Love Forgotten

CHAPTER 8

Chris

Chris balanced a drink carrier with sodas, and a paper bag full of sandwiches from the nearby deli along with two bags full of groceries so that Caden would have food options other than fast food. He was nearly knocked down by someone storming down the hallway. He gave the person a second glance, realizing it was Madeline. She gave him a dirty look as she pushed past him. If Maddy was so angry, did that mean that Caden had remembered that she wasn't really his fiancé?

Hope flooded him as he hurried to Caden's door. He knocked tentatively but there was no answer. After a few seconds, he knocked again, calling out Caden's name. That was when he heard angry whispering and the sound of a scuffle. Panic nearly froze him in place but he pushed it down and dropped the groceries to free his hand to open the door.

As he pushed his way into the room, he opened his mouth to call out. The words caught in his throat as he saw his roommate and Caden. At first a surge of jealousy washed through him to see Travis pressed up against Caden, but then he realized that he was choking Cade and he saw red. He dropped everything that remained in his hands and charged Travis. His roommate was caught off guard and went down hard as Chris barreled into him, but once he realized what was happening, he came up swinging.

Chris punched Travis with a wild desperation, and though a few return blows caught him on the face, and blood was streaming from his nose and mouth, he gave much worse than he got. He didn't stop swinging until Travis stopped fighting and slumped into unconsciousness.

Chris was shaky with adrenaline and fear as he left Travis to check on Cade. Caden was breathing, thankfully, but he too was unconscious. Chris pulled out his phone with shaky hands and called his brother.

Officer Kent answered on the fourth ring, "What's wrong?"

"Call an ambulance and come to Caden's place, hurry." Chris hung up before Kent could respond. He paced back and forth between Caden to make sure he was still breathing and Travis to make sure he didn't move until his brother could arrive.

Fifteen minutes later, Officer Kent and his partner led the paramedics into the apartment. Kent stopped Chris in his pacing, "It looks like a warzone in here. What happened?"

Chris pointed a shaky finger at Travis, "He's the one who hurt Cade. He was trying to finish the job when I got here, so...I stopped him."

"Looks like you more than stopped him Little Bro."

Chris shrugged and resumed his pacing. He kept checking on the paramedics to make sure they were taking good care of Caden. They also cleaned up Travis's wounds and then Chris's big brother handcuffed him. Chris refused to let them tend to him, because he wanted them to hurry and get Cade to the hospital. He also insisted on riding in the ambulance with Caden. Kent and his partner followed behind in their squad car.

Caden woke up right before they reached the hospital. He looked up at Chris and saw his bleeding nose and mouth, "Are you okay?"

Chris was thrilled to hear genuine concern for his safety. He nodded, "I'm fine. We're on our way to the hospital to make sure you're okay."

Caden nodded, then he started to look around frantically. "Where's Travis? He's the one..."

Chris held up a hand, "I know, it's okay. My brother arrested him."

Caden seemed surprised by that, "You're brother's... a cop?"

"Yeah, he'll be real disappointed that you don't remember him. You two get along real well."

Caden smiled, that thought made him happy. He hoped they could get back to that in the near future.

*****