Keith was pretty upset that his Dad wouldn't let him drive Natalie home that night, but he understood his reasoning as his head spun with dizziness from standing so quickly. Gently, his father and Natalie grabbed one of his arms and guided him carefully to his room. The smell of stir-fry still lingering in the air, Keith swallowed tightly- his throat was so dry from gobbling down his food with no stop for a drink. His father could tell that his throat was constricted, and lifted a warm water bottle to his son's lips. Keith promptly spit it out in the trash bin next to his bed. Henry chuckled.
"Warm water isn't too enjoyable, huh?"
"Neither is cancer." He retorted bitterly.
Henry sighed. "I'll grab you some ice water before I take Natalie home."
"Thanks." Keith mumbled as his Dad left. "Will you be over tomorrow?" he shifted his attention to Natalie.
She smiled. "Of course I will be."
Keith nodded and closed his eyes then, falling asleep before Henry returned with his water. When he finally re-entered his son's room, he chuckled and placed the water on a coaster that had been resting on his bedside table.
"Ready to go?" He asked.
Natalie nodded and followed him out to his truck. It was quite dark out now, and there was quite a chill in the air. Thick fog covered the roads. Henry sighed.
"Keith and I haven't finished the headlights; I can't drive through this fog."
"I'll just stay here tonight." She blurted out before she could help it.
Henry looked at her with a shocked face for a moment, but shook it off. His face broke into a broad grin, and he nodded, stowing his keys back in his pocket.
"What Keith wants, Keith gets." He replied, walking back to the house.
"What are you talking about?" Natalie asked, chuckling.
"Well," Henry replied, a soft smile gracing his features. The porch light softened his face and illuminated the laugh marks, the worry lines, and his furrowed eyebrows. "isn't it obvious? He doesn't want you anywhere that he isn't- especially not when he's still as good as laid up in the hospital. You're pretty much his sanity, Natalie."
Natalie smiled; did Keith really value their relationship, her staying close to him, that much?
"Do you mind if I use your house phone to call my Mom? My cell died."
Henry nodded and opened the front door. Walking into the kitchen where the phone hung on the receiver on the wall, Natalie crossed her arms over her chest.
"Keith, what're you doing?" She asked as she saw the huge bowl of cereal Keith had just turned in the direction of his bedroom with.
With no reply, he simply grinned, and continued on his way to his room with a slight shrug, (which Natalie found adorable). Henry rolled his eyes and mumbled something about his son being a human garbage can, while Natalie dialed her mother. After explaining as best she could the situation, she was surprised at her mother assuring her it was fine, to sleep in a separate bed, (which Natalie quickly promised she would be), and to call her in the morning. Once she hung-up, she stood in silence for a moment. Natalie had always been trustworthy, and she had given no one a reason, (nor she was planning on giving anyone a reason), not to trust her, but she felt positive her Mom would've had more of a lecture planned, or at least said that she would come pick her up. Figuring her mother was tired from the day, (since she had yawned quite a few times during the short conversation,) she set those thoughts aside and stepped into the living room. It was empty. She saw Henry's bedroom light streaming through the hallway, and decided to gently take Keith's mother's picture off the mantle and walk into his bedroom. Stepping quietly, she peeked in to make sure he wasn't asleep, and smiled as she grinned at her before taking a huge bite of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Milk dripped down his chin and he wiped it lazily on his jacket-sleeve.
"Hey, partner." He spoke cheerfully; his T.V. was on full-blast and he seemed quite comfortable. Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, she replied: "Hey, partner, what're you watching?" she leaned back then, resting her head against his legs, which were bent in a criss-cross apple-sauce fashion.
"Just some old Steve Irwin."
"Steve Irwin?" Natalie asked curiously.
Keith gawked at her. "You don't know who Steve Irwin is? The Crocodile Hunter?"
Natalie grinned at his surprise. "No, I've never seen it."
Keith pulled her closer to him, so she just moved to sit next to him. As she stretched her legs above the covers, he threw her a blanket and a juice box that he must have retrieved from the fridge when he got his cereal. Gladly she took it, and got comfortable as he insisted upon. Wrapping an arm around her, he assured her that she would love it. She couldn't complain; even if he hated the show, she loved this moment- sitting with Keith, with him alive and well. When she had walked in, she had set his mother's picture on the end table on the corner of the hallway next to his room. Deciding that it could wait until he was ready to talk to her about what had actually happened, she had set it down. Yes, she was anxious, but she realized that respecting his privacy was important, and she would let him tell her when he was ready even though she had many questions impressing on her mind. Natalie was becoming quite curious about the young boy who had lost his mommy, who had become an outcast, who had cancer, who she now, loved.
Natalie looked up at Keith, and for the first time noticed how much thinner his hair was becoming, how pale and drawn in his face was. She appraised all of his features then, soaking in his scent, how he looked, how he was acting. His whole demeanor became something that, for some reason, she felt the intensity to want to memorize right then and there. Grabbing for his hand, she snapped her head back to stare straight ahead as she moved his eyes to rest on her. She couldn't let him see her getting attached, or he would simply push her away. As much as he didn't want to, she knew how he worked, and she just couldn't let that happen. Thinking her gesture was purely out of love, she caught his smile out of the corner of his eyes before he turned back to the T.V. Natalie was becoming more worried about him then she had been before; she had never taken the time to take in all of his physical features. Keith had always been an outcast; the wallpaper of the school, really, but Natalie could notice the considerable amount of weight shedding from his frame.
Natalie stared ahead at the T.V. with a blank expression. Although she wasn't paying attention, she would assure Keith when it was over that she had loved the Crocodile Hunter's endeavor with a restless gator, and thus making him as happy as he seemed that she had sat still to watch it for five minutes, at least. Giving his hand a gentle squeeze, she smiled as she felt an equally tight squeeze back. The sat there together then in amiable silence, and only did she move when she felt her eyes becoming heavy with sleep.
a\n: So next chapter will involve Natalie planning a big surprise for Keith and we can really start kicking off this story!(: I hope you guys are enjoying, and I will be updating pretty much all of my stories tomorrow so, look forward to that, and please review all of the upcoming updates! You guys are amazing; I seriously couldn't update so quickly, nor keep my motivation for these stories without you!
Blessings,
Sarah.
