Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Thirty-Four

"It was an allergic reaction after all," Aria told us. "The doctor said I probably brushed up against something, but I don't know how that happened because my sleeve was down."

I shrugged and zipped up my packed bag. "Weird. You need to find out what you're allergic to, at least. The reaction could be worse next time."

She nodded, tossing a wad of shirts into her suitcase. "Yeah, I'll set up an appointment with my doctor once we get back home," she agreed.

"What else do we have to pack up before we leave?" Marla asked.

I thought about it. "I think just the waters left in the fridge. I'll go get those while you guys finish packing up." They nodded while I grabbed my stuff and headed out of our bedroom, where I joined Kason in the living room.

Tossing my luggage on the couch, I watched Kason stare at something on his phone. "What are you looking at?"

With a grin, he showed me a picture of Lucy that covered his whole screen. Her short, blonde hair was wavy over her shoulders and she was grinning wide, with her eyes looking up at the person taking her picture. "My dad just sent me this picture."

I slipped a soft smile in his direction. "You'll be seeing her tonight," I assured him.

He nodded and looked back at his phone. "I can't wait," he said. "This little girl is my whole world." I smiled wider at his words. His relationship with Lucy was definitely something to admire. I was beyond thankful for a loving brother like Gavin and I knew Lucy would be just as thankful as she gets older.

I left the center of the living room where Kason stood and made my way into the kitchen, where I opened the fridge and started taking out the bottled water, setting it down on the counter. Footsteps filled the air and a moment later, Kason was stepping in between me and the fridge. His hands grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. I immediately went scatterbrained and couldn't think straight. He was so close, I could feel his breath on my face. My thoughts were immediately filled with only him. "Kason, someone is going to see us," my voice was just above a whisper.

His dark-blue eyes didn't leave mine, leaving me completely hypnotized. This boy knew how to make a girl flustered—that was for sure. His gaze darted to my lips, just for a moment. "So?" he whispered. I found myself wanting to kiss him again. This boy was turning into something I felt like I needed in order to breathe. He leaned in closer. His fingers made contact with my chin and angled my face. Just as our lips were about to meet, a laugh filled the air and he pulled away.

Marla and Aria walked into the room, their luggage in their hands. They were both laughing at each other, oblivious to me and Kason in the kitchen. I looked at Kason and found him grinning widely in amusement. That softness in his eyes was definitely only there when he was with me or Lucy and I was loving it. "Don't want anyone seeing us," he teased. Shaking my head with a small smile, I shoved him playfully and grabbed the rest of the water out of the fridge.

Shortly after, everyone finished packing and we stacked all of our luggage in the cars. As usual, I rode with Kason, and the others rode with Holden in his Jeep. The car ride seemed to be going faster than any of us wanted it to. Although I hadn't wanted to go on this trip in the first place, I found myself not wanting to head back home. I had bonded with everyone this weekend—especially Kason.

Three hours into the drive back home, my phone vibrated from an incoming text message from Jaxon. "Aria wanted to post the pictures of us she took on the mountain on her social media pages and blog. Don't worry, I told her that we'd prefer it if she didn't post any with us in them. In respect, she said she would crop us out of the ones she could, and then just not post the others," it said.

I breathed staring down at the text. It was a good move on my brother's part. We couldn't keep Charles updated on what we were doing and I knew there wasn't a doubt that he would see whatever Aria posts. "Is she asking questions?" I replied.

A moment later, another text came through. "No. She didn't ask any questions."

I sighed in relief at that. "Good."

Around an hour later, we stopped at a gas station to fill up on gas and grab a couple snacks for the rest of the drive. As we climbed out of Kason's car, his phone began to ring. "It's my dad," he said, looking at the screen.

"I'll pump the gas," I told him. "Talk to him."

Immediately nodding, he tossed me his wallet before answering his phone. "Hello?"

As he walked away for privacy, I used his card to pay for gas then started pumping it into his car. I watched him hold his phone to his ear and listen to the person on the other end of the line. He wiped his hand down his face. Although I wasn't seeing him up close, I could tell he was worried. For what reason, I didn't know.

After I filled his car up with gas, I made my way into the gas station, seeing that the rest of my friends were browsing through the snack isles. I found my brother first and walked up to him as he grabbed a Snickers bar from the shelf. He glanced from me to Kason through the large glass windows. "Who's he on the phone with?" he questioned.

I shrugged as I looked down at the shelves, searching for a bag of Fritos that I clearly remembered Kason saying he loved. After I found the chips, I grabbed two bags of them and then two bottles of water from the fridges. I waited for my friends to find what they wanted, then we paid for it all then met back outside with Kason, who was just hanging up the phone. "I got you a water and a bag of chips," I told him, raising the bag so he could see it.

He nodded once in return. "Thanks." His expression was void of the usual grin and there was no emotion in his voice.

"Ready to go?" Holden asked us as Jaxon, Aria, and Marla climbed into his Jeep.

Kason nodded and spoke a "yes" with a grin, but I could tell it wasn't genuine.

We turned to get in the car. "Do you want me to drive?" I asked, knowing something was greatly bothering him.

He immediately shook his head and opened the driver's door after my words. "No. Driving helps me think." He got in the car and I followed his actions.

As we followed Holden's Jeep out of the parking lot and miles down the road, Kason never touched the snacks or water I picked out for him. There was something serious on his mind that was messing with him. "What's wrong?" I finally asked him.

He paused and for a long moment, I didn't think he was going to answer me. A shaky breath escaped his lips before he said, "My mom had a stroke a little while ago."

"What?" I froze, caught off guard. "Is she okay?"

He shrugged and kept his gaze on the road. "She's alive if that's what you're asking." I nodded and waited for him to continue. "Nobody can get her to speak, though," he said, "It's like she's gone completely mute."

I wanted to help him. I wish I could make the situation better, but I couldn't. There was nothing I could do to take that frown off his face. I wanted to say the words "I'm sorry," but I felt as if they didn't mean enough. Instead, I placed my hand on his leg as he drove. "I'm here for you," I told him. "Through thick and thin."

Nodding, he took one hand off the steering wheel and intertwined his fingers with mine, resting our hands on his leg. I leaned back in my seat and tightened my grip in his and rubbed my thumb back and forth on his skin in a comforting motion. I cared for him—that I knew. And seeing this boy upset because of an unfortunate event in his life, made me want to be there for him for as long as I could, even if that meant letting the danger in my own life get closer to catching me. 

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Will Kason's mother recover?

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I'll try to post another chapter sometime within the next two weeks!