The Iceking's Obsession

Chapter Sixteen

Noah's standing by Xander's bed. His kindness makes me tear up. He didn't push me on that bike, he didn't cut the brakes, he doesn't have anything to do with this and yet he's here, watching and caring gently for his friend.

As I stepped into the room, I see Kylie standing beside him. Instantly, I get angry but Xander's weak smile diverts my attention and makes me push my selfish feelings of insecurity over something that doesn't even exist.

"Xander..." I'm lost again and can't find words to express myself. I feel terrible. This person put his life before mine and I know I'll be forever indebted to him.

"Are you okay?" He asks, "I'm sorry" he apologises and I surprise myself, I burst into tears.

"You're sorry? Are crazy? I was scared out of my mind. Why would you take the whole impact and put your life in danger. How.."

"Are you okay?" He asks again and I smile through the tears.

"I'm okay. How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I've been in an accident" he jokes and I smile.

"Thank you Xander"

His eyes slowly slide close and it is then I remember Kylie and Noah are in the room too.

Kylie looks at me with pity in her eyes and comes to hug me. The silence that descends into the room is very uncomfortable. I don't know what to say or who to even address. The private room is even better than the one I was in. If what I enjoyed was VIP treatment, then this is VVVIP. Too bad Xander's not enjoying it.

I'm checking out the sofa and the table that was filled with fruits and vegetables, something Xander's really not going to eat. At least, not while he's drifting off and on.

Noah leans in and whispers something to Kylie and it makes her look at me. What? I look from her to Noah and look away again. I get it. Xander told me and I disbelieved him. Kylie likes Noah, and maybe Noah likes her too. The bile that rises to my throat at the thought of them being more than platonic friends surprises me. I'm supposed to be hating and ignoring Noah.

Kylie picks her bag and gives me a friendly kiss on both cheeks, telling me to resume back to school as soon as I can. I want to tell her I've covered the syllabus that was currently being taught. I'd been to enough schools and read and reread the same books over and over again. But instead, I keep my smile plastered on my face and thank her.

Immediately she leaves, I move away from Noah and sit on the comfortable love couch at a corner of the room. I put my crutches beside me so there was no space for anyone to manage. Noah's hands are deep in his pockets and his face is focused on Xander who's peacefully sleeping.

"Hey" he says, still focused on Xander. "I thought I'd do it better this time so please, don't ask questions till I'm done."

"Oh.." was all I could manage before he let out a breath and started towards me. My breathe was clogged in my throat. I was trying to say something, grab something, push him away, say something hurtful. But my defences against his mere attractiveness were gone with the wind blowing in and out of this well ventilated room. He crouches in front of me, strong forearms resting on his knees and looks up. Into. My. Eyes.

I want to swim and drown in his eyes. But I can't. Why? Because he hurt me?

Or are you just being childish? A voice prompts inside of me and I ignore it, steeling myself for the speech Noah was obviously about to deliver.

"I confused you the last time I tried this and I'm not promising it's going to be easy to believe. But I need you to believe me, because even i still want to wake up from this... whatever this is.

One month after we started dating and your mom stopped hating me, I was so happy everything was in place. I had you in my life and it felt like you've always belonged there. I was always having a hard time imagining how boring my life was without you in it. Then Elvis showed up again." I suck in a long breathe and instinctively looked around. Elvis was a scary person and I hated his guts as much as he hated mine. Mom still blames me for splitting them up but I don't care because with mom and the way she changes men like baby diapers, Elvis didn't stand a raindrop's chance in the furnace. I don't interrupt Noah but he stops for a while to let it sink. When he realizes that it has, he moves on.

"That was why I didn't introduce you to the guys in school. That was why everything was a secret." He ran his hands over his face and pressed his lips together into a thin line. "He isn't just one of your mom's gigolos. He's a freaking drug Lord. He's dangerous and he knows it. He was mom's doctor..." Then he heaves again.

"He confronted me and asked me to either leave you to him or leave my mom's life in his hands. I was scared shitless for Brenda because I already found out what kind of a man he really is. I called her and told her I needed to see her. I explained everything, she already knew most of it and by the time I was done, she was in tears. I wanted to protect her. And...and that was when she told me she didn't need to be protected. She was dying soon anyway." He stops and blinks repeatedly, still not looking away.

"She told me there and then that she had lung cancer, stage four. She was dying and I wasn't even aware. And she wasn't my mom. She was mom's best friend."