My Best Friend's Brother

Chapter 15

As we were on our way back to the hotel, my chest began hurting out of the blue. It was like it was on fire. I think I have overdone it for the day. Thankfully, Loki didn't panic and brought me straight back to the hotel. He waited outside my room for me to change into comfy clothes and then he came back inside.
"You should lay down," The Prince tucked me into bed all warm and snug. While I was feeling better... ish but I was more restful. Loki was still in a protective state of mind. My eyes opened wide at the sensation of his palm suddenly over top of my forehead. My heartbeat was beating at a rapid pace. And not because my chest hurt but because Loki's hand was touching me. While I was inwardly blushing to the moon and back, Loki acted like it was no big deal. He put his hand over my forehead, then he removed it to check his own forehead immediately after. His eyes arched in a perplexed way "I can't tell if you have a fever. Let me go get your thermometer," he was about to head into the bathroom. But I shook my head softly.
"Don't bother. Even if it is a fever, it'll go away soon. This happens from time to time," while I meant this to be reassuring, Loki sent me a distressed look.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," Loki mumbled.
"Don't do what?" I blinked slightly confused.
"Don't make light of your situation. You always do that, and it drives me crazy."
"What do you mean? No, I don't downplay it. Well, I mean maybe I do. But if I do, it's only because I've lived with this my whole life. I know what's going to happen."
"No, you don't. Lord Birch didn't know what would happen to him," he countered severely.
"Father had an accident. He didn't die solely from his heart condition," though it was quickly deteriorating by the end.
"I know what happened. He jumped into the waters surrounding Asgard to save your mother." Loki ran a hand over his hair "I wish you would take better care of yourself, Willow. Be alert when you're outside alone; drink water constantly; and rest if and when your body needs it,"
"I do. I just got so caught up in having fun and being away from my siblings that I forgot. Please stop worrying,"
"I don't want to see anything bad happen to you," he sounded sad in his last sentence. My eyes lowered onto him. I placed a gentle hand on his upper arm.
"Nothing's going to happen to me, I promise. You just haven't been around long enough to see that this sort of thing is normal. But I'll get better. I always do."
"Willow..." Loki softened his gaze onto me. I let out a gentle sigh. Despite everything that's happened, I actually feel pretty good right now. Emotionally, not physically I mean. His shoulders visibly relaxed- a bit "How are you feeling now? Does your chest still hurt?"
"A little. It should be better by the morning." Loki seemed happier at this answer.
"You should know that I've called Thor and then Alder. He said he'll check in in the morning."
"You didn't have to do that... You know how he worries," I pinched my nose.
"Can't say I blame him," the Prince muttered under his breath. Loki sighed and proceeded to sit down on the floor next to my bed. I blinked at him.
"Why are you sitting on my floor?" I laid down on the bed so I could speak to him.
"Pardon?" Loki also blinked over his shoulder at me.
"Why. Are. You. Sitting. On. My. Floor?" I spoke each word clearly. I swear men have selective hearing.
"My legs are tired and the floor is rather comfy," Loki leaned his head back on the bed "I'm not going anywhere. You're still in pain and clearly in need of looking after," My heart skipped countless beats. My lips parted a sliver.
"So you are staying in my room then?"
"Do you want me to stay?" He was legitimately asking me. I watched him for a moment; my lips morphing to a thin, genuine line. Why do I feel so safe and happy whenever he's nearby? No one's ever made me feel the way he does. Feeling tears forming in the corners of my eyes, all my head could do was nod.
"Yes. Stay with me. Please," Loki stared my way for the longest time, his eyes fixated on my honest expression. Eventually, he nodded, having to pull his eyes away from mine; I think he was under the impression they revealed too much emotion right then.
"Then I will stay for as long as you need me."

After a while, I looked up at the clock on the wall. That's when it hit me like a speeding train.
"Oh god, I'm selfish! I'm so incredibly selfish! It's almost midnight," I didn't want to hold him here against his will, though I knew he'd never me tell that was the case. Embarrassed, I pulled the blanket to cover the top part of my face so he couldn't see my lips tremble. I want him to stay, but only if he wants to "I'm sorry, Loki. I didn't realise that it was late, and you must be tired. You don't have to stay if you don't want to," I probably sound like some wishy-washy teenage girl who's talking to her first crush. I think my brain forgot how to work. Loki's head shot back to me in surprise.
"What are you talking about? Of course, I want to stay! I don't mind staying up," I turned to face me.
"But I don't want you to stay up all night on my account," I gently countered. He thought for a minute.
"Then how about I stay until you fall asleep?"
"Til I fall asleep?" I repeated, blinking. He nodded a little.
"I'll stay until you're fast asleep. And your phone's still beside your bed, so you can call me if you wake up and need anything." Loki spoke softly.
"Loki," My eyes lowered onto him. I rolled onto my back next to face the ceiling and his head turned forward to face the wall. A moment of quiet filled the air throughout my room. I sighed deeply "Can I ask you something, Loki?"
"Of course,"
"Do you ever think you'll fall in love again?" Another long pause.
"Why do you ask?"
"I've never been in love before." I sighed. Watching a spider crawl across my ceiling.
"Truth be told, neither have I. I cared for Sigyn but I never loved her,"
"How do you think someone would know if they're in love?" I asked him. He considered this briefly.
"Well, I imagine it's just a feeling, like anything else. Happiness, sadness, anger/. You don't choose to love anyone; it just sort of happens. I think when you think you are in love, you're not but when you don't even realise how you feel, that's love," he said with such sincerity. I peered at the back of his head through the corner of my eye.
"Father always told me love had nothing to do with marriage." I close my eyes.
"Funny, My father said the same thing." Loki let out a single chuckle.
"Marriage is for status and the generation of wealth," my eyes lowered.
"Marriage is for the production of children," I'm sure his eyes lowered too. Our parents sucked at this.
"Then what's love for? What's the purpose of falling in love?" I asked into the void. Loki took his time with this, eventually spinning his head to look back at me. His stare made every fibre in my body vibrate.
"I don't know. Or at least, I used to not know."
"Loki," My eyes widened. My mouth fell open on its own accord. Loki's eyes locked onto mine.
"You are the easiest person in the world to be with, Willow; even when it's not easy. I never asked for any of this, yet here we are"
"Here we are," my words were soft and soulful. Loki tenderly smiled my way.
"You should get some sleep."
"Ok. Are you going to stay then?" The Prince nodded.
"I'll stay until you've fallen asleep."
"How will I know when you've left?" I asked. He thought about it, then flashed me another glorious grin.
"I'll hold your hand." I think my heart skipped a beat. I don't think my cheeks could have burned redder. Thankfully, the room was quite dark. But he merely nodded once more, stretching his hand up towards me on the bed "I'll hold your hand until you're sleeping. I'll let go when I leave," Why does this feel so wrong. and so right in so many ways?! With more shyness than I've ever done anything in my life, my uninjured hand slipped out from under the covers, grabbing onto his. His long, slender fingers curled protectively around my palm. I blushed even more, practically hiding my face with the covers. He chuckled, turning his head back forward and shutting his eyes. I felt his hand give mine a squeeze "Have a good sleep, Willow."
"Good night, Loki,"

I fell to sleep astonishingly quickly. Even when I am ill, I rarely ever fall asleep that fast, especially when I'm in pain. I guess it's because I felt safe. Safer than I'd ever before when falling asleep. I don't remember Loki letting go of my hand after that. The last thing I recall from that night is the sensation of Loki's hand against mine, and how I didn't know that holding hands with someone could be such a magical, life-changing experience.

Little did either of us know that this was the night when everything would change going forward. Nothing would ever be the same after tonight. The floodgates had been opened and there was no shutting them. But then, there's always a calm before a storm. Loki had a vow he was determined to keep, and I had a marriage clause still looming over my head. These were facts of life we couldn't ignore anymore, try as we might have before. And that wasn't all either. Yes, a storm was indeed coming.

And his name was Prince Dewitt.

Things weren't better when I woke up the next morning, which slightly alarmed me. I'd gone to bed with chest pains tons of times before but this is the first time I woke up with them still there.
"Loki... She's awake," I heard Sage speak. I heard a creak of a chair as he rushed to my bedside. He looked like he had got very little sleep last night.
"You look like hell," I smiled. Loki chuckled, placing his hand next to mine. just close enough so our pinkies could touch "Did you stay here all night?"
"No. I went back to my room for a while but I was worried so I set up camp in that chair about 4 this morning," Loki was at my bedside while Sage kept bringing me water consistently.
"Where's Alder?"
"We'd just got word that Thor had arrived; Alder went down to the lobby to meet him," That's when the door flew open. You'd think I was on life-support by the way he burst through the door.

"Willow!" Without acknowledging Loki or Sage, Thor rushed over to my side. He took one of my hands in both of his. Trying to act cheery, I put on a small grin for him.
"Hey, Thor." It was then that he sighed and looked over to Loki.
"Thank you brother for taking care of this one," The Prince perked up, his hands clasped anxiously behind his back.
"It was no trouble. I just want her to feel better."
"So do I," Thor's eyes returned back to me. Thor set my hand down back onto the bed and stood up in that usual dominant position of his "Right. You are going to see one of the royal healers. Now." I sat up a little in bed, not taking my eyes off him.
"Thor, I don't need a healer."
"Clearly. Then why are you still in bed? Pale, sweaty and looking like someone stamped all over your chest?" Thor tilted his head. I pouted and looked away "Now get up and get dressed. I've found a healer roughly ten minutes away who can see-" I cut him off with a stern glare.
"I said I don't need a healer. This will pass; it always does. I don't want to make a big deal out of this. There's nothing the healer can do anyway right now; you know that."
"Then we'll go to the hospital," he rebuffed.
"Thor, That's not necessary. I'll be fine; just give me a couple of hours. I'll be back to normal soon." No one said anything, though all eyes were nervously fixed on Thor. His, meanwhile, were locked solidly onto me. His back was stiff as a board, his mouth the thinnest line it could possibly be, and his hands clenched into fists. We hadn't seen him this mad since that night Lord Farquad accosted me. well, maybe not that mad but still really angry. It took a minute, but soon enough his pursed lips parted a centimetre.
"You sound like Father," Alder spoke up. My forefinger twitched heatedly. I frowned.
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do. You sound just like him." Alder got up and stood by Thor "You begged him for years to visit a healer! What? Do you think we're deaf? You don't think we heard all those times you pleaded with him to see the head healer and follow her advice?"
"You were the one who argued with him more than anyone else on this! You tried to hide it from all of them but I heard you scream at him. Remember when you were thirty when your powers came into play because you tried to use your vines to drag him out of bed," Thor let his arms drop to his side "You learned nothing from watching him struggle! Not a single, goddamn thing!" Thor roared. I think the only one in the room now who wasn't terrified of him was me. Even Loki took a step away from him. Thor could yell, but I was never afraid of him. I sat up fully in bed. We glared at each other.
"That's not true! I was going to my regular appointments back in Midgard and I followed the healer's advice. I'm doing what I begged Father to do all those years ago!" I screamed back. I then heard a squeak and a chair moved. I looked to where the sound came from and Sage had moved behind Loki "Sage, what are you doing?"
"Willow, your eyes are green," Sage spoke up, sticking her head out from behind Loki. I looked into the mirror. My eyes were normally purple but when my powers wanted to come out to play, my eyes changed. I took a deep breath to control my powers. Why do they need to come out now but not when I need them? I guess that's why my power is called Mother Nature. Should really rename it to temperamental.
"Are you on Midgardian medication? Is that advice you're following from the healer?" Alder's brother harshly countered. I paused, still frowning, while Loki blinked at Sage perplexed.
"Medication?" Loki asked. Sage shrugged. Loki frowned as he looked at me "There's medication you can take for your condition?" Loki asked. I winced. Why? Just why did he have to bring that up, of all things?
"Of course, there's medication! See?! You are just like your Father!" Thor yelled.
"Father refused up until the end to be on any meds and look where that got him!" Alder's voice raised more if that were possible. I'm sure the other hotel guests could hear us by now. My hands curled into fists as well, enraged.
"I don't need medication. I can take care of my condition myself. Father drank and smoked a lot of god knows what. ! I don't do any of that stuff! We're not in the same situation!"
"No, You're right. You are absolutely right," Thor clapped his hands together "Yours is worse! Your Father didn't show any signs until he was over 1500. You're not even 600 and it's already this bad! Yes, you don't do all the aggravating stuff your Father did, but objectively your condition is the worse of the two," Thor started to pace "You know that you are not going to get better, Willow; it's only downhill from here. Your heart will never be as strong as it once was," Thor stated with undeniability. I watched him for another second, then lowered my eyes down a bit.
"I don't want to live with this constantly dominating over my life either. If I go see a healer every time I have chest pains or starry vision, I would never leave the bloody hospital! I don't want to live like that! I don't want to have to take even more pills than I already am for the rest of my life!" Alder and Sage blinked in surprise.
"You're already taking other medication?" Alder asked. I don't blame him for being confused. Only Thor and I knew that I was on medication to stop my period permanently. While this puzzled them, it only fanned my brother's rage even more. Thor's arms stiffened at his sides in a visible show of frustration.
"I can't believe how selfish you are," he hissed at me. Alder took a step his way, raising his hand up a little.
"Thor, breathe. We don't need you to bring the lightning," Alder pleaded for me. But Thor was having none of it. He just kept on glaring in my direction, breathing heavily.
"You know what happened with your Father! He could have lived a thousand years longer if he had just taken better care of himself. But he didn't and now he's gone! He won't be there to see any of you get married or have children. Your Father is gonna miss it all!" Thor bellowed, and storm clouds started to form outside.
"Brother, calm your storm," Loki whispered as he poked his brother's arm. Thor looked out the window and closed his eyes and took a minute to calm down.
"It's not just about you, Willow! What about the rest of us? What about your younger siblings? Are you really gonna make them stand by and watch another member of your family die before their time? Do you really want to make them watch that? You know what that does to adults so why force a child to witness it!" Alder yelled. He placed his hands on the bottom of my bed, gripping hard. I swear his knuckles were about to burst through his skin "Your chances of living to old age are already low. Why make the situation worse than it already is?! See, this is why our Father was so keen on getting you married while you're still in your early years!"
"But I don't want to get married! Why can't any of you see that?!" I cried, but he continued.
"You know full well that he didn't want you to become like him. He could see this coming from a mile away!"
"I don't need anyone to look after me," I crossed my arms. I was a grown adult.
"That's why you need someone around. that's why you need someone there to look after you. Father was lucky enough to have us, but you're not in his position! You clearly can't take care of yourself!" A tense silence filled the hotel room. No one dared make a peep or even a move. I did notice the expression on Loki's face change, however. It was from genuine concern to conflict. It was like he was at war with himself over something and I had no idea what that might be about.
"Willow, please. Let someone take a look at you," Sage begged. I look at her. Those were the exact words I said to my father. The week before he jumped into the waters. I looked up at Thor for I don't know how long, feeling this surge of mixed, powerful emotions bubble inside me. I was so irate in that instance. I'd never felt such pure, unfiltered anger towards any of these men. These controlling men treat me as nothing but a little girl "I don't want to lose my sister," I got out of bed and walked over to my sister and hugged her.
"Sage, I do not need to see a healer. I am perfectly fine," I was sicking being treated like a child. Sick of being carted along throughout life, never to worry or allowed to act for me. To be nothing more than a pawn. I hate my Father for putting that damn marriage clause in his will.
"Please... sister. I have already lost one person I loved... I can't lose you too. You cannot leave me with our siblings and Thor,"
"What about me?" Loki spoke up. Sage smiled.
"I don't mind you," Sage sniffed. I pulled my sister in for another hug as she kept on begging. Alder was right. I can't put my sibling through this bull anymore.
"Urm... Willow," Alder spoke.
"What now?" I snapped, spinning around.
"Willow, your eyes are glowing," Sage whispered. My powers scared her. Fearing that I was about to lose control, I put my hands together and forced all my anger out, pushing everything into my powers. After a very long pause, I relaxed my bunched-up shoulders and let out a worn-out sigh. My eyes shut with some dramatics. I held my hand out and showed everyone the black flower I made with pure rage "Pretty,"
"If it will shut you up... I'll go see the healers."