To say that Kaitlyn felt sceptical would be an understatement of the century. For the past week, she has closely monitored Andreas and how he would interact with Dylan. You could say that Kaitlyn was starting to develop some detective instincts of her own. And those instincts urged her to be on the lookout the whole time those two boys would be together. And as unnecessary as it sounds, she and Dylan had a bond more extraordinary than you could ever imagine after suffering the traumas concurrently. Hence, she ought to do all of that.

So, the first thing that came to her brilliant mind was to make sure Dylan was safe. Well, surely Andreas was not going to maim him or do something much worse, but for Kaitlyn, Dylan was still in a very vulnerable state. Just like glass, so fragile and sensitive that anything around him could threaten to shatter him.

Currently, she was waiting outside the room, pacing back and forth with her eyes laser-focused on the closed door to Dylan's room. "What the fuck is taking him so long?" She mutters, irked. But just when she was about to curse the cynical physiotherapist with every ounce of annoyance that she felt, the door was luckily pulled open and out came Andreas bearing a cheeky smile on his overly unbearable jackass face, as per Kaitlyn.

He shuts the door behind him, his gaze landing on Kaitlyn, who looks like she is about to murder someone. "I'm sorry, were you waiting for long?" He questions innocently. "I just thought today we should do five minutes of extra workout since he's making good progress!" He further added, and all the while, Kaitlyn gazed at him with slightly narrow eyes as she assessed him and his sweetly strange behaviour, trying to find something worth proving her suspicion.

She snorts sarcastically, "Yeah, sure. But maybe tell me in advance? I'm sure you all have a specific schedule to follow, don't you?" Kaitlyn gives him a cold stare which he returns but with a forced smile.

"You see, there are a lot of people in need of help at the moment," he says and motions with his hand to look around. Patients were filling up the hallways like little black ants runnin' around in their ant colony. "Since Dylan was making such good progress, I thought of lending him some more time out of my busy schedule. But sure, if it'll make you comfortable, then I'll remember to notify you in advance," he utters in a low tone, staring down at Kaitlyn with crescent eyes.

"Why, thank you," Kaitlyn scornfully retorts, and without sparing another glance at him,  she brushes past him. The smile only fades a bit on his face before Andreas walks off to attend to his other patients. "Jackass," Kaitlyn mutters irritably while she pushes past the door to enter the room.

She did feel a bit queasy for being provoked by something which might not even be true, like Andreas's behaviour towards Dylan. It could just be harmless banter between those two, but something tells Kaitlyn that it isn't and knowing that one should always trust their gut feeling, she did just that.

Besides, you may never know when the most innocent of all could be hiding Satan behind the facade that they brandish.

"Uhhh, why do you look so troubled?" Dylan quizzically comments, his head turned in Kaitlyn's direction. She takes a deep breath and then groans, compelling Dylan to shoot his brows up in a panic. "...W-What is it? Did you talk with Ryan? How is he?" With a quickened heartbeat, he babbles in a weak tone, almost as if not having enough fuel even to open his maw.

Kaitlyn sadly shakes her head no. "Sorry, bud, still no luck with him. But hey, I have a very serious question to ask you," she says and stands awkwardly at their feet, thinking hard until the bulb inside her head lights up. "Okay, suppose that the person you like isn't here with you. And he won't be here for who knows how long. So you find an alternative—but like—that alternative isn't supposed to be the way he is."

"Like what?" Dylan drawls with furrowed brows, not getting any sense of it.

Kaitlyn exhales, cursing the situation mentally. "Uhhhh, okay!" She exclaims and readies herself to continue. "There is this person, say A. And he is friendly, which he usually is. But he's being extremely friendly nowadays, which is strictly off-limits to him, yet he does it anyway. So there's a 'someone' who believes that person A is onto something... and wants to do something bad. Did you get it?" She ends her drawly long speech with a nod, encouraging him to answer.

Dylan sighs heavily and closes his eyes. "Yeah, I got it," he replies hoarsely, "but I think being discrete is not one of your... best qualities," he adds with a chuckle. Despite his snarky comment, Kaitlyn starts to grin when she hears his pleasant laugh after a long time of persistent desperation.

"Alright, thought it would take me at least a few more tires and a few more nags to make you comprehend it." Kaitlyn grins even more and watches him contently.

"But I think you're wrong. Andreas, he is not like that." Upon hearing the specific name, Kaitlyn's eyes widened because she did not foresee that at all. Dylan sees the shock covering her face and scowls. "Do you really think that I'm that stupid?" He questions, highly offended at her way of thinking.

But she only shrugs, closing the distance between him and herself. "I think for now I'll let you decide the answer," she says humbly. "But since you know who I'm talking about, I guess I have nothing to hide! But I think you're the wrong one, Dylan."

"You asked me, and I told you what I thought. But why the sudden obsession with him out of all the people in this hospital?"

Kaitlyn folds her arms unconsciously as she thinks of a solid reason. "I don't know," she mumbles monotonously with a nonchalant shrug.

"Yeah, that's complete bs, and you know it," he retorts. The clock in the room ticks, breaking the silence ever so often as Kaitlyn gazes at the marble floor, which seems more interesting than answering his question.

Finally, she sighs, "Look, I'm willing to murder someone for your sake gladly. But as tempting as it sounds, I still don't want anything wrong happening to you."

"Wait, so are you worried about me? Is he a psycho killer with a fetish for slaying his patients?" Dylan, even though highly fatigued, utters with an amused smirk. Kaitlyn looked past him and outside the window, where the sun had already begun to set, dawning dusk's arrival and an eerie impression of it.

"Don't push it," Kaitlyn says with a twisted expression, "and yes, who else is going to look after your ludicrous ass?" She banters with one eyebrow raised. But this particular sentence tugs at Dylan's heart like trying to tear it apart.

But instead of moping like he usually does, Dylan hums in response. "What a luxurious word," he jokingly murmurs as he tries not to show the sadness on his face. "But what was the point of all this talk?" He brings it up to distract his scattered mind.

Kaitlyn inhales a big puff of air before releasing it altogether. "I don't trust him," she exclaims without hesitation.

"I think I gathered that much..."

"I don't trust him around you."

"That too... but why?"

"Okay, seriously?" Her upper lip pushes up in great annoyance, "You really don't get it?"

"... Wouldn't have asked if I did..."

Kaitlyn stares at him, a look of pure irritation on her young face. "You better stop pushing your luck any further than that. And I know that I don't have a strong reason for my accusation yet. But I was hoping you could stay on your guard at all times. Well, only when you're with him," she warns with distress.

Dylan stares at her as though trying to read her mind. "And... I would do that because you don't trust him?"

Kaitlyn scoffs, smiling in bewilderment. "God, yes! You will because I said so, and that's final!" She exclaims and fixes him with an angry stare. Dylan's parched lips stretch into a small smile, basking in the joy of successfully disgruntling the girl. Realisation dawns on Kaitlyn like a heavy blanket, which pushes out the burning fire in her.

She hangs her head low and sighs. "You had me there," she admits reluctantly, massaging her forehead tiredly.

"I sure did."

"I know," Kaitlyn drawls lowly and lifts her gaze. "But promise me you'll do as I say because I'm dead serious right now."

Dylan blinks slowly. "I promise."

But Kaitlyn still seems uncertain as she cranks her neck on both sides. "Alright, that's good enough. I guess... But trust me, I can tell he's not right, not to mention he gives me massive playboy vibes!" She stresses as her brows crease together yet again.

"Jeez, enough with the serious talk, Kaitlyn." Dylan moves his eyes, which could be considered as rolling them. "Why don't you go and walk around the park? You know, to clear your head and all," he mumbles, suddenly nervous about something. Kaitlyn raises an eyebrow at his sudden recommendation.

"I have been doing that since your evening session with that dude Andreas, so no. Not a chance in seven hells," she opposes and moves to sit on her usual chair, ignoring the stare of protest she received.

But Dylan continued to persist, "C'mon, I know you want to."

"Uh, no, I don't? And why the heck are you kicking me out of your humble abode all of a sudden?" She inquiries as her doubtfulness resurfaces after being calmed down a few seconds ago. Her motions grow deliberate as she sees his eyes flicker to the clock behind her, a look of pure desperation on his gaunt face.

"Oh, wait. Your dinner is supposed to be here soon," she says as the gears turn in her head, but she masks it. "Want me to accompany you today? I could tell you about all the embarrassing tales of Jacob and him being a complete dumbhead," she insists while smiling.

Oh, how much Dylan needed her to go, only he knew. But the poor boy didn't have the heart to tell her to leave again when he had already failed once. "Oh, do tell. I have been dying for this moment my whole life," Dylan slurs, knowing and not loving the idea of eating before her.

"I can tell you're being sarcastic, but believe me. You'll love the tales I have to tell," Kaitlyn fakes a laugh and gets comfortable in her seat, facing Dylan, who instead wishes for a miracle to happen that would make her leave.

But once she begins describing the grave details of Jacob's inevitable bizarre acts, Dylan knows his only hope goes flying out the window.

Dylan reluctantly managed to listen to the first part and learned that once, when Jacob was only seven, his neighbour brought over a jar of jalapenos. And when he heard that they were 'special' and 'unique', he immediately shoved one in his mouth. Later, he was found by his mother a minute after in front of the house, crying and spraying his face with a hose.

But alas, the waiting time was over when the nurse came in carrying a tray with a small bowl consisting of a fluid known to be soup. Which was colourless enough to make one lose their appetite even if they had one. There were also baked beans on the side with some yoghurt. Dylan couldn't help the grimace that made its way onto his face. But unfortunately for him, Kaitlyn saw it.

The woman then left the room as Kaitlyn insisted on staying and watching over him. "Alright, buddy. What should you devour first? Wait, what in the god's name is that?" She made a face of disgust, pointing her petite finger at the bowl.

"Welcome to my world. But that's supposed to be a 'soup'. Don't know the ingredients, though..." Dylan explained while Kaitlyn helped him into a sitting position. But he suddenly grunted, causing her to slow down her action.

"Oh shit, you okay?"

"Don't worry about it," he reassures, dismissing the worrisome look he received. Kaitlyn sits back down and watches him staring down at his food, but he does not proceed to eat it as the seconds tick by. He was able to move now, or at least enough to do little things like holding a spoon to feed himself.

But the way he was portraying the symptoms so well, it all made Kaitlyn fear the worst as she knew what Dylan might be going through. "You gonna eat?" She asked, causing him to snap his head up to meet her gaze.

"Oh, uhmmm. It's still quite hot," he mumbled, his face dimmed with blues. She nodded her head in agreement, feeling powerless for her friend.

"Sure, take your time. I'll be right here if you need anything." Kaitlyn smiles sympathetically, but Dylan only sees it as a reminder of the pressure to finish what is in front of him. He gulps, not fully on board but starts to eat, ever so glancing at Kaitlyn and showing the need for the support that he wished for to get better.

Kaitlyn mentally made a note to herself about helping Dylan all the way to his recovery. She will only be at peace with herself, knowing he won't be suffering a tragedy such as when people are too late to reach out for help. Or worse, when others decide to overlook their cry for help.

♢

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