I sat in bed and looked at Kay. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was pretty regular. Not gonna lie, it was touch and go for a long while. Her parents came by earlier to check on her but they couldn’t stay. They insisted that she go home with them but I begged them to let her stay with me at her place. It helped that Gabi argued that she wouldn’t want to be around family 24/7 after the ordeal. They’d be too pushy.

I ran my fingers through Kay’s hair when she rolled over. I smiled. After being in the hospital for two days she was happy to be back in her bed, and I was happy to be back there with her. I never left her side when she was in the hospital and being able to hold her again was the best reward. It assured me that she was okay.

That night was the scariest thing I’d ever been through. We all sat in our cars for almost two hours, waiting for anything to give us a cue to rush in there and save her. When Brandon said he saw lights on in the house that weren’t on before I jumped out of my car and ran inside. There was a guy in a creepy ass mask standing in the living room when I rushed in so I did what any logical boyfriend would do when his girl is being held hostage:

I punched him.

He landed backwards into a glass table and shattered it. He didn’t stay down for long though; soon he was on his feet and throwing punches at me too. We were pretty evenly matched, shoving each other into various pieces of furniture. Few words were exchanged aside from curse words. Honestly, I think he was trying to finish me off. I eventually got the upper hand with the help of a vase to the back of his head. As soon as I knew he was out cold I rushed throughout the house looking for Kay. I finally found her passed out and tied to a chair in the basement. She had blood spilling from the sides of her neck and there were bruises forming on her face. I quickly untied her and sped out of that house with her in my arms. After some rearranging between cars we were all in the hospital.

Kay had to get a blood transfusion and twenty stitches on her neck. She was pretty bummed about that but they said they wouldn’t leave a bad scar.

Kay shuffled a little in her sleep before her eyes slowly opened. I smiled once her gaze settled on me.

“Good morning,” I spoke. She smiled back at me.

“Hi there. Did you get any sleep?”

“I got a couple hours,” I lied. Ever since she was admitted into the hospital I hadn’t really gotten much sleep. Scratch that, any. I stayed up all night in case things got really bad. The worst it got was when her blood pressure went through the roof due to the transfusion and all the stress on her body. It didn’t look good for almost two hours but through some prayers she got out of it. I still didn’t want anything to happen to her though so I kept watch over her.

“Mike…,” she warned.

“You hungry?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t need to be lectured about caring for my girlfriend; that’s what you do when you’re in love.

“Pancakes would be nice.” I nodded and went to the kitchen to get started on my task. My phone buzzed in my pocket, taking me away from the batter I had started.

Kay awake?

I sent a “yes” to my brother and set my phone down on the counter, knowing that Vic would text again. Sure enough, my phone vibrated on the surface.

Cool, be prepared

Prepared? Prepared for what? Almost as soon as the thought crossed my mind there was a knock on the front door. I left my station and opened the door, revealing my brother, Kellin, Tony, Jaime, Gabi, and Vi.

“I should’ve known you guys were coming.”

“You really didn’t guess? I thought my messages were clear enough.” I rolled my eyes at Vic and opened the door wider for the six of them to step inside. “How’s our girl doing?”

“She’s better. She just woke up so I’m making her breakfast.”

“Cool, lemme get an omelet,” Jaime said as he sat on the couch. I shot him a look.

“Really dude?” I asked. He only smiled his goofy Jaime smile. “If you want you guys can check on Kay. I know she’d like to see you.” Kellin didn’t waste any time. He quickly rushed down to the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

“I guess he really missed her,” Tony said with a chuckle. Basically everyone in the room did. They wouldn’t allow visitors in her room at the hospital because they thought it would put too much stress on her. If it wasn’t for my persistence I wouldn’t have been able to stay in the room with her.

“Okay but what about my omelet?” I flipped Jaime off as I went back to the kitchen to make the pancakes. “I was serious,” he called.

“And I was seriously saying ‘fuck you’,” I responded, causing the others in the room to laugh.

“Whatever man. I’m sure Kay would like an omelet.”

“No, Kay wanted pancakes,” I retorted.

“Sweet, make a shit ton.”

“Jaime-”

“Mike?” I turned my head to see Kay standing at the threshold of the small hall with Kellin’s arm around her waist to hold her up.

“Hey, she’s up!” Vic exclaimed. She gave him a weak smile before she slowly made her way to the couch. Tony stood from his spot to make room. “How are you feeling?”

“Better now,” she said, “especially since I’m finally out of that bed.” She shot me a look to which I just shrugged. The doctor said she wasn’t supposed to do strenuous activities for a couple weeks so she wouldn’t upset the stiches or her body in general. I took it as “keep the girl in bed so she doesn’t die”. Apparently Kay didn’t approve of my interpretation.

“Well excuse me for trying to keep you safe.” She stuck her tongue out at me.

“Forget keeping me safe and try keeping me fed. Where’s my breakfast?” I huffed but turned back around to finish the pancake batter.

“Seriously sis, how are you feeling?” Vic asked. Since Kay and I were past the point of simply “strong like,” Vic had started considering her as a member of the family.

“I’m fine. Really tired but the doctor said I should be able to do things again in a couple days.”

“Well shit, let’s do something then,” Jaime said excitedly.

“Like what, Jaimito?” Vic asked.

“We could go to the big ass lake,” Tony offered. “Make it chill day with some food, swimming.” I looked back to see Kay smile.

“I love it,” she said. “Can we go Mike?” I sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t let up if I said no.

“Sure, let’s have a day by the lake.” She squealed with excitement. “But, I wanna get the okay from the doctor.” Almost immediately I heard Kay, Kell, and Gabi groan.

“C’mon dude, let her life her life!” Tony laughed at his girlfriend and rubbed her knee.

“I am, but I wanna make sure that she’s gonna be okay. Swimming is strenuous.” Gabi rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“No Gabs, he’s right,” Kay said. “I’m sure Tony would do the same for you.” The two looked at each other before blushing shyly and looking away simultaneously. Swear, the two of them would never get past this stage.

“So it’s settled,” Jaime said to break the silence, “Mike will continue to baby Kay and then we’ll all go to the lake. Any questions?” No one said anything. “Good. Now, about my breakfast…”

***



The weekend finally came and soon we were all at the lake. The doctor had said that Kay could get in the water but she couldn’t do more than wade for fear that she’d put her body under too much stress. I knew she was tired of hearing that from everyone but she put on a nonchalant face and promised to take his instructions.

I sat next to Kaylee on the grass and watched our friends who were in the water. They were on inflatable rafts or swimming circles around the others, laughing their asses off when they splashed someone on a raft and they went tumbling off.

“You’re staring,” Kay whispered to me. I looked down at my toes with a blush on my cheeks. “It’s perfectly fine Kells,” she said with a giggle.

Kaylee had caught me staring at Vic, who was shaking his head free of water like a dog that had just gotten out of a bath. She knew that Vic and I had started up again. In fact, she confronted me on it the other day when I went to check up on her. Although she was a little upset that I didn’t tell her when it happened she promised to keep it a secret until we were ready to tell people.

“He’s just so hot though,” I said, only partially joking around. We both laughed and went back to looking at the others, specifically the brothers who were our boyfriends. Something about those Fuentes boys was intoxicating; we just couldn’t get enough.

“Hey, you two, get in here!” Jaime shouted when he resurfaced. I looked at Kaylee and she shook her head slightly.

“Nah, we’re gonna work on our tans,” I said back with a smile. I caught Vic looking at me with seductive eyes. I was only wearing my swim trunks since I had planned on going into the water. Vic winked with a smirk, letting me know that a tan wasn’t the only thing I’d be putting work in. I blushed at the thought.

“Make it less obvious Kellin,” Kaylee chastised. I stuck my tongue out at her and laid back against the towel we were sitting on. She laid back with me, staring absentmindedly at the clouds.

“How are you feeling?” I asked. She sighed.

“Honestly?” I nodded although she wasn’t looking at me. “I feel fine physically but mentally I’m a mess.”

I turned my head and looked at her with a confused expression. She didn’t take her eyes off the clouds.

“I wasn’t really a part of it. She told me I wasn’t a part of it.”

“Who?” Curiosity laced my voice.

“One of my kidnappers. She said she was using me to get to someone. I wasn’t really a part of it all.” Her voice sounded so distant yet I knew she was clinging to something, something that she didn’t want to talk about.

“Have you talked to Mike about this?” She shook her head.

“I haven’t told Mike a lot of things,” she said.

“Like?”

“Like the things Danielle said to me.” I frowned. Danielle had said some hurtful shit about Kay’s relationship with Mike, the most offensive being that Mike was only with her so he could sleep with her. “I know it’s not true but I can’t help that tiny voice in the back of my mind that says that he’s gonna leave me once he gets what he wants.”

“You’re stupid,” I said bluntly. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that and I was a little surprised at myself but she needed to hear it. She sat up on her elbow and looked at me. “I’m sorry, but you are. Look at your boyfriend.” She did what I asked then looked back at me.

“So?”

“So that man was worried sick about you. He practically ran after the car that took you. He stayed by your side in the hospital and when you came home. Hell, he follows you around like a lost puppy. If he only wanted sex he would’ve given up by now. Trust me, I’ve been with guys who only wanted that from me and when I didn’t give it up they moved on. Tell me, has Mike moved on?” She studied him closely, taking in everything I said and applying it to mere presence.

“No,” she finally answered.

“Exactly. He loves you more than anything and you’d be fucking stupid to think otherwise.”

A small smile played on her lips. She sat up completely and looked at Mike once again, and this time he looked back. Their eyes were glued to each other for the longest time. She eventually got up and went over to him, being careful to stay in the shallow part of the lake. Their lips collided without a word needing to be spoken; they smiled at each other when they pulled apart.

“Are you responsible for that,” said a voice from beside me. I turned my head to see Vic sitting next to me. When did he leave the water?

“Am I responsible for their love? No.” He rolled his eyes at my smartass comment.

“You know what I mean. Mike said Kay’s been acting a little distant. Did you fix it?”

“Now, why would I let you in on all my powers?” He chuckled.

“Well thanks for whatever you did or said. It’s been eating Mike up these last few weeks so I’m sure he’s happy to be that close to her again.” I smiled, triumphant in what I did.

“I just wanted the lovers to love again.” I didn’t see his expression but I felt him lace his fingers with mine. I looked at him, well, more like stared. He was looking at Mike and Kaylee who were now on one of the rafts. They were laying on opposite sides of it, kicking their feet in the water and just talking. Vic was smiling at the sight.

I studied his features much like I do when we’re alone in the car or watching a movie. The wind blew his hair lightly but just enough for it to dance across his eyes for a moment before returning to their original position. The smile faded after some time but it never left his lips completely. I noticed that his skin had gotten a bit darker since the summer. When he had found time to get out in the sun was beyond me but obviously he did. His thumb went up and down the back of my hand slowly and I felt myself getting lost in everything that was him. His face, his body, his demeanor, his very existence. I was falling for him more and more every day and now, as the sun shone down on him making his hair shine like bronze, I felt that familiar feeling intensify.

“You’ve gotta stop looking at me like that.” I noticed the smile that played on his perfect lips as he said that. I merely shrugged.

“You’re too perfect not to look at. I’m really lucky.”

“How so?” his smug ass asked. I knew he just wanted me to list the reasons why I loved him, but I would do that later so I ignored the question for the moment.

“What would you do if it were me?”

“If what were you?” he asked with an eyebrow raised.

“If I were kidnapped. What would you do?”

“Easy, I’d do what a boyfriend would do: find the son of a bitch and kill him where he stands.” His demeanor changed with that statement. What was once a carefree Vic was now looking at the horizon with hatred in his eyes.

“Vic…?” I questioned, trying to get him back to reality.

“He hurt my little sister and I’ll be dammed if that bastard goes and harms someone else I care about.” I knew I had lost him. His hand tightened around mine but not in a loving way. He was crushing my bones.

“Vic you’re hurting me,” I winced out in pain. He finally took notice and released my hand from his grip. He looked at me apologetically before looking at the ground with his lips pressed together.

That look of anger and sadness didn’t come off his face for a while, and it was scary to look at. I knew he was scared for Kaylee and worried about his brother’s well-being but I didn’t know he was considering murder. The look on his face confirmed it and it sent chills down my spine. Vic was gonna be out for blood soon; hopefully something would stop him before he went too far.

Notes