Everyone was charmed by Leo's bright smile but behind it all, he could barely keep it together inside. From taking care of his sick mother to suffering mental and physical abuse from his father to keeping up his perfect grades in school.
King was th...
The weirdest thing happened when I woke up in the morning. My left leg felt cold. It felt cold. I turned, calling for King, and grabbed King's arm in a panic, making me gasp as a sharp pain stabbed my side and back at the same time.
"What? What happened?" King shot out of the chair and I blinked away the tears quickly. "I'll call the nurse. What hurts? What can I do?" King asked as he helped me lay down again.
"No. No, that's not it—my leg." I tried to push past the pain.
King rubbed his eyes, clearly still waking up, and moved to the other side of the bed."Cramping again?" He started rubbing my thigh where I had been getting cramps from lying in bed this whole time.
"No, my left leg. It's cold."
"Oh. I'm sorry, baby. Looks like the blanket slipped off. I'll fit it and get another blanket for you." He yawned.
As soon as the blanket moved across my skin, a sob tore out of my throat and King froze in confusion, and fear widened his eyes as he looked at me. "I fe- felt that!" My voice wobbled.
"You did?" He looked just as shocked as I was when I gave him a nod.
The doctor was in soon after we told the nurse, and they checked me out. All the worry and stress washed out of her eyes when she gave me the brightest smile I'd seen on her.
"I won't lie to you. You worried me, but it looks like you're starting to get feeling back in your leg and toes. You're a fortunate young man. Once those wounds heal some more, I want to start getting you out of bed as soon as we can, but I don't want to risk ripping any of those stitches. I would say another day or two before we try to do that."
She began writing on my chart as King and I shared a glance. He was smiling, even with red eyes, and all I could think about was how much I hoped this would allow him to relax more and stop blaming himself so much for what happened to me.
—
As promised, King went down to get me a muffin after the doctor left. He looked less stressed about leaving than when I begged him to go last night. I felt so bad for making him do something he didn't want, but he needed it.
Once he was back, Kiki came into the room, looking like she hadn't slept much either and it killed me to know how much everyone was effected by me being here, but instead of running over and hugging me like she always did, she turned to King.
"It's done," was all she said and they exchanged smiles before turning to me.
"What's going on?" I mocked their smiles. What were they planning behind my back now?
"I'm gonna go get some coffee," Kiki said before leaving and it made me turn to King just as fast.
"I want to talk to you about something." King started pacing around the room. "So remember when I said once all the drama was over with Rex, we were going to leave and I was getting out of my uncle's business?"
I looked at him puzzled. "Yeah."
"Well," he started and sat beside me on the corner of the bed. "I was thinking ... we go back to Casper. The hospitals there are the best in the state and have a lot of excellent physical therapy programs for you as well. I had Kiki look into them for us and we found some openings for you and I found a few apartments close by them. Before we set anything in stone, I wanted to talk to you about it first. If it's something you want to do." He smiled at me and I just sat there stunned by it. "We both loved it there, and once you're feeling up to it, we could go hiking again. I was exhausted but liked it and want to do it again when you're ready."
He paused and waited for my answer, but I didn't know what to say for a minute. "Is this what you want, though? Move three hours away? It's a whole new place."
"It wouldn't bother me to move to a new place. I did it a few times after my dad was arrested. I meant what I said about us leaving, and now that we don't have to worry about anything, we can go wherever."
"I don't ... I don't know, King. What are we going to do about money and bills? My medical bills alone will be through the roof as it is. I remember how much my dad paid for everything with my mom and we barely got by."
King took my hand, giving me a reassuring smile. "That's the last thing you need to worry about. I've been saving for a long time and have the money. Uncle Ben knows many people there who can help me get a job. No drugs or gang shit involed. It would be a real job with an honest paycheck. I want us out of this life. Plus, the hospital bills have already been paid. We don't have to worry about that either."
"Let me guess, Uncle Ben?" I rolled my eyes just as Kiki walked back in holding two cups of coffee.
"Yes. Of course my dad would pay for it. You're family, whether you like it or not. We take care of family."
"I could have-,"
"But you're not," Kiki said as she walked over and sat down on the other side of me, handing King his coffee. "All you need to worry about is getting better, puppy. That's your job and that's how you can repay him. Also, King texted and told me you were starting to get feeling back in your leg, and the doc said you could get out of bed soon. That deserves a celebration. What do you want? I'll go and get it."
"Can we do that late? I still need to finish talking to Leo about everything," King said, returning to the topic.
There was so much to think about. I liked being in Casper, a lot. I didn't want to leave, but that was because King and I were in our own world, enjoying our time together. Could I see myself living there? I wasn't sure. This place was my home. It's where I grew up and my mother was here—all our members were here.
I wasn't sure I could let it all go, but the thought of making a new life away from all the bad that came with being here sounded so good, too. Away from the drugs and dangers that lurked here. Away from the worry that one day King wouldn't come back. I hated waiting for him to come home when he had to do something for his uncle, because I knew what he was doing. I hated the thought of him being locked behind bars like his father was for so long. I didn't want that future for him. One that ended with him dead or in jail for years.
And I knew he didn't want me to worry about him out there either. He didn't want me to get hurt again.
I pulled King's hand to get his attention before Kiki got out of bed and looked him in the eyes. I was scared to leave everything behind, but with King by my side, I knew we could get through it. Together. "I want to do it," I said, King widening his eyes. "Let's go to Casper."
********
The last chapter will be posted next Monday! I can't believe it. Thank you so much for reading until the end!! It means so much to me!
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