Angels POV
I felt myself become conscious again as I regained my senses. I could smell and feel Shaky as I lay on him. I could smell the sex in the bed from last night. I could feel his penis on my thigh as I covered it. The fur on my thigh felt a little stiff from the dried sperm that had leaked onto it. How gross, but sexy. I opened my eyes and kissed his neck as I laid into it. I then turned over on my back and sighed. This was a dream come true. Shaky began to stir after I got off of him and then laid on his stomach to face me.
"I was wondering why it got so cold," Shaky said.
"You're sweating," I pointed out.
"Shut up" Shaky smiled as he leaned over to kiss me. I closed my eyes and gladly accepted it. Smiling into the kiss as he cupped my cheek. "You know my dad's probably at work, want to go for another round?" he asked.
"Can we at least brush our teeth? You fucking stink" I teased.
"Oh come on, I hear morning sex is the best sex" Shaky defended.
"Oh my god, stop talking" I joked. Shaky laughed and kissed me again.
"What time is it?" he asked. I giggled and checked my phone. As of right now it was 12:32 in the afternoon. But I also noticed that I had gotten multiple missed calls from Kate and my mom.
"Kate called me," I said.
"Call her back," Shaky suggested. I pressed Kate's name and put the phone to my ear as it began ringing. It rang for about thirty seconds until-
"Hey it's Kate, sorry I missed your call, just leave a message and I'll get back to ya. Bye" the voicemail said. I hung up before it beeped and tried again. Thirty seconds later and it was the same result. I groaned and put the phone to my side.
"No answer," I said. Shaky rolled over to me again and brushed his chest against mine.
"I'm sure she'll call back, everything's fine," Shaky said. My parents called as well but most likely it was about when I should be home. I'll call her in a bit. For now though. I kissed Shaky again and pulled him into the pillow with me.
"Let's give this morning sex thing a try" I said. Shaky got excited and crawled in between my legs. I giggled as he got into position and I felt his morning wood on me. He then slid in and we both moaned as we enjoyed the feel of each other. Shaky then lowered his head and kissed me again. I hugged him as he started to thrust into me as he kissed me. I moaned in delight. Fuck this felt good. But my phone started to ring as we were going at it. Shaky broke the kiss and stopped his rhythm. I picked up the phone to see that Kate was calling me back. That didn't take long.
"Let it ring," Shaky said. I giggled and gave him a peck on the lips and then swiped answer, putting the phone to my ear with my boyfriend still inside of me.
"What's up Kate?" I asked. Shaky started to kiss my neck as I talked while starting up his rhythm again, extremely slow so I didnt moan. It still felt fucking great though.
"Angel, thank God you got my call. Listen… Rick got stabbed last night" Kate said.
"What?" I asked worriedly as my heart dropped.
"He's in the hospital, and he's not doing well, he's in a coma. I've been here with him all night" Kate explained. I tapped Shaky's shoulder rapidly.
"Shaky stop, it's about Rick" I said. Shaky did as he was told and looked up to me, our noses nearly touching.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Kate spoke again.
"He's starting to get better but he hasn't woken up, the doctors don't know when he will. The others will be here soon, I'm glad you called when you did… I'm scared Angel" Kate said. She did sound scared, but so was I. I needed to get there right away.
"We'll be right over" I said. I then hung up the phone.
"What happened?" Shaky asked.
"Pull out of me, we need to get to the hospital" I said. Shaky did as I asked and then I pulled the sheets off of me and started to dress. As I dressed I explained everything I knew. "Rick was stabbed, he's in a coma and I don't know how he is beyond that"
"Stabbed? Who did it?" Shaky asked as he started to dress as well.
"I don't know, Kate didn't say. But we need to get to the hospital. Can you take me?" I asked.
"Of course, hey toss me that spray?" Shaky asked. I turned to see a bottle of cologne. I picked it up and underhand tossed it to Shaky. He caught it and sprayed himself to cover up the sex scent no doubt.
"Toss it back?" I requested. He did and I used it. I then put it back on the desk and opened Shaky's bedroom door.
"Go, I'm right behind you," Shaky said. I did as he said and ran to his car. When I opened the door I was hit with the freezing air. I ran over to Shaky's car and waited for him to unlock it. He was outside in less than twenty seconds and closed the door, locking the front door before unlocking the car doors. I hopped in and took a seat. Buckling up and getting ready for the ride. Shaky sat and started the car. He too buckled up and then handed me a small plastic bottle. "Here, take this," he said. I did and read the label real fast as he pulled off. It was some type of sprayable mouthwash.
"Really?" I asked.
"Didn't exactly get a chance to brush our teeth in there," Shaky said. I took the cap off and pointed the bottle in my mouth and sprayed it twice. A quick one two type of spray. I was instantly hit with the taste of mint. It tasted good and would probably hold me over for at least a couple of hours.
"Thanks" I said as I handed the bottle back to Shaky.
"And Humphrey gave me shit when I bought this," Shaky said before using it himself. When he was done he tossed it in the cup holder and continued to drive. He bought that when he and Humphrey were hanging out? What the fuck were they doing? Idiots, they bring me joy but that's not what matters, I'm about to lose my favorite idiot and I don't know what I'll do if that happens. I don't know who I'll annoy or have talks with when I'm feeling down. Oh poor Kate, what will she do? She just found something to bring her back from the depths of depression and now its in a coma. Poor girl. Who will be there to make me feel safe? Who will protect me from the monsters? I don't know if I can stand losing him. But from what Kate said he should be fine. I hope. But what happened? I need to know.
"Thanks for coming, Shaky" I said, turning to him with a slight smile as he drove. He turned to me briefly and cracked a small smile back.
"Of course Angie, Rick's just as important to me as he is to you. We're all a family, remember that" Shaky said. I smiled kindly and rubbed his arm momentarily.
"Shaky? Can you talk to me? I can't be left alone with my thoughts. I just… I keep thinking the worst" I said.
"O-of course… what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"Anything, just… something" I begged.
"Um… okay… uhhh… Doakes is pretty funny isn't he?" Shaky asked.
"I'm glad you're enjoying Dexter" I responded.
"Yeah, it's really good, thanks for showing me. I'm not really into trying out shows on my own, I don't want to risk not liking them or wasting my time" Shaky explained. This was working, I was taking my mind off of the pain for a bit, I knew once I arrived at the hospital, that I would see my brother in such a state that would kill me on the inside. It was going to be a rough day.
"Well if that's the case then you and me will do american horror story next" I said.
"American horror story? I think I saw one of them, the one with the clown? I didn't finish it though, I only watched like one episode" Shaky said.
"Ah, freak show, yeah that's the fourth season, they have it on netflix so we'll be able to watch it…" I felt guilt start to set in as I realized what I was talking about while my brother was in a coma. "I'm such a shitty sister, my brother is in a coma and I'm talking about fucking TV shows" I said.
"It's not like you're doing this to completely forget about him, honestly Angie, you're too hard on yourself" Shaky said. I closed my eyes and sighed. Maybe Shaky was right, would Rick really want me to worry about him? I was, I was worried sick in fact, but knowing Rick, even if he was dead he would want me to be happy, but that would never happen… I needed him in my life, and I think it's the same for him. If something happened to me he would lose it, I remember when we were really little and I hit my head. From what mom told me he cried the whole time until I woke up, never leaving my side. We were so dumb, doing the stupidest shit in order to simply not feel bored. Even at the expense of our safety. After that though things changed. Rick was even more protective than he already was and our stupid shinanigens screeched to a halt. It's amazing how one event can change so much. I felt Shaky put his hand on my shoulder.
"What?" I asked.
"You're smiling," he pointed out. "Memories?"
"Yeah, I was thinking about when we were little… how me and Rick used to do the stupidest shit to entertain ourselves. We would build ramps and shit in the backyard and try to outdo the other on a bike, or we would climb things and see who would be the most creative with it. One day I fell and hit my head and he got mom, he put a rag on my head as I lied down on the couch, I wasn't bleeding so mom didn't think that I needed to go to the hospital, but still Rick sat by me… and he cried and cried until I woke up, I remember that day… I woke up on the couch and he hugged me instantly as he cried… I don't think I've ever seen him so relieved" I explained.
"How old were you guys?" Shaky asked.
"I was somewhere around seven or eight so Rick was about ten" I answered.
"Sounds like you two really love each other," Shaky commented.
"Yeah… we do… so maybe this is how he felt when I was out and… wouldn't wake up… how he was hurt and sat by me until eventually I did… when I was in this situation he was there for me… and where was I?" I asked.
"Angie you can't… you can't do this to yourself every time something goes wrong, you're gonna drive yourself crazy. Some things just… happen and there's no way of knowing it, now if you did know it and didn't care then that would be a different story, but look at you… you're upset, and crushed, and you're doing everything you can to get there. You're a good person Angie, I don't know how many times I can tell you that. That's why I love you, you're so kind and caring, and everytime something goes wrong you beat yourself up and that's why, it's because you care so much" Shaky said. I saw his point, he was right.
"Thank you, Shaky," I said. I felt better but that was more about myself than what actually mattered. I still had to get there and see my big bro. He needed me. And I wouldn't feel right until I saw him.
"Anytime Angie, we're almost there by the way, hospitals right around the corner" Shaky said as he turned, I turned my head to the right to see the building coming into view. Here we go, the start of what was going to be one of the worst sights I could think of. A loved one in pain. Shaky parked his car and turned it off. "Ready?" he asked.
"No… never for this, '' I said. I then unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. Shaky followed. Once me and him met up he offered me his hand for comfort. I hesitated before accepting it and walking inside. We arrived at the front desk and told the lady who we were seeing. She gave us visitors' passes and we went back into the rooms. The lady told us that my brother was in room 237 so that's exactly where we went. When we finally reached it we pulled the curtain open in the doorway and looked inside. There I saw my brother laying in bed. Oxygen mask on him, heart rate monitor hooked up and face bruised horribly. I gasped as I slowly approached the bed. Kate was sitting on a chair next to the bed holding my brother's hand. I took hold of the other one. I then felt a tear fall down the side of my face.
"His heart rate is back to normal… I wasn't sure when that would happen," Kate said.
"What happened?" I asked Shakily as Shaky stood beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Kate closed her eyes and sighed. I felt bad for her in a way, she looked as though she hadn't slept, like she had been through a lot. She must have been taking this hard. Poor girl.
"Rick was drugged… it was Garth he… drugged him and waited for him to be alone. He and his friends took him and… well, they beat him up and someone stabbed him. It had to have been Garth, when he came back to the house he had blood on his hand. No one else… I can't help but feel like I could have been there for him, but he didn't want me to know" Kate explained. Slowly I put my hand over hers, reaching across the hospital bed.
"You're here now" I said. Kate gave me a warm smile before dropping it again to look back at Rick. Kate was so beautiful, I see why Rick has loved her so much. But what was it she said? He was drugged? Could that have been why he looked off as I was walking out? I felt a pain in my chest as the realization hit me. I should have gone over and asked what was wrong.
"Angie?" Shaky called gently. I turned to him.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Kate asked you if you were going to stay for a while," Shaky said. I turned back to make eye contact with Kate once again. I simply nodded. Kate nodded back and looked back at Rick.
"I hope you're not mad at me Angel,I would have left with him if I knew" Kate said. She looked as though she was scared to talk to me. Did she really feel that bad?
"We know you would have, but like Angie said, you're here now. That's all that matters, and I think that's all Rick cares about" Shaky responded.
"Thank you, Shaky," Kate said. I rubbed his arm. Shaky then walked over and grabbed a chair for me to sit in. I accepted and sat down next to my brother, not letting go of his lifeless hand.
"What about you?" I asked.
"I think I'll live," Shaky answered. I simply turned back to my brother.
"I'm guessing my parents already know? They called me earlier" I said.
"Yeah, you're mom was furious with me for not leaving, told me to never come around" Kate said. My mom told her to not come around? But she loved Kate and her family. She wanted Rick and Kate to get together so bad. Was she really that upset?
"What about now?" I asked.
"She calmed down, told me to come back in and that I should stay here in case he woke up, she figured I should be the first face he sees" Kate explained. Now that sounded like my mom, she loved Kate and Rick together, even when it came to leaving him.
"Good. I wouldn't want to lose my sister" I said. Kate gave me another warm smile.
"Have you slept?" Shaky asked. Kate turned to him and blinked with a sleepy expression.
"I did for a bit, I spent all night crying in this uncomfortable position, I have the worst headache because of it. After last night I'm surprised I have any tears left. But I love Rick, and seeing him like this is killing me, especially when I know it could have been avoided" Kate explained. That made sense. Her hair was a mess, she was wearing the same outfit from yesterday, and she had bags under her eyes. But even so she looked great, I was impressed. She must look so sexy with a bed head.
"It's not your fault Kate, no one can predict shit, you did everything you could by getting him here. He's alive, and he'll be better before you know it, just watch" Shaky said.
"Well said" I complimented. Just then a doctor came in, swiping the curtain and walking inside. We all turned our attention to him.
"Hey guys, don't mind me, I'm just here to take this off of your friend" he explained as he began taking off the oxygen mask.
"He doesn't need that now?" Kate asked.
"Nope, his breathing is back to normal, I'm just going to inject him with an IV bag and that will help with the bruising" the doctor explained. I was amazed that as much bruising as there was, there was absolutely no swelling. But still he looked like he would be in pain when he finally woke up.
"See Kate? Before you know it" Shaky repeated. Kate shed a tear.
"Come on Rick, you can do this," she said with a weak smile. The doctor stuck Rick's wrist with the needle and began pumping the medicine into him.
"Police will be here soon to ask questions, you kids okay?" the doctor asked. We all answered yes. "Alright, just give a howl if you need anything" he told us, he then left and closed the curtain again.
"What was his breathing like before?" I asked.
"He needed the mask to breathe, he was almost dead when we got to him, it's such a miracle that he's alive" Kate said.
"Thank God," Shaky said.
"Yeah… I don't know what I would do without him… he protected me you know, even during what could have been his final moments. He still made sure I was okay" Kate explained.
"What do you mean?" Shaky asked.
"After everything went down, Rick called me and told me not to drink anything, and then Garth came back to the house and said he was looking for me, most likely he was going to do things to me that…'' Kate didn't finish her sentence. We all knew what she meant though, and that did seem like my brother, making sure his loved ones were safe before anything.
"Where was he?" I asked.
"Down by one f the silos outside of town, they took him there and…" Kate once again didn't finish her sentence and once again me and Shaky knew what she meant.
"How did you find him?" Shaky asked.
"He shared his location with me just before he lost consciousness," Kate answered.
"So the police will be here soon, I don't have much to tell them. So I'll just let you do the talking" I told her. Kate nodded and rested her head on her hands again as she held onto Rick's hand, I still clung to the other. The heart rate monitor continued to beep as we sat in silence. Shaky eventually pulled over the last chair in the room to sit down in, he sat next to Kate, most likely because the chair was behind her and moving it around the bed would have been awkward. He gave her a few pats on the shoulder and then went back to sitting in silence.
"When are the others coming?" I asked.
"I got a message from Humphrey that he would be here soon, and he's most likely gonna bring Lilly" Kate answered. I nodded and then kissed my brother's hand as I looked at his bruised face. I then felt myself start to tear up.
"You're not alone Kate, I could have stopped it too" I said.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked, looking up at me.
"When I was on my way out last night, I saw Rick talking to Lilly, he looked off. I wasn't sure if he felt sick, or was messing around, but I didn't even think twice about it, how could I be so fucking oblivious to the fact that my brother was in trouble?" I said as I started to tear up.
"Like I said, you can't predict these things," Shaky reminded me.
"Yeah, and we're not gonna get anywhere by blaming ourselves for what we could have done differently, what matters now is that we get the piece of shit that did it" Kate said.
"Agreed," Shaky replied. I continued holding my brother's hand, resting my head on the bed and nuzzling into his hand as I continued to hold it.
"Rick has no idea how much he's loved," Kate said.
"He's a lucky guy, '' Shaky agreed. Just then the curtain was pulled back again, opening up the room. I lifted my head with the others as two police officers walked inside. The one closed the curtain as the other approached us.
"Morning guys," he said. We all said hi and waited in silence. The other cop walked next to her partner and spoke.
"So from what we understand so far this young man was beaten and stabbed. What we need to know is who did it, we were hoping one of you guys could tell us?" she explained. Me and Shaky looked at Kate and waited for her answer.
"...well… the one you're looking for is Garth Briers, he goes to our school. I'm not sure about the friends who were with him but he is the guy you want. I have no idea where he lives, '' Kate explained. The male police officer wrote down something and then the female cop asked another question.
"Okay, is there a motive that you could possibly think of?" she asked. Kate seemed to tense up and hesitate before answering.
"I-it was… me" she said.
"You? The motive was you?" the male cop asked.
"This guy is obsessed with me, he couldn't stand that I was seeing someone who wasn't him, he drugged him and he was going to do the same to me. Only difference being what we did after we were out" Kate explained. The cop wrote down a few more things.
"Anything else you can think of? Anything we should know? Or that you want to add?" the female cop asked. We shook our heads no as Shaky mumbled a low no.
"What about you two? Anything?" the male cop asked.
"We weren't really there when this happened," I said. He nodded and wrote something else down, what it could have been I have no idea.
"What are your relations with the victim?" the female cop asked.
"I'm his sister"
"I'm his friend"
"Girlfriend"
The cop wrote down that bit of information and turned to his partner before nodding to her.
"Alright, the department will contact you when we have updates, right now we have his parents number and hospital contact info, you guys try to get through this now, you seem like good kids" the female cop said.
"Thank you, and please… go get this prick" Kate urged. The female cop chuckled.
"Don't you worry," she said. The two then left, shutting the curtain behind them, leaving us four alone again.
"That was quick," Shaky commented.
"It was quick for us, but they still have a lot to do," Kate said. I continued to look into Rick's closed eyes as he continued to lay lifeless in the bed.
"What do you think he's dreaming about?" I asked. Kate and Shaky followed my gaze.
"Hopefully something that makes him happy" Kate said.
"So something like you?" Shaky asked. Kate smiled and hit his arm playfully.
"Possibly" I answered. I then grabbed a hold of my locket and popped it open. I looked at the picture of me and Rick and smiled. Those were the times.
"That opens?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, it has a picture of me and Rick when we were pups, I always loved this picture" I said. I then turned it around and showed her. She leaned in a bit and examined the picture and then smiled.
"You two look so cute," she commented. I flipped it back over and continued to look at it. I then glanced over at Rick again, studying the bruises on his face, making me fill with anger again.
"I hope Garth pulls something stupid with those cops" I said.
"Why?" Shaky asked. Kate just stared at me confused.
"I want him to reach for a weapon or something so they can mow his sorry ass the fuck down, then he wont be such a fucking hinderance" I said.
"One can only hope," Kate commented. Once again the curtain was pulled back and two more people stepped into the room. This time it was Humphrey and Lilly.
"Hey guys' ' Humphrey greeted. We all said our respected hi's as Lilly approached Kate and hugged her, Humphrey patted Shaky on the shoulder. Lilly then made her way over to me.
"Angel…" she said.
"Hey Lills," I said. She then hugged me tightly, sniffling as she started to tear up.
"Looks like the whole family is here," Shaky said.
"Yeah… and sadly under bad circumstances" Humphrey added. Lilly let go of me and brushed my cheek with her hand before taking a step back.
"His mask is off," she pointed out.
"Yeah, the doctor just came in, said he can breathe on his own now. He's getting better" Kate explained.
"Cops were just here too, Kate told them about Garth and I think they're going to get him," Shaky said.
"Good, that cock sucker should rot for what he's done," Lilly said.
"I just hope that Rick isn't here for christmas" Kate said.
"He won't be, if he's breathing fine now I'm sure he'll wake up soon" Shaky said.
"I don't know if it's that simple, Shaky, doctors say that he's in a coma. You don't just wake up from one of those" Humphrey said with his arms crossed.
"He has to wake up" Kate said as her eyes started tearing up again. Humphrey walked over to Kate and patted her back softly.
"You're right Kate, I'm sure he'll wake up, I'm sorry" he said, trying to calm her. Kate nuzzled Rick's hand again and sniffed as she held back tears.
"I don't know about you guys, but I haven't slept," Lilly said, changing the conversation.
"It's true, last night when we left I stayed over and she really didn't sleep" Humphrey said.
"Dad let you sleep over?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, why?" Humphrey replied. Kate and Lilly made eye contact for a moment. Clearly there was a bigger story that we were missing.
"No reason," Kate said.
"Well it's not the first time I've been like that," Lilly said.
"Yeah, when you were in the hospital Kate, Lilly didn't sleep then either" Humphrey added.
"I wish it were me rather than him," Kate replied.
"Oh Kate, Rick wouldn't want that" I said.
"It's true, he was saying the exact same thing when you were hit by that car," Humphrey added. Kate chuckled low and shorty as she turned back to my brother.
"That sounds like my Rick," she said.
"Kate, maybe you should come home and get some rest, you look like you haven't slept" Lilly said.
"Can you blame me? Besides you just got done saying how you haven't slept" Kate replied.
"Yeah, but you've been sitting here all night," Lilly said.
"I'm not leaving him, he didn't leave me when I was here. Even so, I don't want to leave him" Kate said as she gripped his hand.
"Have you eaten?" Shaky asked,
"Not since I gave blood, '' Kate answered, catching me off guard.
"You gave him blood?" I asked.
"He would have died otherwise," Kate answered.
"Kate I… thank you" I said.
"Don't thank me, it was the least I could do" Kate replied.
"Hey, I guess that sorta makes you two one of the same," Shaky added.
"Maybe" Kate said.
"There's no way you had enough though, what happened after?" Humphrey asked.
"Well, they took enough out of me to where I almost passed out, and then from that point on after his parents came they gave him their supply because they needed a signature" Kate explained.
"Wait, so they wouldn't give him blood unless they had a signature?" Lilly asked.
"That's what they told me," Kate answered.
"Kinda bullshit is that?" Shaky asked.
"It's fucking bullshit" I said angrily.
"So would they have just let him bleed out if you didn't give him the blood?" Humphrey asked.
"That's what I asked and they didn't give me a clear answer, or maybe they did. I was kind of out of it when I asked" Kate explained.
"What a bunch of shit" Humphrey added. The room grew silent for a moment until Shaky spoke.
"So how long are you guys staying?" he asked.
"Not sure, but I wanted to spend some time with everyone before we went back to school," Humphrey said.
"That's the only reason?" I asked sarcastically.
"Well obviously because of Rick, but I wanted to see you guys too, '' Humphrey answered.
"I don't know if I'll be going," Kate said.
"You can't just skip school Kate," Lilly said.
"Rick did it for me, besides we have three half days and then it's christmas break, so what are we really gonna do? Fuck off for four hours? I won't leave Rick just to do that" Kate said.
"Alright" Lilly said as she threw her hands up slightly.
"You know last time we were here Rick and Lilly went to the cafeteria to go get food, Rick wouldn't eat until I was better, it took everything to get him to nibble on anything" Kate said.
"It's true, I had to beg him, food isn't half bad here though" Lilly said.
"Maybe I'll actually get to try those fries," Kate said. Lilly laughed.
"Oh yeah, you wanted one but you were on the liquid diet" Lilly said.
"Aww, poor pup couldn't have a fry?" Shaky teased. Kate hit his arm playfully again. Shaky laughed.
"Maybe you guys can go get something but… I don't want to leave him" Kate said.
"Kate, would Rick want you starving yourself for him? Come eat something with us" Humphrey said. As he said that I checked my phone to see that it was now 3:32 damn…
"You said you had a headache right?" I asked.
"Yeah, it really hurts," Kate answered.
"Well, you should eat something," I responded. Just then the curtain opened and mom and dad came walking in.
"Wow, looks like everyone is here" mom commented.
"Hey mom" I greeted.
"Angel," she said happily as she hugged me. I hugged her back as dad went to the side of the bed and put his hand on Rick.
"His mask is off," he said.
"Yeah, he's been breathing on his own, great isn't it?" Kate asked. Dad nodded. Mom then let go of me and turned to Kate.
"Thank you for staying with him sweetie" she said.
"Thank you for letting me be the one to stay, '' Kate said. Mom smiled and then turned to Rick. her smile faded quickly.
"My poor baby," she sobbed.
"How long have you guys been here?" dad asked. We all gave our answers. "Did you guys want to go eat or something?" he asked.
"I don't want to leave him," Kate said.
"Kate, come eat something with us," Humphrey urged.
"Humphrey I-"
"Kate… Rick wouldn't want this" I said, cutting her off.
"You'll be right back, just go eat something, we'll be here with him. Do you need money?" mom asked. Kate stared into space for a moment before answering.
"No, I'm fine… I just…" she rubbed her eye for a moment, and then looked back at Rick.
"Kate… he'll be fine" Shaky said as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Okay…" she whispered as she started to sob quietly. Shaky helped her up and walked her over to the door. The rest of us followed as mom and dad stayed in the room.
"His parents are with him, he'll be fine" Shaky reminded as we began walking down the hall. Kate sobbed quietly, resulting in it sounding more like sniffs and rapid gasping rather than actual tears, but still they flowed down her face as she looked back at the room.
"Come on Kate, he would want you to eat something" Humphrey added. Lilly slowed her pace to walk alongside me.
"My sister really loves your brother," she said.
"I know, I never would have believed such a thing would happen a few months ago, I used to always make fun of him for having a crush on her, every boy seems to, but Rick, my brother of all people pulled it off" I said.
"We all love him, Angel, but Kate… she's taking it really hard," Lilly said.
"We all are, I'm really trying to hold it together" I told her. Lilly wrapped her arm around me and continued to walk as we entered the main lobby.
"We're all here for him Angel, my point is that I think Kate needs support right now, none of us are taking it easy but Kate… she really needs us right now" Lilly said. So that was her point.
"Yeah, I got ya Lills, oh do you mind me asking you something?" I asked.
"Sure, what is it?" she replied.
"Well… back at the party when I was leaving I saw Rick talking to you, he looked sick. What was he saying?" I asked.
"Honestly not much, it was more me asking him if he was okay, he tried saying he was but he lost his balance and I ended up walking him outside to the pool to lay down. The couch was already taken so the pool chairs were the next best thing. I didn't think he was drugged though. I should have known but I didn't" Lilly explained.
"Oh Lilly, you don't blame yourself do you?" I asked,
"Well it's kind of hard not to when I was supposed to check up on him, I was going to but everything happened so fast those bastards must have been waiting for him" Lilly said.
"Lilly, there's so much of us blaming each other for what we could have done, Kates doing it, I'm doing it, and I'm pretty sure Shaky and Humphrey are too, literally everyone in our group is regretting not being there for him and saying that they should have done something, but that doesnt matter, what matters is that we're here for him now, so please don't beat yourself up over it?" I asked.
"I can try" Lilly said,
"That's all that I ask," I responded. Just then we made it to the cafeteria where they had the same buffet style shop they always had.
"I got her Humphrey, you go make Lilly and yourself a plate" Shaky said. Humphrey nodded and walked over to me and Lilly.
"Come on guys, let's grab some things," he said. We followed him as Shaky walked with Kate, he handed her a tray and got one for himself as well. I watched as he babied her into grabbing things.
"How about pizza, you want some pizza? Or some fries, I know you wanted them" he said. Kate would either nod or shake her head slowly everytime he offered something. Eventually we all met up at the cash register and Shaky paid for us.
"Shaky, it's okay," Humphrey said.
"No no I got it, '' he protested.
"At least split it," Humphrey suggested. They paid and then we sat down.
"You know last time I was here, me and Rick sat at that table" Lilly said as she pointed to a small table by the window. Where we sat now was in the center of the room so that we had a big table. Kate was simply staring into space.
"Kate, come on eat" Humphrey said. She snapped out of it and took a nibble of a fry.
"Yeah, there you go. So how about it Kate, was it worth the wait?" Lilly asked. Kate smiled slightly and then dropped back down to a frown.
"Sorry I'm being a bummer guys" she said.
"Oh Kate dont worry, we can't imagine how you're feeling right now, no one expected to come here and party" Shaky said.
"It's true, we just want you to eat and take your mind off of things for a while" I added.
"Thank you guys, I don't know what I would deal without you" Kate said.
"Hey, what are families for?" Shaky asked. Kate smiled again.
"If one of us is in the shitter, then we all are," I added.
"Let's just try and cut down on the tragedies" Humphrey said,
"Pssh, after Garth is locked up, it's all smooth sailing" Lilly smiled.
"Then we can really be happy," Humphrey said.
"Rick will be here, we'll all be together, and we can just… chill" Shaky said.
"Trust us Kate, the future is getting brighter" I said.
"Slowly but surely" Lilly added. Kate nodded with a smile.
"The future is getting brighter" she said to herself before taking a bite of her burger. Shaky patted her on the back,
"There you go" he cheered. She chewed and swallowed.
"I'm so lucky to have you guys. Thank you all for being with me" she said.
"Just remember that we'll always be with you," Shaky said.
"And that you can alway count on us," I added.
"It's not some fantasy bullshit, we really are a family, and someday. We're gonna make it official" Humphrey said.
"I like the sound of that" Lilly replied as she nuzzled against Humphrey. I put my hand over Shaky's and smiled at him. He smiled back. He then turned back to Kate and pulled her into a one armed hug.
"And you'll always be included," Shaky said. Kate laughed as Shaky let go to go back to eating.
"Once Rick is out of here, we'll have to go to a real restaurant, we haven't all hung out since the boardwalk" Kate said.
"What a great night, definitely one for the books," Humphrey said.
"You and Rick are still assholes for that rollercoaster," Shaky said. We all laughed in response.
"That picture we took… what I wouldn't do for a physical one to be on my nightstand" Kate said.
"We could do that, I'll look into it once Rick gets out of here, sound good?" I asked. Kate nodded.
"Sounds great," she said. "You know when we were on the ferris wheel, we took a picture up there," she added.
"Oh yeah? Can we see?" Lilly asked. Kate pulled out her phone and simply tapped the screen as it was her background photo for her lockscreen. The two lovers in the photo looked so happy as the city added the perfect scenery for the [hoto.
"Aww, you guys look so cute," I commented.
"Adorable," Lilly added.
"Was this taken before or after you guys kissed?" Shaky asked.
"Before, I wanted to get him close before I went to shoot my shot," Kate answered.
"Smart" Lilly commented.
"So um… when you two kissed for the first time… was there tounge?" Humphrey asked.
"Humphrey!" Lilly scolded. The rest of us laughed, including Kate.
"What? When we first kissed it was lips, then tongue about five seconds after and then we had sex" Humphrey said. Lilly face palmed.
"Sounds cute," I teased. Lilly goraned.
"We just pressed our lips together for a good five seconds, we didn't make out until the next day" Kate said.
"You guys had sex after your first kiss?" Shaky asked, completely ignoring what Kate just said.
"You might as well tell them now" Lilly said.
"Oh come on Lilly, I think it's a cute story" Humphrey said.
"I'm not embarrassed by it, it just doesn't seem like a good time for it" Lilly said.
"I mean it's distracting us from everything" I said. Lilly sighed and told the story.
"It was sweet. We were on the couch watching TV while it was storming outside. Humphrey's mom already went to bed so it was just us two. We stayed up until two AM, we had been close friends for so long by this point, for over a year, and he was so sweet to me. We were sharing a blanket and I leaned on him by mistake, I apologized to him and then he said it was okay and that I should do it again" Lilly said until Humphrey cut in.
"You were so cute that night, I told her to lean on me again but she got caught in my eyes, and then we leaned in and had our first kiss. It was like you said Kate, we just pressed our lips together, and then we went in for another and started licking at each other nice and slow" Humphrey explained until Lilly cut in, taking a page out of Humphreys book.
"It started out slow, until we got faster and I pulled him on top of me, we made out for about two minutes until I asked him to take me upstairs" Lilly said.
"And I did… that was a good night" Humphrey said, turning to Lilly, she hit his arm playfully.
"Shut up" she said, making us laugh.
"Was that you're first time?" I asked.
"Yep, kiss and sex" Lilly answered.
"Good for you two," Kate said happily.
"I think that was when you started to fall under, it wasn't until years when Rick came along until you started to cheer up" Lilly said.
"Yeah, he saved me, even though I had already met him. I still feel bad about all of that" Kate said.
"Oh the whole not knowing him thing? He came to me bitching about it the very same day when we went to the drive-in" Humphrey said.
"He bitched to me too," I added.
"Oh my God, don't tell me that, you're gonna make me feel bad again" Kate said.
"I mean, I don't think he cares now, look at how far you two have come" i pointed out.
"I guess," Kte said.
"Hey Kate, remember when he was over and fixed our TV? He tried asking me if you were there but you wouldnt come out of your room" Lilly said.
"No, I don't remember that," Kate said. Lilly laughed.
"Yeah, I think part of the reason he fixed our shit so much was to see you but you were always in your room" Lilly laughed.
"Always?" Kate asked.
"Well, I think one day you came downstairs for a drink and he said hi, you looked at him, said hi back, and then walked back up the stairs" Lilly said. Everyone laughed except for Kate who whimpered lightly.
"Aww Kate, don't worry about that, you were just down in the dumps, we all go through that" Shaky said.
"It's not about that, it's about the fact that I clearly hurt him, I mean… did I even know who I was talking to?" Kate asked.
"I don't think so," Lilly said.
"Kate, believe me. He doesn't care about any of that now. You're dating him, making him happy, and letting him in you're fucking pants, he. Doesn't. Care." I explained.
"I do," Kate said. Humphrey laughed.
"You know Rick was always talking about how nice of a wolf you are, I know it's true but I'm starting to see what he sees" Humphrey commented.
"I'm sure. You know when he was over to fix the sink mom told me I should date him and I was kind of into it, I don't know what it was about that time but he just clicked with me that day" Kate explained.
"I've thought about that too," Lilly added.
"I remember just being glad that I talked to a guy and he didn't hit on me, '' Kate said.
"What about me?" Shaky asked.
"Shaky… every time you talked to me before Angel you were not subtle at all" Kate said. We all laughed again.
"I'm pretty happy now anyway" Shaky said, rubbing my arm. Aww.
"Oh my God Shaky, do you know how long Angel was crushing on you?" Humphrey asked.
"Enlighten me," Shaky answered.
"Middle school," Humphrey said. Shaky turned to me with a raised eyebrow.
"I thought you didn't like me because of the glasses, '' he said.
"Oh fuck me, you looked cute in those fucking glasses I admit it" I said. Everyone laughed, including Shaky who pecked me on the lips. "You look better now though" I added.
"Hey Humphrey, when you say middle school, what grade was it?" Shaky asked.
"Angel was in the sixth grade," Humphrey answered.
"Wow, yeah that would have been weird?" Shaky said.
"What about now? It's the same fucking age gap" I said.
"Yeah, but now we're older," Shaky said.
"I still think it's funny that Rick's legally an adult and is technically humping up on a minor" I said. Everyone turned to Kate who now had wide eyes.
"Never thought of that," Lilly said.
"I mean… I'll be eighteen soon" Kate defended.
"Kate, you turned seventeen like three months ago" Lilly said.
"Oh whatever guys, Shaky will be eighteen sooner or later and that will be even worse" Kate said.
"Ohhh checkmate bro" Humphrey said.
"Oh I don't care, Shaky and I will be fine" I replied, wrapping my arms around him. Shaky nuzzled into me.
"See that? You can't break that up" Lilly commented.
"But right now… you are a minor Kate" Lilly teased.
"Lilly… please dont" Kate said. We all laughed again. I checked my phone to see that thirty minutes had passed since we left the room.
"Hey guys, would you believe me if I told you that it's been nearly a half an hour since we left the room?" I asked.
"Holy shit, are you serious?" Shaky asked. I nodded.
"I should be getting back," Kate said as she stood up.
"Oh come on, his parents probably want some alone time with him. Besides, you should get some fresh air" Humphrey suggested.
"No, I've been away from him long enough" Kate protested.
"Kate, ten minutes, and then we'll head straight back to the room, '' Shaky said. Kate stood in silence as she thought about it.
"Promise?" she asked.
"I promise," Shaky assured. Kate picked up her now empty tray, with trash on it and gestured to the door leading to the courtyard. "Alright!" Shaky said as he stood up as well. The rest of us picked up our trash, threw it out, and then went outside for some much needed fresh air.