"Kit! Kit!"

Jaxon's faint voice slowly broke through the darkness Kit was drowning in. She strained to hear the voice more clearly, to find its source and hold on.

She blinked her eyes open, catching a glance of Jaxon hovering over her, before the darkness pulled her under again.

*******

A violent jolt pulled Kit from her bleak abyss. Rough movement sent pain shooting through every nerve. Her eyes flew open, but all she could make out were blurry shapes in a quickly moving world. Voices spoke over each other and she tried to grab on to some of the words.

"She's my cousin." She recognized Jaxon's voice. "She has this condition with -"

She attempted to return his hand squeeze, but the effort sent her under again.

*******

Bright lights woke Kit, every inch of her throbbing with pain. All she wanted was to return to the darkness, where she didn't feel at all.

Someone slipped something over her face and she gratefully slipped back into nothingness.

********

Word's swam together in Kit's mind and she tried to block them out. She sought out the darkness, but it was nowhere to be found as she began to wake up.

"...we'll update her parents."

"...they can call me with questions."

"...arrive tomorrow."

Pain was the second thing to greet her, but it was not as strong. Her body felt like lead, but her lungs were still kicking. She sucked in the deepest breath she could manage. The effort sent a wave of pain shooting through her chest and a faint sound escaped her lips.

She slowly opened her eyes to find four faces peering down at her.

"Kit Kat," Jaxon said quietly.

Over his shoulder stood her aunt Rachel and uncle Scott, concern and relief in their eyes. Any response was out of Kit's reach, but she managed to hold Jaxon's gaze.

"Miss St James, how are you feeling?"

She turned to see a doctor in a white coat studying her. His words didn't compute right away as her eyes jumped from the faces to the white and sterile room around her.

She opened her mouth to speak but it was dry, and something felt caught in her throat. She raised her hand and discovered an IV tube connecting her to a beeping machine.

"My throat," she managed to croak out.

"Have some water," the doctor said, holding a paper cup up to her lips.

Some of the cool water made it into her mouth, but most of it dribbled down her chin before she swallowed it. The doctor helped her try to drink a few more times before she waved the cup away. The small amount of water she had managed to get down had helped, but she had mostly succeed at soaking herself.

"I know it's difficult with the tubes," the doctor said. "Once we are sure you can breathe on your own, we can remove them."

Kit's hand went to her nose and she could feel rubber tubes in each nostril. This was all familiar.

"Can you tell me how you are feeling? Do you know why you are here?" the doctor asked.

Her audience held their breath, waiting for her answer. Her thoughts felt sluggish and hazy. She felt like death, but was still somehow breathing.

She sucked in a few deep breaths. "My heart."

The doctor nodded. "That's right. We had to rush you into emergency surgery. You had another tear in your right ventricular."

The news of another emergency surgery should frighten her, but she couldn't muster the energy to feel that strong of an emotion.

"But you're doing really good, sweetie," aunt Rachel said.

She stepped forward and gave Kit's hand a gentle squeeze. Kit looked at her and hoped her smile looked like more than a grimace.

"The doctor said the surgery went great. They were able to repair the tear without much intrusion and your heartbeat and breathing have already settled back into a normal rhythm."

She smiled softly, clasping her other hand around Kit's.

"That's right. You did wonderful during the surgery," the doctor said. "We managed to repair all the damage, and bring your heart back to a steady beat. How are you feeling?"

"It hurts," she said. Her voice sounded dry and frail.

"That's understandable. I'll up the dose of your pain killers," the doctor said. "Can you tell me anymore?"

She took a few slow breaths. "I'm tired," she said.

"Your body has been through a traumatic experience and it needs lots of rest," the doctor said. "The painkillers will also make you drowsy."

Kit nodded slowly. She could feel the pain killers entering her system as her pain began to ease and her eyelids grew heavy.

"My parents?" she asked.

She looked to her aunt and uncle.

"They are on their way," Rachel rushed to say. "They were able to catch an earlier flight. They should be here by early morning. And until they get here, we aren't going anywhere, okay sweetie?"

Kit managed a small nod before she let the painkillers pull her into sleep.

****************

Kit wasn't sure how long she had been asleep the next time she woke. The meds the doctor had given her had cut the pain in her chest, and her breathing felt more natural. She tried to sit up to get a better look around and Jaxon appeared at her side.

"Easy," he warned her, resting a strong hand on her shoulder. "I'll raise your bed."

He pushed a button on the side of her bed and it began to move to an upright position.

She looked around the room.

"My parents went to grab food," Jaxon answered her searching gaze. "I paged the doctor. He wanted to be alerted when you woke up."

"Thanks," she croaked. Her mouth still felt dry. "Water?"

"Of course."

Jaxon rushed to fill a cup. He put the cup to her lips but she took it from him. She had enough strength to hold the cup herself.

"You really scared me there for a minute," Jaxon said.

He tried to keep his voice light, but his smile was weak.

She tried to return the smile. "Sorry."

He nodded. "How are you feeling?"

Kit was trying to find the right words when the doctor walked in and asked the same question. She tried to answer, but it was hard to get a handle on any one thing.

The doctor took her through a series of test, trying to gauge her pain level and physical capabilities. When he was finally done, she was exhausted. He left on a positive note, seeming reassured by her ability to lift her arms and bend her knees.

"Wanna watch something?" Jaxon asked as the doctor left.

She nodded, not having enough energy to carry a conversation. They watched in silence, the quiet TV show filling the space.

Kit's eye's rested on the TV screen but her mind didn't take in any of what she was seeing. The pain and medicine in her system created a dense fog in her brain.

Episode after episode played, uninterrupted until someone opened the door.

She looked up to see Edison, awkwardly peeking in.

Their eyes met and his face raced through a wave of emotions. Jaxon jumped from his chair.

"You can't be here," he said, his hand firmly on the door, threatening to shut it on Edison.

"Please," Edison said, swallowing loudly. "I just want to see her."

Both guys turned to Kit with questioning looks. Her thoughts moved sluggishly, but she gave a small nod.

As Edison stepped into the room, Jaxon grabbed his arm and stared him down.

"Before you say anything, remember which one of you is in the hospital bed."

Edison looked him directly in the eyes and gave a sincere nod. Jaxon dropped his hold and returned to the chair beside Kit.

Edison took the few steps to the end of the bed. He looked at Kit for a long while, fumbling to talk.

"How? What...?" he paused to collect his words, "why are you here? What happened?"

Kit looked to Jaxon. He was already looking at her, ready to step in. She gave a small nod.

"She had heart surgery," Jaxon said calmly.

The words stunned Edison. "Heart surgery? But... You were fine this morning! We were golfing!"

"She has a condition," Jaxon explained. "A degenerative disease that's attacking her heart."

"Is it serious?"

Kit managed to get the single word out. "Yeah."

"How serious?"

She looked at him sadly.

He clenched his hands and swallowed.

"How did you not know about it?" he asked.

Her eyes fell, unable to manage the weight of his gaze.

Jaxon spoke up. "We've known about it. For the last year."

Edison froze. Long, silent minutes ticked by.

"You've known this whole time?" he asked quietly.

The accusation was clear in his voice, and Kit knew she didn't deserve anything less. But there were no words. Nothing to undo the damage she had done.

"The whole time you've been in Lighthouse Point?" he asked louder. "The whole time we've been hanging out?"

"Hey," Jaxon warned, and Edison turned to him.

"And you? You've known this whole time? How could you not say anything?"

Jaxon quickly stood. "I think you should leave,"

Edison pointed an accusatory finger at Jaxon.

"What the hell were you playing at? How could you keep this from me? How could you let me walk into this? With your cousin?" He spat out the last words.

"That's enough," Jaxon said firmly.

Kit's shoulders rose to her ears as she shrank beneath their harsh words.

"No!" Edison said. "I deserve answers."

Jaxon took a step closer.

"You don't deserve a damn thing," he said. "Kit had heart surgery a few hours ago. She almost died! Now get out before I call security."

Jaxon took another strong step towards Edison, warning him. Edison stood defiant, and staring Jaxon down. He huffed angrily and looked at Kit once more. She looked back, trying to convey so much: regret, sadness, an apology.

But his face remained cold as he spun and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

**********************************************************************

Dancing doughnuts!

(If you think about it doughnuts are the least likeliest pastry to actually dance, so it's doubly hilarious!)

So yay! We got some answers!

Yes, it's not the answers you really wanted but hey at least it's not cancer...but it's still serious so...yay for answers?? 😬

Did you see this coming? (Well, I definitely know some of you did)

Before we get into how much you're mad at me let's talk about Eddie boy. Anyone shocked with his out burst?

Anyone understand where he is coming from?

On a scale from an angry frowny face emoji to a fist in the face emoji how mad at me are you?

Oh! Woah! *starts packing and calls Pacho*

*Throws out random information to distract you from your anger*

Lobsters mate for life! Rainbows are clouds that evolved! Sugar doughnuts actually do know how to dance! I try to avoid cussing and come up with creative alternatives! Well, that one is actually true! My favorite is 'Turd Ferguson', cause who can really be mad after yelling that out? Couple other ones are 'gosh dang it', 'son of a nutcracker' and 'flippin eggs'!

Do you have cuss word alternatives? Or is swearing just a natural part of your life?

സമാധാനം , സ്നേഹം, ഐസ് ക്രീം (Malayalam)

😂😂😂