Lairs of Heir - Vol 1 // Young Royals

Chapter 55

James didn't respond to Astrid, he just kept staring at the ceiling.

"James?" Astrid's voice spoke again, almost causing a sob to come out of James, yet he just kept staring.

He knew he had messed up, and now he had to deal with the consequences and he hated it.

"James." August grabbed his hand, making James look directly at him, remembering how scared August looked when he found him. A tear slips down his cheek as August gives him a small smile, wiping the wet streak with his thumb on his free hand. James sits up slightly.

"I'm sorry." James finally breaks down.

It left everyone speechless. All the times that he had ever said sorry, seemed irrelevant to this one. They could all tell that he meant it, and he wanted to change.

"James." Ace finally spoke up, finally gaining control over her anger as she saw her brother finally break after putting on thousands of fake smiles over the years.

He looks at his sister, who holds a firm frown - making it known that while she was completely upset, she loved him regardless and wanted to help.

"We spoke with a doctor, and you don't have any major injuries." James sighs a breathe of relief at Ace's words, "However, as the people who are closest to you, Astrid, August and I have decided to get you some help. You'll be spending 60 days at Castle Craig Rehabilitation facility."

Instead of fighting back, James gave a simple nod and laid down, focused his eyes back on the ceiling. James knew this would happen, so he had prepared himself.

"We need uncle James healthy enough to meet the newest Windsor in 5 months." Astrid spoke with a smile, wanting to lift some spirit in the small room.

James instantly sat up again, looking at his sister in law and sister. They both held smiles, though Astrid's was more defined.

"You're having a baby?" He whispers.

"Yep, you convinced me, just don't make me regret telling you." Ace says teasingly, making James smile slightly at her.

The couple hadn't expected such a calm reaction from James, but seeing as he was probably on a million antibiotics, they let it slide.

"Hey." August said, gaining the two girls attention after a few minutes of silence. "Would you guys mind if I have a few minutes with James?" August asks the couple.

"No problem." Ace looks at her brother - screaming through her eyes for him to behave.

As the couple walks out, August pulls a seat right next to James, and looks at him.

"I wanted to talk about everything that's happened." August says simply, making James groan and lay back on his bed. The last thing James wanted to do was to admit to August that he had a problem, especially considering he left August when he probably needed the most help with his own problem.

"We have to talk about it at some point, and I would rather get it out of the way now." August says, grabbing James's hand from his lap and holding it tight.

"Would you start?" James looks at him sadly, begging him to start the awkward conversation.

"I didn't know you were struggling that much." August admits. "I should've seen it, but I didn't, and I'm sorry that I couldn't help you until it was too late. That being said, I think it's unfair that you put us all through that, we all understand that what happened at the trial was bullshit, but we were all prepared to get you through it, but you went behind our backs and did something that hurt us all a lot more then we would like to admit."

"I'm sorry." James had tears in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away with his free hand.

"Now comes the hard part." He looks into James's eyes, as he struggles to find the words. "I'm guessing Ace told you about castle Craig?" James nods quickly. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I've been where you are, maybe not as bad, but I know what it's like. When I was at Hillerska, I couldn't get help for my addiction because the people around me didn't see it that way, so I ignored it and pretended like it was nothing. But then you arrived and slowly but surely, I started to realize how bad it had become - when I started using the one guy who could've loved me, just to get some stupid supply. Yet even after I realized that, I didn't get help. It was only after you left me that I got what I needed to get better."

"What are you saying, August?" James asks as his voice cracked slightly.

"I need to let you go to help you get better." August finally says.

They sit in silence for a while, the awkward tension growing with every second.

"We aren't dating anyway." James says suddenly, snapping August's head up.

"What?" He asks genuinely.

"You said it yourself, we're just friends - nothing more, so if you let me go, it won't be that big of a deal anyway." James spits, leaving August shocked over his words.

Soon enough Ace and Astrid walk in, breaking the awkward tension that had been lingering in the air for a while.

The rest of his friends had visited him during his hospital stay, with most of them completely avoiding talking about the situation, while Madison made it the center topic while she was there. They brought him flowers and chocolate, in hopes that he would be well enough sooner to get the help he needed.

A few days later, James was released from the hospital, and sent directly to his new home for the next 60 days. All of his friends and his sister had escorted him to the facility, before finally saying goodbye to him, hoping and praying that he would be like the James they knew when they were 17, when he got released in two months.

August felt less guilt knowing that he had gotten James help. He still felt like he hadn't done enough, although Ace had told him many times that he did everything he could.

As Ace and Astrid had assumed that the next few months would be hard for James, they opted to stay with James and August until Ace was 7 months pregnant, when they would fly back for the baby to be born in the UK.

While August had returned to work and was occupied with his newer roommates - who stayed in James's room, James was stuck inside a rehab facility. In his mind, being trapped in that place seemed to make his withdrawal symptoms even worse, which slowly made him dislike August, Ace and Astrid, for practically trapping him and forcing him to actually feel something.

They sent him a few letters to begin with, though after James stopped replying, they decided that it was best if James focused on his exercises, and improving himself, instead of being focused on their lives outside of the facility.