Seventeen

Kyler's electric blue eyes were wide with fear and her body was trembling slightly. She looked at Dash from the corners of her eyes, silently pleading with him to help her. Dash felt frozen in place. He had no idea what he could do without putting Kyler at risk. He would never forgive himself if Kyler got hurt because he did something drastic. He tried to avoid Kyler's desperate gaze, feeling guilty that he couldn't help her. He turned and faced Buddy.

"What is it that you want?" Dash asked, at the point where he was willing to do almost anything to help Kyler.

"What do you think?" Buddy replied, his eyes flashing and his voice a low rumble. "I want out. I've been in here far too long."

Dash shook his head. "I can't do that," he said. "I have no authorization."

"Maybe not on your own," he said, "but with her help, you'll certainly be able to. She's my immediate family, and you're here on business under Rick Dicker, am I right? That will be plenty to convince the people here to turn me over to you."

Dash shook his head again. "No way. I'm not helping you sneak out of here so that you can cause chaos and hurt innocent people again. You're in here for a reason and I'm not about to put others at risk so that you can be happy."

Buddy raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Oh really?" he said and put more pressure on the knife against Kyler's neck. Kyler hissed in pain and a thin trail of blood spilled down onto the blade. "You see, I think that you will help me out. I can see in your eyes that you don't want anything to happen to Kyler and you'll do anything to keep her safe. So, I suggest you do as I say, or more of her precious blood will spill."

Dash looked at Kyler. Her blue eyes were narrowed in anger, gaze focused on her father, and tears slipped down her cheeks. She had been surprisingly silent through this whole ordeal and he wished that he knew what was going through her mind. He sighed sadly and looked back at Buddy. "Fine," he said in defeat. "But get that damn knife away from Kyler. If you hurt her any more than you already have, the deal is off. As long as she's safe, I'll help you."

Buddy shrugged and removed the knife, wiping the blade on his pants to clean off the blood. "Fine. Take her." He grabbed Kyler's arm and pulled her off the chair, flinging her in Dash's direction.

Dash opened his arms and caught her, holding her tightly against his chest. He could feel her body shaking and her tears soaking through his shirt. "I'm so sorry…" he whispered to her. His chest was tight with guilt. He'd never thought that this would happen. He had simply wanted Kyler to come to terms with her father, and it had completely backfired on him. He should have just left her alone after she had let his family go free. Then she would have eventually forgotten about him and led a happy life. Dash cursed himself for forcing his way back into her life.

"You might want to clean up that cut," Buddy said casually, slipping the knife back into the leather strap under his sleeve. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, keeping his eyes locked on Dash and Kyler. "The nurses will probably become concerned and get suspicious if they see that you're hurt."

Dash glared at the man, unable to believe he could be so callous when it came to his daughter's wellbeing. Did he have no paternal instincts whatsoever? He led Kyler over to the bed and sat her down so he could examine the cut on her neck. He tilted her head back, exposing the angry red line across her throat. "Do you have anything I could clean this with?" Dash asked Buddy.

Buddy sighed irritably, as if he were being inconvenienced. He made his way over to the dresser and pulled out a white cotton T-shirt. He shredded the shirt into several long strips and handed them to Dash, along with a water bottle that was sitting on the nightstand. "That's all I've got," he said bitterly.

Dash took it without thanking him and began wetting one of the strips. Then it gently wiped away the blood that was already started to dry on Kyler's neck. He apologized in a soft voice when Kyler flinched in pain, but didn't stop until the wound was clean. The cut wasn't deep at all and would heal fairly quickly. Dash doubted it would even leave a scar. He helped Kyler to her feet and handed her the jacket he was wearing. "Put this one and zip it up all the way. The collar is fairly high and should hide the cut."

"You're really going to go through with all of this?" Kyler asked incredulously, her eyes wide and disbelieving. She ignored his offering of the jacket. It was clear to her now that Dash had been right about her father all along, and she couldn't stay silent any longer. "You're just going to let him run off and do whatever the hell he feels like doing, even though it might put other people at risk?" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Buddy smirking, clearly pleased with the fact that they were arguing.

"If it means that you'll be safe, then yes," Dash replied simply, shoving the jacket into her arms so she would put it on.

"You're going to endanger an unknown number of lives just to save mine?" Her voice was nearly shrill. She couldn't believe that he was going through with this. It was against everything he believed in. "You're a Super!" she reminded him angrily. "You're supposed to help people!"

"I'm helping you!" he retorted. "I'm keeping you alive!"

"But at what cost?" she pressed, trying to make him understand where she was coming from. She wasn't comfortable putting herself before countless innocent people. She didn't want anyone to get hurt because she was too scared to accept death and face her father.

But Dash didn't seem to care. He was more worried with Kyler's wellbeing than the chaos that Buddy could create if he were freed. He stared into Kyler's icy blue eyes, mentally telling her to just give the argument up. "Just put on the jacket so we can go," he said frigidly. Then he turned to Buddy. "Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Buddy shrugged and smiled shrewdly at the other man. "I'm ready whenever you two are," he replied.

"Good," Dash said with a curt nod. "Let's get out of here then." He made his way over to the door and pulled it open, motioning for them to follow him.

Kyler sent him one more pleading stare, but when he ignored it, she slipped on the jacket and zipped it up so that her injury couldn't be seen. She and Buddy followed Dash out of the room and down the hall. As they walked, passing nurses and patients gave the three of them puzzled glances. Dash simply kept his gaze forward and ignored them. Buddy sneered, soaking up the moments leading up to his freedom. And Kyler stared at the ground, her guilt making her unable to meet anyone's eyes.

I'm really interested in what you have to say and what you think will happen. Also, suggestions are always welcome! Please, tell me what you think! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update. Thanks for reading!

Mew Painappuru