Silver Clouds [COMPLETE]

°•° 30 °•°

I was snuggled into Jordan's shoulder in the basement as we watched Wreck-It Ralph. But Belle, Brendon, Bec, and Quinn had all fallen asleep thirty minutes in. So it was just Jordan, Cam, and me. And I was barely holding on as my eyes tried to droop closed.

All of the adults were upstairs, talking and probably dozing as well as the younger kids hung out downstairs. After playing a few more games, like football in the backyard and seven games of Mario Kart, it was nearly nine o'clock but no one wanted to leave.

I didn't mind. I had texted my dad and asked him if he was okay if I stayed out late, and he said that he was feeling a little better so he'd be fine. I was happy to spend more time with Jordan and his family. I felt completely comfortable here.

I was nearly asleep when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took a breath and slowly sat up. I didn't realize that Jordan had drifted off, too, until I accidentally woke him.

"Okay?" he whispered drowsily.

I gave him a small smile, though he probably couldn't see it in the darkness. "Yeah."

I pulled out my phone and the screen lit up. I squinted against it but my eyes quickly adjusted and I realized that Kason had texted me. Ft?

I was suddenly awake. When Jordan and I had tried to go visit Kaybree in the hospital, we weren't allowed in. So I had asked Kason to keep us updated. And if he wanted to talk, that meant something had happened.

I stood and tiptoed up the stairs. Once the basement door closed behind me, I lingered in the hall and pressed the FaceTime button.

Kason picked up after only two rings. "Hey. Is it too late there?"

I glanced at the time. "No, it's only ten."

He nodded and rubbed his face with his hand. I inspected him. I hadn't seen him since the wedding even though we had called and texted every day since. But now that I was looking at him, I could see that the stress was wearing on him. His normally organized mess of hair was sticking out at even odder angles than usual and deep purple bruises hung under his eyes. The normal gleam in his eye was practically nonexistent.

"Kason, have you been sleeping at all?" I asked gently, concern lacing my voice. "Isn't it like one a.m. there?"

He blinked a few times, his eyelids heavy. "Yeah... No. I don't really know."

My heart broke for him. "Is everything okay?"

He slowly nodded. "Kaybree gets released tomorrow. They finally were able to get enough blood in her system and stop the anemia."

"That's good news, right?" I said, trying to sound hopeful. "And... the baby?"

He was silent as he licked his lips. "She's doing better. They're still keeping her in the incubator for a while, just to be safe. But her breathing is starting to become more consistent."

I couldn't explain the relief I was feeling which made me wonder why Kason still looked so worried. "What's wrong?" I questioned, trying to show him that he could talk to me.

The camera shifted to where it was only showing half of his face as he rested his forehead in his palm. "She... She wants it to be me."

"What do you mean?"

He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Kaybree can't do it. She said she wants to, but she knows she can't..." He paused and when he spoke again, his voice broke. "And she wants me to take care of her."

I blinked in shock. "Take care of Abigail?"

He sniffled as he nodded.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I had no idea what to say. But, luckily, Kason spoke before I had to. "It's not that I don't want to help her. I love her and Abigail. But I just... I'm not ready for this either. I'm in the middle of college and I have no clue how to raise a kid. I wasn't ready for this." He slowly sounded more and more panicked.