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twenty-five

                         KAYDEN TURNER WAS SITTING MUTELY ON HER HOSPITAL BED, STARING AT THE WALL IN FRONT OF HER. She had been in and out of consciousness for she didn't know how long, and doctors had taken IVs, checked her pulse, and rushed back out again. Her mom had, obviously, failed to even show up and had left a crisp voicemail on Kayden's phone that had said: There's money on the counter; I'm heading out of town so I don't have to deal with the hassle of hospital bills. I hope you're satisfied. Then, the message had ended.

The last she had heard, Hudson's head wound had been treated and his family had thanked Milo enormously for trying his best to keep their son safe. Now, they were all sitting around Hudson's hospital bed as Milo recounted the story of how he had single handedly fought off Kyle and Jackson in order to save Hudson's life.

Alexis was being treated as a hero, and she was constantly being bombarded with reporters asking her to tell them how she had managed to get out of Kyle's clutches and alert the police on what was happening. She had tried multiple times to get into Kayden's hospital room to see how she was doing, but eventually had had to leave her alone because of how many people had wanted to interview her.

Casey and Holland had been sitting in the waiting room, hand in hand, waiting for any sign of news. Reed and Gen had also been with them, according to the last text Gen had sent her, and had had to deal with the hysterics from Reed's mom as she flung her arms around the two of them and cried.

Kayden had been suffering from awful nightmares, which was the reason she kept waking up. In each dream- images of Kyle suffocating her to death, Jackson on top of her, Aiden bleeding out- kept surfacing through her head. She would rather stay awake forever than get pulled back over into the tidal wave of horrors that overwhelmed her in her dreams.

She looked up as the door to her room slowly swung open. She braced herself for another blood draw, and began to roll up her sleeve when she saw Aiden's familiar gaze locking on her's. He was being supported by another doctor, who smiled gently at her.

"He's been asking to see you for the past hour," She said apologetically. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Kayden said breathlessly, looking back at the doctor. "Yeah, that's fine."

The doctor helped Aiden sit down on the edge of her bed, and then left the two of them alone, gently shutting the hospital door. Kayden pulled off her covers, moving to sit next to Aiden.

"Hey," She said softly. "How are you?"

The image of his scar-covered back seemed to be forever burned in her memory, and she wanted to talk about it, but didn't know how too. He looked at her, his mouth twisting ruefully.

"I'm gonna have a limp," He answered, his voice sounding hoarse. "The doctor said it was a severe break. So I'm gonna limp forever."

Kayden felt her heart fold in on itself. "Oh my God, A, I'm so sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry."

He shrugged, looking away. "Have you seen Kyle since. . .?" He trailed off, and Kayden flinched at the name.

"No," She whispered. "I don't want too. All the things he said to me. . .it was awful. How did I not- how did I not see that?"

He twisted his hands together. "You were in love. You overlook flaws, details. . .everything. Especially when you feel that way about someone."

"I don't," Kayden said harshly. "I don't love him like that anymore. I didn't even know who he was, towards the end."

Aiden didn't answer; he just moved his hands to the collar of her shirt and pulled it down, exposing the skin there. The word he had carved was forever etched into her skin, raw and deep.

"Marking you like you're property," He said, disgusted. "Who fucking does that?"

Kayden picked at a strand of thread on the blanket. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. I shouldn't have."

Aiden shook his head. "You didn't drag me into anything, Kay. I wanted to help."

"Why?" Kayden shot at him. "Why did you wanna help me? I let him do that over and over again to all those people, Aiden."

He was still shaking his head, his hair hanging in his eyes. "You didn't mean too. He was manipulating you and throwing himself in as the victim. It wasn't your fault."

Kayden closed her eyes, her eardrums pounding with anxiety. She reopened them, scanning his face.

"Why didn't you tell me? About your dad?"

Aiden's body went rigid. "It didn't matter. Not while you were being fucked up by him. Nothing mattered but that."

"No," Kayden said, and grabbed his hand in her own. "No, Aiden, I'm not the only thing that matters. I wish you had told me what was happening to you. I could have done something."

He looked away, silent, as she said quietly, "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know. Not with me."

A half-smile crept up his lips, and he looked back at her. "Okay then. Really, how are you? With everything that's happened?"

Kayden pressed her lips together, letting out a shudder sigh. "I feel ripped apart, you know. I have these awful nightmares and he keeps—he keeps showing up."

She raised her tear-filled eyes to his own, feeling his fingers pressed in her's. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait for the next person that falls in love with me to get up and leave me?"

There was a moment of silence as she looked at the ground, a strand of blonde hair falling into her eyes. Aiden swallowed, biting his lip.

"No."

She laughed, tilting her head back to look at the plain white tiles in the ceiling. "And why not?"

Aiden's heart was beating so loud he was sure she could hear it. His voice trembled slightly as he said sharply, "Because I would never leave you."

She let his words sink into her brain, and when they did, she whirled to face him. Her blue eyes were wide, searching, as they scanned his face.

"What did you say?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "You heard me, Turner."

"But. . ." Kayden said helplessly, a risk tidal wave of emotions rising up inside her chest. "I thought-I thought you stopped."

Aiden's hand found her cheek, and he tilted her chin up to meet his gaze.

"I'll never stop. Not for you."

And before he could even work up the courage to do anything else, Kayden slipped her hand from his and curled it into his t-shirt, pulling him slightly towards her.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she leaned in, her nose inches from his own. "God O'Conner, you just can't stop saving me, can you?"

And then, her lips had found his, crashing onto them before she could stop herself. Aiden felt his heart jolt before kissed her back so furiously he saw stars in his eyes. His hands wrapped around her waist tightly, pulling her as close to him as possible without suffocating her.

His hands were in her hair, and he couldn't breathe. It was as if he was drowning in her, but he didn't even care. He had wanted this for so long, and it was finally happening.

He finally had her.

They broke apart, breathless. His slipped his arms around her neck, and pulled her towards him, clutching her to his chest.

"Please don't ever leave again," He murmured into her hair. "I don't wanna lose you."

Kayden smiled, hearing his heart beat through his shirt. "Never."

And she felt, for the first time in her life, truly and completely happy. Safe, and in his arms.

(: -maya