Falling for my Best Friend

All is Revealed

Kilian

Now I'm walking outside on a long sidewalk around the main yard of the hospital with Shane. I don't mind relaying Wren's story to him, I don't want to make her do it again, and hopefully this will be enough to answer his questions. I start by telling him that she doesn't want Cara to get into trouble and that I am sworn to silence and would never break her trust.

"With all due respect son, I'm going to have to make my decision once I know the full story but I will do my best to honor Wren's wishes," he says.

It doesn't seem like he's going to take my word for it so I'm going to tell him the whole story. I start with Wren's discovery about the orange juice early in the morning. I leave out anything about Robert because I'm not sure that Wren wanted that to come out yet; I didn't exactly have time to ask her. I start to tell him that Wren wanted to confront her mother because she was worried about the implications or that Quin would get a hold of it.

"Let me stop you there, yesterday morning at breakfast Cara was drinking?" he says like he's really shocked.

"The whole bottle of orange juice in the fridge had vodka mixed in it," I admit, "Wren noticed it when she was making our coffee and refilling the glass."

Shane shakes his head in disappointment, "I figured that out when I was cleaning the kitchen last night but I can't believe I didn't pick up on that at the time."

I continue to explain how heated their argument got after lunch. I'm starting to get upset again and I'm worried that I'm going to lose it. I care about Cara but after this I'm not really sure how to feel about her, I don't want to offend Shane either. I muster all my courage and tell the story just as Wren had told me.

By the time I'm done Shane looks disgusted, "It was the drawer pull, where she fell there was blood on the drawer pull. She must have been in shock to not feel that," he adds.

The pieces are starting to fit together in my mind and I decide that even though it's uncomfortable, I need to trust Shane with my feelings. When I pulled Wren off the ground, I probably removed the drawer pull from where it was sitting in her skin and made her wound bleed more.

 "Look, I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner, I was holding her and she was talking to me, she seemed a little out of it but I just thought it was because she was crying and then once I noticed the blood she had already started to fade out, I got you as soon as I could," I say, nervously spilling my guts.

"Listen, son, you have nothing to apologize for. I was outside using power tools while my wife was inside hurting my daughter," he continues trying to reassure me, "I put too much trust in Cara and I've been removing myself from the situation at home for a while, it's probably my fault that Wren even felt like she had to confront her mother, that should have been my job."

We have what should have been an awkward bro hug but it is actually nice and I feel like I'm hugging my dad. We understand each other and at the end of the day it seems like we both want the same thing - for Wren to be safe.

"Is there anything else?" Shane asks.

"Not that I know of right now," I say, and I feel bad lying but it's not my place to bring up Robert.

"Thank you for taking care of my little girl," Shane says and he looks genuinely pleased.

All I can do is smile back at him, I'm afraid if I open my mouth some word vomit will come out that I'm not able to take back.

Wren

Sunday evening I finally get discharged, Dad picks me up with Quin and Kilian. I'm embarrassed that I have to be walked out in a wheelchair, but Kilian makes it fun and pops wheelies with me while we're going down the long hallways. The cut on my head is healing well, it wasn't that deep, and my concussion was mainly from the violent jerk of me hitting the counter. I have stitches now but I can pretty much cover them up with my hair. With long sleeves on, no one can really even tell I was hurt, I don't need a sling, I just have a deep bruise on my upper arm now.

I can't believe I've come out of this ordeal mostly unscathed, it seemed so dark when I was sitting on that kitchen floor but now I feel hopeful. I'm nervous about how I'll feel when I get home, I usually handle trauma pretty well but you never know how you're going to react until you're in a situation. When we get home, dad gets out of the car and runs up the front door to unlock it. Kilian comes around to my side of the car and opens my door to help me out.

"I can do it," I protest.

"Just give me this," he begs.

I roll my eyes at him and try to hide the smile on my face. He's being so sweet with me. He positions himself behind me like he thinks I might fall but before I know it he's covering my eyes with something.

"Hey!" I yell and can hear Quin giggle.

"It's okay, Wren," Kilian says as he takes my hand and starts to lead me.

I can't see anything and it's hard to walk because the grass is uneven. I can tell we're inside now because I stepped up and I can feel the air conditioning. Kilian lets go of my hand and removes my blindfold. In front of me, I see Gael and Declan sitting on the couch with Quin. There is a tower of pink snow balls in the middle of the coffee table and bowls of popcorn and snacks all around. Everyone is smiling. Kilian looks so pleased with himself.

"And we're watching Wayne's World, both of them," Kil says excitedly.

I can't help but giggle because this is just so perfect for me. Wayne's World is my favorite movie of all time, and these friends are the only people I'd want to be around. The snacks are perfect and I'm so pleased, I feel so lucky.

 "Thanks guys!" I say with genuine excitement, "But you might have to give me a break on the head banging scene."

Everyone laughs and I plop down on the couch next to my friends, I was a little apprehensive but it's nice to be home.