up, getting to know each other better than either had ever imagined.
In the morning, Ashton went to the cafeteria to get some coffee, leaving Noah in the room alone with his sister. Just as Noah started to doze off, he heard a soft voice.
"Man, what's a girl got to do to get something to drink?"
"Kaylee?" Noah's head shot up.
"I hope so. What happened?" She looked around the room, groaning in pain as she moved her head. Noah pressed down on the nurse call light.
"Don't move, please. Here...let me get you some water. And a nurse. And...oh, hell, Kaylee. Just don't move okay?"
"What happened?" she asked again.
"There was an accident...I will tell you everything," he said, as the nurse walked in and smiled at her.
"Hello, Kaylee. How are you?"
The nurse went through the vital signs and talked to Kaylee about what had happened. Kaylee continuously glanced over at Noah with wide eyes, as though she wanted to make sure his story was the same as the one the nurse was telling her.
"The doctor will be in soon," the nurse finally said. "Welcome back, Kaylee."
"Tell me what happened," Kaylee demanded when the nurse left. "Every detail. Leave nothing out."
Noah told Kaylee everything that happened, including how Brandon had left her and Ashton saved her, along with how Ashton kicked Brandon off the tour. Noah told her this quietly, haltingly, as though he was at risk of hurting her even more than she had already been hurt.
Kaylee wasn't really surprised that Brandon had left her again. She now understood where that feeling of uneasiness had come from. She never had a doubt he was in it for himself, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise.
Ashton came back a few minutes later, surprised and delighted to see Kaylee awake. "Kaylee! God, I was so worried about you!" His face was pale, and there were pools of dark circles under his eyes. He rushed to her side, holding onto her bed rail, looking down at her with a smile.
"What are you doing in my room?" Kaylee asked, her face masked in confusion.
Ashton looked over to Noah in a panic. His expression was so pained and worried that Noah tried to keep a straight face, but he just couldn't keep up with Kaylee's ruse. Instead, he started laughing.
Ashton looked down at her with utter relief.
"Nice, Kaylee! Here I was, worried about you, and you fuck with me," Ashton said, feeling both hurt and relieved.
"Sorry, I had to do it. You looked too serious. Someone needed to lighten the mood." Kaylee smiled and looked at her brother. "Can we have a minute?"
Noah nodded and hobbled out of the room on his crutches, leaving the two of them alone. Ashton took the seat that Noah had just vacated.
"He told me what happened," Kaylee said softly.
They looked at each other for a long moment. It was almost as though they were back in front of those elevator doors, looking at themselves together in the mirror, thinking about what could be. But this time, the stakes were much higher. He had literally saved her life, and they both realized it as they looked at each other there in the hospital room.
"Why is it that I always have to save your stupid ass?" Ashton joked, smiling the whole time.
"Thank you. Again and again, thank you a million times over," she said softly, and took his good hand in her good hand and brought it to her lips, gently kissing it.
"You know how many times I've come close to losing you?" he asked, his voice choked with emotion.
"I'm sure not enough for your liking."
They both laughed.
"I kicked Brandon off the tour," Ashton told Kaylee, looking down at the floor.
"I know. Thank you. It's for the best, and probably should have been done a while ago."
She looked down and realized that they were still holding hands. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, touching him felt good.
"Thank you, Ashton," she said with sincerity.
"No," he murmured after a long moment. "Thank you."
Chapter 11
"So when do I get sprung from this joint? I can't wait to have some real food again!" Kaylee asked her brother after her third day in the hospital. He had just gotten back from talking to her doctorin the hallway.
"The doctor said you can go home tomorrow. Only one problem." Noah dreaded giving her the news. "You're going to have to go home instead of finishing thetourwith us."
"What? Why?" Kaylee protested. "There are only two weeks