Jesse's POV

Chase is taking longer than expected at the vending machine. It isn't too far away so why isn't he back yet? I get up to go check on him but immediately sit back down remembering him saying that he needed to start being independent again and I smile at that thought.

Another two minutes pass and I still don't see him. I consider going to check on him again but I don't want to be overbearing so I sit there anxiously tapping my foot for another five minutes before I decide to get up and look for him.

I'll just go take a peek and make sure that he's ok.

When I get to the vending machine I look around in confusion as there is no Chase in sight. Surely he didn't leave without saying anything!

"Excuse me, have you seen a brunette guy wearing a white and yellow striped T-shirt?" I ask an elderly man sitting near the vending machine.

"Oh you mean the boy that fainted? A man took him. Check with the nurses," he croaks out with a thick French accent.

A man took him! What? Why? Who? These questions bounce around my brain as I make my way to the reception area to find out if they know anything. "Umm I'm looking for my brother, Chase Lambert. Someone said he fainted near the vending machines." My voice comes out strained and my heart is beating a mile a minute.

"One second... Yes, he's in ward 7," the nurse replies.

I practically run to the room and look through the beds until I find Chase and some buff guy sitting next to him.

"Who the hell are you? And what did you do to my brother!" I ask through gritted teeth.

The guy quickly turns around and I breathe a sigh of relief as I recognize it's Diego. However, my relief is short lived since I still don't know what he did to my brother! My jaw ticks as I glare at him.

"Hi Jesse, Chase was in some sort of weird staring match with a guy approaching the vending machine. Chase looked tensed, borderline scared so I called out to him. He didn't seem to hear me so I moved closer and caught him just as he fainted. Then I asked the nurses to help." Diego hurriedly explains standing up and cautiously approaching me.

"You're not off the hook yet, I need to check with Chase and hear what happened first," I reply harshly while glaring at him.

I rush over to Chase leaving Diego awkwardly standing at the door. After fussing over Chase for a minute, I realize that it might have been worse had Diego not asked the nurses for help. I release a sigh as I realize that I should give Diego the benefit of doubt. I turn back towards him, give him a small smile and say, "Thank you for helping."

This is new. Chase seemed to be doing better and he had so much fun last night. It was so refreshing to see Chase smiling and laughing again. So what the hell happened?

"No problem, I was just worried," Diego replies, his deep set dimples on both cheeks visible when he flashes me a warm smile. "I actually brought my neighbour to the hospital so I have to go see if her children are here so that they can take over. Would I be able to come back and check on Chase later?"

I nod and he flashes me an appreciative smile before he leaves.

I text Justin to let him know where Chase and I are and what happened as well as to tell him to call me if there are any changes with Aerial. I also text Shawn a detailed update because I know that he will flip out if I don't.

"Is he ok?" Mason's worried voice draws my attention away from the mind numbing phone game that I'm playing.

"What are you doing here? You should be with your wife," I scold.

"Justin and Chloe are with her and I'm not staying long. What happened?"

"The nurse came back a few minutes ago. She thinks he had a panic attack and fainted but he'll be fine," I reply, glancing at the pale, almost sickly face of my twin.

"He's never had a panic attack like this, has he?" Mason says, concern dripping from every word. I shake my head and sigh. Frowning, Mason walks over to the bed and gently squeezes Chase's hand before he continues, "Keep me updated, please." After I hum a response, he ruffles Chase's hair before hurrying out the door.

Justin and Chloe visit a few minutes later and Justin decides to stay until Chase wakes up while Chloe, after inquiring about Chase's well-being, decides to return to Aerial.

"I asked you about Chase earlier but I didn't ask how you are doing," Justin says after a moment of silence, his thoughtful eyes boring into me as if trying to decipher a complicated riddle.

"I'm good," I reply nonchalantly, shifting my gaze again to my unconscious twin.

"It can be exhausting to shoulder other people's problems especially when you have always been so protective," Justin retorts.

I scoff and mutter, "You did a minor in psychology and now you think you know everything about the human psyche." I'm not the one who went through literal hell so how I feel isn't even important.

Justin chuckles and grins at me. "Firefly, I know you. Talk to me. Our last few conversations have only been about Chase and I'm sorry for not asking before but now I want to know how you are and before you say you're fine and that it's not important when Chase has it worse, just because Chase is struggling that doesn't undermine your own struggles."

I roll my eyes and stare blankly at him but Justin matches my stare and I can see that he is definitely not going to let this go. A long breath passes my lips. "I blame myself for what happened. What if I didn't go clubbing? I could have helped him sooner. Or what if I had forcefully broken up Chase and Mike? I mean I'm supposed to protect Chase and I failed."

My gaze drops to my Mark Tuan phone case and I fiddle with it to avoid Justin's deep knowledgeable eyes.

"Did Chase ever sleep over at Mike's place?" I nod at Justin's question and he continues. "And did you usually call him during the night?" I shake my head. "So how would you being at home have changed anything?"

My eyebrows furrow at his question. Chase started sleeping over at Mike's place 3 weeks into their relationship and after he left the previous night I wouldn't hear from him again until the next day, either when he called to ask if I wanted him to pick up breakfast or to say that he was going to stay and spend the day with Mike.

"And how would you have broken them up? Yes you never liked him but that wasn't based on anything substantial enough to warrant a break up." Justin stares at me intently, his dark blue eyes piercing mine, ensuring that every word spoken is sinking in. "Jesse, there was no way for you to know that this would happen. And in any case, it already happened, this isn't some supernatural story in which time travelling exists. So try not to blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. Do you think Chase would like that you're blaming yourself?"

Ugh I hate Justin and his sound logic. It doesn't help that his voice is deep, calm and reassuring. "No," I mutter with a pout.

"So don't blame yourself, firefly. I know you want to protect Chase but you will never be able to protect him from everything. No one can protect someone else from everything without cutting them off from the world and having them live in a bubble. He has to live his life and you have to live yours." Justin smiles at me.

I hate how much sense he makes sometimes. Justin has always been a smooth talker, he can talk anyone into doing anything. Fortunately, he decided to use his powers for good and became a social worker. "Plus don't you have that cute boy toy to play with?" And then he says things like this and I doubt how I ever thought he was wise.

"Bryan, and yes it's going really well," I correct him and he grins at me. I proceed to tell him all about Bryan, all our phone conversations and how sweet and awesome Bryan is.

Once I'm finished telling Justin about Bryan, he has a soft smile on his face. "Bryan seems really sweet, don't make him wait forever. Remember, live your life. Chase is an important part of your life but your life doesn't revolve around him."

Jesse has been Chase's rock so far in the story but it must have been hard on him. So I thought I would explore that a little in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! ❤

On Wednesday, we'll finally have the first official meeting between Chase and Diego! I know some of you have been excited about it so I really hope you'll like it. 

Also, this book hit 2K views!! Thank you so so so much to everyone that has read, voted and/ or commented on this book! It truly means so much to me! I know lots of authors say that they never expected it but I now know exactly how true those words are! So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

If you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to vote and/ or leave comments! ❤