Right in Front of You

40. Grow up, Kyle

A constant, nagging beeping broke through Kay's peaceful sleep. She frowned and shut her eyes tighter, trying to ignore it, to make it go away. It was just like the sound of a heart monitor.

A heart monitor. The car. The crash. Kyle. Her eyes shot open. Neon light assaulted her and she sucked air through her teeth and threw her arm in front of her, trying to block it out. Rubber tubes fell over her face and she fought back a scream.

Something scrambled nearby and a pair of warm hands took the sides of her face. She opened her eyes just to meet Kyle's dark blue gaze.

"Thank God," he breathed.

She gaped at him, unable to understand. He was there, waiting for her to wake up. But she'd clearly seen him flying through the windshield. She thought he was dead.

She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him as tightly as she could, tangling him up in her IV tubes. She couldn't believe it. And as much as it hurt, she needed to hold him. For always being there, for being indestructible. Her entire body protested against the sudden movements, but who cared when he was alive?

"When I saw you going through the windshield... I thought you were dead." She took his face in her hands. Yes, he was really there, she could feel the heat of his skin, smell his cologne. It made her head swim in the most pleasant way.

"I thought you were dead, too. I went out of my mind." He kissed her cheeks, her nose, her forehead and stopped, his forehead leaning against hers, their noses touching.

And Kay's heart suddenly felt too big for her chest. She wanted to reach out to him, show him how much this meant to her, to have him there so worried about her. He was her best friend, her guardian angel, and as he bit his lower lip, she suddenly wondered if he was more. If she wanted him to be more. Not kissing him right then hurt.

The door burst open and they sprang apart. Max charged in, a startling snarl on his face.

"You complete idiot!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "You knew someone had been there and you didn't check the brakes?"

Kyle stood from her bed, a confused frown on his face. "Wait, what?"

"You could've died, you moron! You could've all died!"

"Is everyone alright?" Kay asked, a knot in her stomach.

She'd been so distracted by him, she'd forgotten there had been others with them. She didn't even want to think something could've happened to any of them.

Kyle turned to her. "Yeah, Joey and Kelly are pretty much fine, and the others didn't crash."

"Fine?" Max asked outraged. "Kelly broke her sternum! And Joey his arm."

Kay winced and for a second wondered how come she hadn't broken anything. Maybe because she'd been limp as the car landed and didn't put up a fight against gravity.

"And I have three broken ribs and one hell of a concussion," Kyle shot back. "But since it could've been much worse, yeah, I'm calling it fine."

Her eyes widened and for a moment she wondered if she was high on pain meds and couldn't feel her injuries. She moved her fingers and toes experimentally, but nothing hurt. Except her head. That hurt a lot.

"Ugh, I..." Max started pacing, running his hands through his hair. "Don't you realize how serious this is? Someone tried to kill you!"

The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped below freezing level. The white walls and sterile floors did nothing to fight the illusion. Kay hugged herself as she remembered her conversation with Max. It felt like a million years ago. Skeletons have a bad habit of coming out of closets.