In Our Heads

Chapter 48

*****

Theodore walked into the hospital slowly, still clutching the phone he had not checked since initially looking at it in the elevator. He stopped in the lobby to catch his breath. He had moved quite fast until arriving at the hospital, not calling any of the numbers back because he was afraid of why they had called and now he was scared, even to approach the stairs.

"Theo, you're here? Why didn't you call me? I would have picked you up."

He turned his head to look at Jonathan as the man walked up to him.

"What happened?" Theodore's voice projected how afraid he was and he felt his eyes burn. He heard Jonathan sigh while taking hold of his shoulders to give them a comforting squeeze.

"He's awake. They've tried to run some tests, but he's been hysterical. The doctors suggested we leave him with Cassian so as not to scare him more, he just wants to see you though."

Theodore nodded slowly as he let out a breath. It felt strange, like he had been holding that back for a long time and he lifted his hands to rub them together, suddenly feeling cold while he looked at the floor.

Zion remembering Cassian and being able to ask for his older brother were good signs.

"Uh... um... is... he okay... Like... himself?" He wanted to know what to expect so he didn't break or anything in front of Zion.

"So far... he seems alright, maybe once you convince him, he'll cooperate with the doctors."

"O-okay." Theodore nodded but his body did not attempt to move after he spoke.

"Aren't you going up?"

"Oh – right. Yeah."

He nodded, turning and beginning through the hospital, following the usual route he took past the elevators and the people waiting and up the stairs. The hallways of this hospital were much brighter and bigger than those of the one Zion had initially been taken to. Cassian's parents had insisted on the switch, and he figured they knew and could do what was best for his brother.

Theodore could hear Jonathan's footsteps echoing behind him as they matched the speed of his jog up the stairs.

When the pair made it into the ward Zion's room was in, Theodore spotted Cassian's parents standing in the hallway. He quickly began to make his way towards his brother's room but stopped as Mr Carmichael spoke to him.

"You're here. How was the interview?"

Theodore opened his mouth, both confused and amused by the casual question, but had to think about the answer having completely forgotten that he had just come from an interview.

"Uh... alright. I think... Yeah, it went well," he said.

Apart from his obvious nervousness in front of them, he really thought it went as smoothly as it could have gone. He expected the interview to last less than half an hour, but they ended up talking for a while longer.

"Good."

He furrowed his brows at the tight, serious response feeling something between proud of himself and worried that he had just lied. Had it gone as smoothly as he thought? Cassian's father was intimidating. He also seemed to radiate excellence and command that would make anyone around him want to be better and work harder. Theodore hoped he had been right about the interview because he didn't want to disappoint Derek.

The more time Theodore spent with Cassian's family, the more he understood why Cassian was the way he was because even though the guy could be incredibly friendly and playful, he had the same energy his father did when he was serious or working.