Running For Answers (Book 2 Of Running Series)

Chapter 15 - Death Is Inevitable

Russ - Pull The Trigger (Song For Chapter)

I apologise, this chapter is only short. Chapter 16 coming straight up afterwards!

Enjoy :)

<<<

Chapter 15 - Death is Inevitable

Tayte's POV

"Did you have a good afternoon?" Talina asked. We'd been back an hour now. Keane had locked himself in the bathroom and was coming out for absolutely no one, not even me. Angelo was trying to calm an angered Noah down, they were sat outside at a table, Arii was eating an apple glumly and I was contemplating life,

"It was good thanks; we had lunch with a woman called Chanel"

"Oh yes, I know the family...very wealthy, Chanel's very down to earth though. Did you have any trouble with Rex?"

"He wants to marry me" Arii said,

"Oh dear, do I need to sort this out?"

"No, it's okay. Thanks anyway though," she then put her hand on mine and leant in,

"Is everything okay with Keane? I don't want to pry into your family life, but I'm just as much family as you are, so if you need anything, if you need to talk to me or tell me anything about what's going on then you can okay. I won't judge you or try to tell you to do something you don't want to do" I looked at her, I felt like she deserved to know, but then on the other hand it was dangerous, even more now since we knew there were agents close and we'd been targeted,

"Keane's not good at all, physically and mentally, he's..." Noah, Angelo and Arii all looked at me, "He just needs his family supporting him"

<<<

20 minutes later everyone was in the room Keane, Arii and I were sharing. Keane had yet to leave the bathroom and I was seriously worried, especially since he wasn't answering. If he'd done something stupid I was literally going to kill him!

"Keane, bloody well answer us or open the door" Noah said,

"Keane, please open the door" Arii said,

"Keane if you don't open this fucking door I will break it down" I snapped.

Silence

Silence

Silence

"Keane I'm going to break this door down, so you better back up" I shouted, looking at everyone,

"Do it" Noah said, I smashed into the door, thankfully not making enough noise for Talina to come running in and ask what the hell was going on and not hard enough so the door came off its hinges, because that would be hard to explain.

Keane was slumped in the shower, soaked through to the skin, his eyes shut. Angelo dashed over.

Please be okay, please be okay!

My mantra echoed through my head as I stood there watching on with Noah and Arii, I could hear their hearts beating loudly,

"He's okay, he's breathing. I think he might have banged his head. We need to move him though and get him into some dry clothes"

"Keane, shit, I'm so sorry" Noah said trembling, Arii hugged him, he wrapped his arms around his little sister. I helped Angelo get Keane into the bedroom, he was like a rag doll and it scared me,

"Noah, go next door with Arii, when we've sorted him out I'll come and get you okay" they both looked at me with some reluctance, but left anyway, "What are you doing to me Keane" I whispered,

"Do you want to sort him out?" Angelo asked,

"Just tell me if he's going to be okay first"

"Tayte...he's exhausted, he needs to be. Look, he's battling with his demons. The morphine, the pain, the travelling...even us! After today's events I think it just topped him over the edge. I don't know how many times this has been said, but this isn't going to be a walk in the park and no matter what Keane says, he is far from fine and okay"

"Is he concussed? Is he even going to wake up?"

"Don't say that Tayte. He needs you to be strong for him. There's a slight bump, so I'm guessing he knocked it. But it's nothing serious, even on top of everything he's been through. He'll wake up with a headache, but he's had much worse"

...

Keane's eyes fluttered open just as I got him into the bed; his brown eyes looked at me. They were full of hurt, full of pain, but they were also sorry, they were so sorry,

"How's your head?" I asked, trying to hold it together before I exploded at him,

"Banging"

"Shit Keane. If you ever fucking do that to me again. Your my Rock and seeing you crumble is...it's unbearable just...just get some sleep buddy. I love you"

"I love you too and I'm sorry, I really am. Tayte, my first initial reaction is to protect my family...I didn't think, I just put my life on the line and I'm sorry"

"I'd do exactly the same Keane and you know that. But there's going to come a point when you may actually be killed, you may actually die. Noah and Arii would much rather have you than anything else in this world. I'd rather have you Keane. So you need to think about your actions before you commit them"

"We're all going to die eventually Tayte" He said,

"Indeed we are; you could be walking down a street and have a heart attack, you could be sat on the tube and have a brain aneurysm, or you could get into the car and crash. Death is inevitable, but every time danger arises you're at the front of the queue saying 'Give me your best shot', you're playing with the devil Keane and you need to stop that"

"All I've done my whole life is put my life on the line for the ones I love. If every sacrifice a person made equalled a death, then I would have died hundreds of times and I'm not complaining, because I'd give up everything in a heartbeat to make sure you all lived a life of freedom, no more running, and no more hiding"

"The thing you don't realise is that we'd all do the same for you, yet you think it's your and your duty only to protect us from doing exactly that. Remember when Noah said that you're not Superman, he was being truthful, you may think your invincible, but even Superman had his weakness. We're your kryptonite Keane...your family"

"I know, but I'm not ever going to change. It's too late for that now. My family is my life, you are my life Tayte. And I know life is just a word thrown about to describe your time on this planet. But I won't ever be fully alive without my family by my side" he shut his eyes, "I don't want to fight anymore, but the anger and pain inside me is telling me otherwise. Just promise me, promise me Tayte that you'll help me get through this...you'll help me control myself. I'm going to act like a prat and say some things I don't mean. Just promise me you'll always have my back" he opened his eyes and looked at me.

I took his hand and squeezed it,

"I promise you brother. I promise"

<<<

Unedited!

Next Chapter: Coming right up!

Love you all x

Copyright © Georgia T R Wing