Arlo Pov

As my family and the guys entered the room, I watched Kendall leave. "How are you feeling, son?" My mother asks, bending over to plant a kiss on my forehead. I give her a smile. "I am all right," I say, glancing at the others. I am glad you are awake and doing well, man." I smile as Reed says this to me. "Yes, a bullet will not be enough to kill me." I chuckle before experiencing a sudden, intense pain in my abdomen. Which causes me to wince a little.

"Yes, Reed can now go ahead and leave Kendall alone." Jax murmurs. I glance at Reed, then at them. "What is he talking about?" I ask.

"Nothing, dude, do not stress over it." Reed glares at Jax as he says this. When I turn to face Jax, he shakes his head and lifts his hands. Ashley then raises her voice. "Reed was accusing Kendall of being responsible for your ordeal, telling her that she was not welcome here and that it was her fault that you were shot and that they were attacked." Ashley crosses her arms as she speaks.

I become enraged, and my body begins to shake violently upon hearing this. "YOU WHAT?" I shout. Jax pushes me back when I try to get up and then turns to face his girl. "Thanks, Babe," Jax says.

"I am sorry, but my best friend was mistreated by him." She crosses her arms as she speaks. I look at Reed and speak. I will not think twice about shooting you in the head, best friend or not, if you ever treat her disrespectfully again. You will not treat my girl disrespectfully ever again." I shout at him, and I hear my parents' gasp.

"Your girl?" I hear a voice coming from the door, and when I look up, I see Heather standing there, looking angry and heartbroken.

"What are you doing here, Heather?" I ask her. "I came to see you. I wanted to make sure you were okay after hearing what had happened. You seem to be doing well, though, and I have heard that you have claimed someone as your own." She speaks.

I replied, "Yes, I have." She appears very angry. "After you fucked me carelessly and left my house, you claimed someone else as your girl." She yells and rushes away but pauses. "She won't keep you happy or satisfied. You will be back. You have no idea what faithfulness is." She adds and leaves.

"I hope that when you fucked her, you used protection." Reed shivers as he speaks. That makes us laugh, but my mother does not seem impressed. "All right, we will let you rest. Come on, Amore," my dad says, but before he leaves, I stop him. "Jax, watch over Kendall until I get out of here, and then I will find a permanent guard for her." Everyone nods when I say that, and they all walk away.

Three days have passed since the attack, and I am starting to grow tired of being here. Every day when she is not working, Kendall comes to see me. I am getting restless, but the guys are here too, keeping me informed about everything. I am determined to track down those damn Columbines. I can't wait to get my hands on them, and when I do, I promise they will regret it. They will regret ever attacking us.

"Good morning, Mr. Preze. How are you feeling this morning?" I am asked by my doctor. "I feel fantastic and am eager to leave this shithole." He laughs at me when I say that. "Well, I guess that's good news. You get to go home today." He looks at my chart and says to me.

My mom and Kendall enter as the doctor reviews my chart. "So, doctor, what is new?" He looks away from the chart when my mother asks.

"He can go home today, but he needs to rest until the stitches come out. He will have a check-up in two weeks to make sure everything is healing properly," the doctor says.

My mother gives me a look like, "Do not you dare," when I try to protest, so I roll my eyes, keep my mouth shut, and turn to face Kendall, who is standing in the doorway corner. She is still beating herself up over this. I have repeatedly warned her not to. "Come here, Tereso." I say to her she looks at me and decides not to fight and walks over to me. I grab her hand and hold it in mine. "This is not your fault, love; stop blaming yourself." I say to her. She gives me a frown before responding. "I am aware that I am not to blame. You are not taking this seriously, which is why I am upset. This is serious, even though you believe it to be a joke." With her arms folded across her chest, she speaks. How could she know I'm not taking this seriously?

"What do you mean I'm not taking this seriously?" I ask her. She gives me an expression like, Are you serious?" Really, how could I not know? You were on the verge of arguing with your doctor about taking it easy until the stitches were taken out. Your mother was the only reason you did not fight. You agreed with him after just one glance at her. Arlo, you would not have done that if she had been present. You are playing with your life, and this is not a joke." With tears in her eyes, she yells and turns to leave.

"Please do not leave, Tereso. I'm sorry; I will take this more seriously. Please wipe away those tears. The sight of them in your eyes is unbearable. All I want to see is joy." I say as I take her hand and prevent her from turning to leave.

She turns to face me, wipes her face, and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I don't normally cry this much; it's just seeing you like this is hurting me. You are now both my safe haven and my best friend. And I am the reason you are hurting now." She says. I am about to grab her and hold her when my mother and the doctor enter with the release documents.

"All right, Arlo, keep in mind that you should rest and refrain from physically demanding activities until your doctor gives the all-clear." When the doctor says this, Kendall blushes and turns her head away from us. Which in turn caused myself and my mom to chuckle.

As the doctor explains the medication and at-home care I need to take, I concur with him and let him know I understand everything. The guys enter as he finishes. "Are you ready to leave this hell?" Jax says as he carries my change of clothes in.

"You have no idea how ready I am." I say, glancing at Kendall. "All right, son, while you change, we will be outside." My mother says this as she and Kendall leave the room while I get dressed.

"So what's going on between you two? Is she still playing victim, or did she finally decide to give you a chance?" Reed gestures to the door as he speaks. I become enraged as he says those words.

"Reed, she isn't playing anything. Craig repeatedly beat her; she is still recovering from his abuse. It's going to take time, so shut your mouth and don't ever say that shit again. Like I told you the other day, you better learn to respect her and get along with her. Because she isn't going anywhere, I will make her mine; it's just going to take some time." I say to him as I finish tying my shoes. I get up, pick up my jacket, and leave the room without glancing at Jax or him.

As I leave the room, I see my mother and Kendall chatting with the doctor. I walk up to them and surprise myself and Kendall as I grab her arm and turn her towards me. I gently take hold of her face and press my lips to hers. I swear I felt shocks go through my body as our lips met. I had never felt anything like it before. She gives me a startled look as I pull away from her.

"Sorry, I just needed that." I whisper against her lips, and she gives me a smile before returning her lips to mine for a final kiss. She pulls away and hides her face in my chest. I laugh at her timidity, then turn to face the doctor and shake his hand. "Thank you, doctor. You and your team will receive five million dollars each from my mom, who has your bank account information, in exchange for your assistance and silence." He gives me a handshake in return. I take Kendall's hand and make my way to the elevator, eager to leave this place and return home.

Author notes:

What do you think Reed's issue is with Kendall? 

What do you think of Ashley and Jax's relationship? 

finally, what do you think about Arlo finally claiming Kendall and growing a pair? Let me know