Kai woke up the next morning — or, he assumed it was the next morning, because Thorn was asleep on the bed next to him — with another headache. He sat up too quickly and almost fell back again, but put a hand to his head, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. Then he was able to sit up straight, and he looked over to where Thorn was sleeping. His eyebrows were furrowed and his right hand was clenched. Kai wondered if he looked like that when he had nightmares.

"Yes, you did," Linda said suddenly, picking up on his thoughts as though she had plucked a flower. "You were often times squeezing my hand. You have a good grip."

Sorry, Kai apologized. My nightmares are confusing and never pretty. He shivered at the thought of them.

"I know," Linda said, making Kai wonder if she saw dreams too. "Nightmares are never pretty. And yes, I can see other people's dreams. Never fun." 

Kai sighed and felt slightly bad for Linda, but tried not to show it. He stood up and looked over at Thorn again and watched the older man roll over with a moan. His hands unclenched then clenched again, and Kai stood back as he shifted again.

Kai wondered if Thorn would allow him to explore. He pushed that thought aside and decided that he was going to see Abby, Chase, and Shintaro. Now that Shintaro was hurt, Kai was desperate to see them. 

He backed away and turned around, opening the door as quietly as he could. He slipped through the open space and sealed the door shut behind him, then quickly speed walked over to the room where Shintaro was. 

Kai crept up to the door and put his ear up to it gently, hoping that he wouldn't disturb anyone if he opened it. When he heard nothing, he shuffled nervously with his fingers before twisting the handle. He peeked in and found all of them asleep.

Shintaro was leaning up against the wall again, his eyes closed and arms crossed. Kai saw that his leg was still a little bloody, but the wound was closed up. Kai wondered if Chase had healed his father, since they were both Lights and apparently could do that. 

Abby was curled by Chase, sleeping on her side. Her hands were tucked close to her chest, and her legs were as well. Her old fashioned robe was ripped at the bottom, probably from the fall when Kai tackled Thorn the other day. Her blonde hair was pooled around her head, and her mouth was hidden by one of her hands.

Chase was leaning against the wall like his father, but his arms weren't crossed. His head was resting on the wall behind him and one arm was draped over Abby's shoulder. His other was gently resting on his stomach. He looked drained, and Kai was pretty sure that he had healed his father. His face was relaxed, unlike Shintaro's. 

Kai knelt down in the middle of the room and sat crisscrossed, waiting for someone to wake up. He found himself watching Abby breathing slowly in and out and tore his eyes away, feeling heat rush up to his face. 

He was NOT in love with her. He reached up and touched his head, feeling it pound again. He placed his own palm over his forehead and sighed. He couldn't tell if he still had a fever, but he didn't feel wonderful either. 

Kai's eyes wandered again back to Abby. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, whereas during the day, she put on a smile to make everything seem better. She encouraged others to keep fighting, no matter what. At least, she did to Kai. 

"What's with that dreamy look?" Chase's voice suddenly said, and Kai started so badly that he almost fell over. He looked up and found Kai smirking at him with an eyebrow raised. 

Kai shook his head and hands at the same time. "Sorry, sorry. I was just thinking." A wave of dizziness took over him and he propped himself up with one hand. Chase didn't seem to notice. 

"About?" Chase pressed, but his voice gave out a moment later, and he coughed into his free hand. 

"Why would I tell you what's going on in my head?" Kai said challengingly and playfully. He gave Chase a stare. That's only for Linda, even though I don't really have to say anything TO her, she can just hear it. 

Kai expected Linda to answer that thought, but she didn't, so Kai recrossed his legs. 

"Fair enough," sighed Chase, shifting his position but keeping his hand on Abby's shoulder. He looked down at his younger sister and sighed again. "What's not fair, though, is that you guys are here. I can't believe Thorn would do such a thing. I mean, he's got one weakness that I know of - the guy who he inhabited can sometimes take over his thoughts. If that guy is still in there, why would Thorn even do that?" 

Kai pondered this for a moment. His theory about last night had been right - the man Thorn had taken ahold of had slipped through and probably was longing for his family. Kai sat there in silence, then looked up at Chase. 

"Did you know the man he is in?" he asked the white haired boy, intertwining his fingers nervously.

Chase scoffed. "No. Thorn has been in that guy's body since before I was born. My dad was just a kid when it happened, and I think he may have known the guy. I'm pretty sure they were friends, and that's why my dad feels so much conflict about Thorn having to be his enemy, and when Thorn hurts him. He doesn't want to hurt his friend, but he has to in order to keep everyone else safe. I think he feels responsible for Thorn. He hasn't told us how it happened, so don't ask." He cast a glance over at his sleeping father and sighed sadly through his nose. 

Kai was shocked into silence once more. Shintaro had known that poor man? Well, that's what Chase thought, but it seemed to all fit together. Abby had said something like that. She had told Kai that she wondered if the two men knew each other. "That's ..." Kai couldn't think of anything to say. 

"Crazy?" Chase offered. "Yeah. I haven't had the courage to ask my dad. He goes through a lot more than he lets on, and it's slowly eating him up." He cast another sad glance at his dad. "He hides it well enough, but he's my father. Nothing slides by me, especially when it comes to family." 

There was a soft sniffle, and both boys jumped. Chase looked down at his sister, and Kai glanced down at her, too. Her eyes were open and swimming with tears. Chase removed his hand, and she sat up. 

"That's so sad," she murmured, rubbing her nose with her hand. "Why didn't Dad tell us that?" She looked over at her father and ran her hands along her cheeks, wiping away falling tears. "Are you sure they knew each other?" 

"It all fits together," Chase said, touching his sister's cheek gently and rubbing away a tear with his thumb. "Unless one of them is misleading me on purpose. Besides, I'm a great detective, remember?" 

Abby giggled as Chase removed his hand. Kai figured it was a family joke, but smiled anyway. 

"How do you feel, Kai?" Abby suddenly asked him. "I heard that you weren't feeling well." She scooted closer to Kai, and Chase nodded behind her. 

"I feel a little better," replied Kai. "My head still hurts a little, but that's about it." He looked past Abby and stared at Chase. "The weirdest thing happened yesterday." 

Chase seemed to perk up a little. "Let's hear it, then." He shifted his position and Abby sat crisscross in front of Kai. 

"When I woke up, Thorn asked how I felt," Kai explained. "I thought it was a little weird, but it got weirder when he practically apologized to me by telling me he didn't realize that I had a fever. Then he actually granted my request for pain medicine and got me water, too. Then he helped me sit up and told me that he would let me rest." (Both Abby and Chase wore looks of confusion.) "I did the thing I thought was best, so I gave him a smile. He actually smiled back... and I saw something in his eyes that made me super confused. It looked like he was longing for something. Then he PATTED MY HEAD." 

"What?" Abby said, then Chase shushed her. "Sorry. But seriously? He did?" She put her hands on her mouth and narrowed her eyes in confusion. 

"What did I tell you?" Chase said quietly. "That weakness of his. That was most definitely that man's thoughts, slipping through Thorn's facial expressions. And... hand, apparently." He sighed again and looked down at his fingers. "That's pretty strange. I wonder if he had a younger brother and just misses him, or something." 

Kai nodded. "I thought something about him having a son, but since your dad was little when it happened, and so was he, that must be the case." He fiddled with his fingers. "I wonder if the man inside Thorn sometimes feels bad for hurting others without any control. Does he feel bad about knowing that he's hurting his own friend?" He glanced over at Shintaro. 

"You guys really are little detectives," the man suddenly said. 

~

Here's chapter thirteen! Have you all seen my tag in Random Scrap? You should, because there's a spoiler... I'm going to say it here too... 

A good character in this book dies near the end... AAHHH IM SORRY, I HAD TO. 

But I want you all to make guesses!! Who do you think it'll be???

Enjoy! 

Peace!!!~~~