He Was Home [logan huntzberger]

six

Victoria

I sat cuddled on Tristan's bed, in a pair of his sweatpants and a sweatshirt, with War and Peace in my hand. Tristan didn't read often, so the ones he did have were for school.

"I brought you a water," Tristan said as he came back into his room, along with the water, he brought me Advil. The affects of the bourbon I had drank were already hitting me. I took the medicine right away, "War and Peace?" Tristan laughed.

"It's not my fault you own four book," I joked back, not upset by the book, though. Leo Tolstoy would always be one of my favorite authors.

Tristan climbed into the bed beside me, wrapping his arm around me and pulling us closer together.

-

Tristan looked at the girl that laid beside him. He never felt attracted to her, and he still didn't, "You look beautiful," He whispered.

He had always throughly that Victoria was hot, and he always imagined what it would be like to spend the night with her. But Tristan never thought how fun it was to piss Logan off, someone who he has hated since the third grade.

Victoria smiled up at him, pushing herself closer to him. She liked him, Tristan made her happy, "I like spending time with you."

"Me too," he could barely believe himself, but Victoria didn't notice anything different. The girl slowly started to drift off to sleep.

-

"Victoria! Victoria, wake up!" I heard as someone was shaking me, "Get up!"

"What?" I groaned, not knowing where I was or what has happening, "Tristan?"

"Victoria get up, we have to go to the hospital," Tristan said, pulling me out of bed. I couldn't process what was happening, but Tristan grabbed my hand and pulled me out of his room.

"Tristan? Tristan, what's going on?" I barely spoke as I tried to wake myself up.

"Your phone rang and you weren't answering it, so I did-"

"Who was it?"

"Your dad is in the hospital, Victoria."

Oh my god. I started running towards the garage, until I realized I was in Tristan's home and had no idea where it was, "My car is out front," he said, pulling me towards the foyer.

"What happened? Why is he in the hospital?" I frantically asked, "Why is he even in Hartford?"

He shouldn't be here. He never comes home unannounced. He should be in London, in his office. Not at the Hartford Medical Hospital.

"His jet crashed on the tarmac, there was a malfunction or something. The nurse didn't give me a lot of details."

He shouldn't be home.

We finally got to Tristan's car and neither of us were buckled before he sped off.

"Tristan, you need to get buckled," I said to him, "Tristan-"

"I'm fine!" He snapped, keeping his eyes on the road. I turned to face out the passenger window. I don't see my parents for months and this is how we meet again?

I let the tears slowly escape my eyes as I looked out at the pitch black sky. I failed to stay quiet when a sob came out of my throat.

"Hey, hey. Victoria," Tristan whispered, grabbing my hand, "Everything's going to be okay."

From snapping at me, to comforting me, I couldn't keep up with Tristan. Everything was spinning around me a million miles a minutes. But Tristan was here, and without him I wouldn't of been able to get to the hospital with out getting into an accident myself.

Tristan is here, I told myself, he is here. 

It felt like hours before we arrived at the hospital, but in reality, it was 45 minutes. Tristan pulled into the closest parking spot he could find before we rushed inside together.

Walking up to the nurses station, Tristan spoke before I could, "Archer Vanderbilt?"

"And who are you to him?" The nurse asked us, her voice sounding cold.

"She's his daughter."

"Okay, ma'am, you can follow me. Sir you will have to stay her in the waiting area," The nurse explained. I looked at Tristan with my eyes wide, I couldn't go back there myself. I could barely keep myself together.

"I'm going with her."

"Sir, please wait-"

"Dugray. I'm Tristan Dugray and that Dugray Medical Research Lab, right down the hall, could be taken away with one phone call," Tristan threatened. His words worked as the nurse turned around and led us towards my father's room.

She explained to us the state he was in and the medicine he was on, telling us he might be asleep for a while.

I stood outside of the door, staring at it. My whole life my parents where never more than the people that paid for my expenses. They were never the ones that spent holidays and my birthdays with me. My father never brought me to the Daddy-Daughter dances. And my mother was never the woman I needed her to be.

They were never there. Yet there's this pain in my gut that is keeping me from going inside. I'm afraid of what I will see. The wires and machines attached to my fathers body. The vulnerable state he's now in. 

I couldn't go in.

The vulnerable state I'm now in, "C'mon," Tristan said, opening the door slowly. I followed.

I couldn't look at him. I kept my eyes glued to the back of Tristan's head.

"Look at him, Victoria," Tristan whispered. I looked.

A gasp escaped my lips. The bruises covered almost his entire face, bandages wrapped around his head. His leg elevated in a cast. Vulnerable.

"You can talk to him," Tristan whispered.

No I couldn't.

"It's okay," he whispered again.

"Dad?" I choked out.

Vulnerable.