Kendall opened the door of 2J, his mind racing excitedly. Downstairs by the pool, James, Carlos, and Logan were in the midst of an intense arm wrestling competition, and Kendall had decided it would be best to capture the Latino and the Smart Boy crumble under James' huge biceps on camera. He ran into the apartment to see Mrs. Knight at the table, with her cell phone in her hand, a piece of paper in the other.
"Hi, Mom," Kendall said quickly, speeding into his and Logan's room. Mrs. Knight stood up in a frenzy as Kendall came bursting out nearly five seconds later. "See you later," he said, camera in hand. His mother stepped in front of him, the corners of her face sagging, her usually bright green eyes dull with worry. Something was wrong.
"Kendall-sweetheart, we need to talk," she said. Kendall looked up at his mom and gave a small chuckle.
"If it's the sex talk ma, you are a bit too late-" Kendall said, his words dissipating as his mother's face got more serious and solemn. He slowly approached her, putting his camera on the table."Mom, what's wrong?" he asked.
Mrs. Knight swallowed hard as Kendall took a seat. She sat down across from him and touched his hand."Sweetheart, Jessica is in the hospital," she said. With those five words, Kendall's heart fell down to the pits of his stomach and he felt like he was going to throw up.
"What?" he asked softly, his breaths getting heavier, his mind more frazzled and hectic by the second. "What happened? Is she alright?" Kendall asked ravishingly.
Mrs. Knight sighed and bit her lip."Her father beat her pretty bad, sweetie. She has a broken arm, a few broken ribs, bruises all over her body, and she has been in a coma since it happened. It's serious," she said quietly.
Kendall swallowed hard and looked down at his hands, which were shaking."I-I should've been there," he said softly.
Mrs. Knight sighed and touched her son's hand."Kendall, you couldn't have done anything," she said.
Kendall looked up at her angrily, a single tear falling down his face. His voice was weak."I left her, mom. She needed me, and I left, and now she is hurt, and I-I can't be there for her," he said, his voice getting weaker and weaker by the second.
Mrs. Knight nearly cried at seeing her son so distraught."Yes you can," she said, pushing out the piece of paper towards him. Kendall picked it up and saw that it was a plane ticket, and he smiled widely.
"Mom, I-," Kendall said, looking at what his mother had given him. He looked up at her, and bit his lip. Mrs. Knight smiled."I'm-I'm nervous about you going back home by yourself. However, I already called the Mitchells, and you can stay with them. Your flight leaves tomorrow at 12PM, and your return flight is at 4PM the next day. It's the best I can do between your busy schedule, and everything else, but I understand that you need to be there for Jess," Mrs. Knight said. Kendall could not say anything. He got up out of his chair, and went over to his mother, hugging her tight from behind.
"I love you, Mom," he said softly in her ear, tears falling out of his eyes.
"I love you too, Baby," she said softly.
(Page break)
Kendall Knight had been on many plane rides in his life, and they had all been under pleasant circumstances. This time was different. He could barely sit still; his foot bouncing nervously and his hands shaking in fear. He guessed that the guy next to him was probably ready to beat the crap out of him. He kept glancing at the clock and map at the front of the cabin, his already dark mood getting even worse when he saw that the marker had barely moved.
"There's not going to be much of a difference from when you just looked two minutes ago," he heard the older man beside him say.
"I know… I—I just can't help it," he replied, running his hands through his hair and rubbing the back of his neck. All he wanted was to be in Minnesota, holding Jessica's hand and begging her to wake up. He did not give a damn about anyone else on this plane; they could all go to hell for all he cared right now.
"Take a deep breath and relax."
"You don't get it, I can't do that," he snapped and rested his head in his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees. The man peered at his over his reading glasses and sighed.
"Why not?"
Kendall sat up a little and stared at this person, who he knew nothing about and who was prying into his life as if he owned the world. However, right at that moment, Kendall wanted nothing more than to just tell someone what was going on, get it off his chest.
"My girlfriend's in the hospital, her dad pushed her down a flight of stairs and she's in a coma," he told him quietly, fighting off the white-hot tears that came to his eyes.
The man seemed to understand and gave him a soft smile. He did not say anything, just rested his hand on Kendall's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Kendall took it as the guy was reassuring him that everything would be okay in time, just stick it out.
(Page Break)
Kendall ran up to the first man he could see in a white lab coat. "Is Jess okay?" he asked the doctor. The doctor turned to him with a weird smile on his face. Kendall swallowed hard, preparing for the worst. He knew that smile; he had remembered it from when his grandmother died. It was the polite, doctor-like professional smile and in that instant, he hated it with every fiber of his body. "Jessica is in a coma right now. I'm sorry," he said. Kendall's eyes wanted to fill with tears, but it would be too easy. He had to stay strong. He grunted in frustration, mad at the world, mad at her father, mad at himself for not being there."And who are you?" the doctor asked. Kendall sighed, running his hands through his hair."Her boyfriend," Kendall said angrily, the frustration at the hassle this doctor was giving him coming out easily. The doctor's face went even softer upon hearing that. Kendall looked at him weird and the doctor sighed."You're Mr. Knight?" the doctor asked. Kendall nodded, confused, and the doctor sighed."I'm sorry, son. Jessica lost the baby when she fell down the stairs," he said sadly. Kendall's mind went blank. Baby? What?"What? What baby?" he asked. The doctor nodded. "Jessica was about five months along, and her sister listed you on the death certificate as the father," the doctor said. Kendall swallowed hard, and felt like a ton of bricks had just hit him. He could have been a father. All of this was happening too fast."I-I could've," Kendall said, his heartbreaking, not being able to finish his thought.
The doctor looked away before saying," You can go in to see her if you want. Her sister left about an hour ago and its only one visitor at a time so you're clear to go in." And with that, he left a distraught Kendall to himself.
After a few moments, he collected himself enough to walk down to her room and he froze before he could open the door. What would he see behind that door? It surely was not the same Jessica he had kissed goodbye before he left for California. It could not be. She had carried his baby for five months, five fucking months and did not bother to at least tell him. He had had the chance to be a father and it was lost now. All of the rage that had collected over the time they were together, he focused on her father and what he would do to him when he saw him. He slowly turned the handle, pushing the door open to see Jessica laying there, her confused eyes wondering around the room until they saw him.
"Jess? You're awake?" he asked, slowly approaching her, taking in the sight that he most feared. Her small body had large, swollen purple and blue bruises coating her arms and what was visible of her legs. Her left arm was in a cast and she had a partially healed gash above her left eyebrow. What Kendall couldn't help noticing was the semi- rounded belly that protruded from the gown, not as much as it should have for someone being five months pregnant. She finally looked up to reconnect her eyes from his and he saw the tears streaming down her beaten face.
"I'm so sorry," was all she could stutter out before she caved in on herself and sobbed.
I can't believe how many reviews I got within only mere hours of posting that last chapter. Think we could do a repeat? Please do review and let me know what you think about this one… And just remember, this is only just getting started.
