as well, and I inclined my head as we both stared out the window again. "He's been gone a really long time," Kate muttered after several minutes, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm gonna go check on him."

"I'm coming."

She didn't give me a chance to argue, just followed as I started down the hall toward the bathroom sign. The door was closed, and I leaned close to it as I listened.

"Kale?" There was no answer, and I knocked as Kate stood beside me. "Kale, are you okay?"

"Should we go in?" Kate asked, and though I pursed my lips, I nodded.

My fingers closed over the handle and turned, was surprised that the door was unlocked, and frowned as it halted on something. I pushed my way in to see Kale sprawled on the floor.

"Kale!"

Inching through the foot-wide gap, I slithered into the bathroom and crouched beside him while Kate went screaming for help. Everything that followed happened in a sudden blur of activity. The bathroom was suddenly filled with orderlies and nurses. Kale was loaded onto a stretcher and I followed them down the hall into the elevator, then through an underground passage that took us to the emergency ward of the hospital.