huit

Stunned silence filled the room. Rebekah could barely comprehend the anger and disappointment lacing her mum's words. She had never seen her mum so mad before.

"Mum... don't you think you're being a little harsh?" she asked tentatively.

Before she could get a response, there was a quiet tap at the door. Chloe stirred and mumbled in her sleep.

"I'll get it." Rebekah rushed to swing the door open and was greeted by three tired, sheepish faces.

"Sorry to interrupt, but..." Elise's voice trailed off as her eyes landed on the scene in front of her.

"No, no, not at all. Please come in." Rebekah stepped aside to let her friends into the room. "Mum, I'd like you to meet my friends. They drove me all the way down here when they heard that Finn was in trouble."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I can't thank you enough for taking care of my Beck. She tells me so much about you." Rebekah's mum beamed at them, all earlier trace of anger wiped away. "I don't know what my daughter has told you about me but I absolutely hate being called Ms Lee. Makes me feel old. Call me Shye. It's short for Shiloh."

Not for the first time, Rebekah found herself admiring her mother. There was something about her mum that always seemed larger than life; maybe it was the way she carried herself with dignity or the way she spoke with perfect confidence, but Rebekah found herself marvelling. This was a woman who gave up everything so that she could be there for her daughters and she would be damned if she let anything happen to her family.

"Shye, um, hi.... I'm Elise. This is, uh, my brother, Sebastian and our childhood friend..." Elise hesitated. It was clear from her body language and the way she was biting her bottom lip ferociously that this whole situation had caught her completely off guard.

Danny nudged her in a less than subtle manner. "Daniel," he hissed.

"Oh yes, Danny." Elise rushed to finish the introductions. Her eyes roamed swiftly over the slowly awakening form of Chloe. "We're so sorry about what happened to your grandson, Shye."

"Thank you." Shye smiled and for a moment, Elise was taken aback by how similar Rebekah and her mother looked. They both had a sweet complexion but unlike her daughter, Shye's eyes were harder, colder and more calculating.

"Mum? Beck? Who are these people?" Chloe's voice cut through the room. All eyes spun to her as she yawned sleepily and squinted at everyone. Bits of hair had escaped her ponytail and now hung around her face is dark wisps. Despite the circles under her eyes and pale lips, she managed to look presentable, something Rebekah found herself envious of.

"Chloe, these are Beck's friends," Shye's tone was deceptively sweet.

Sebastian, who up to now had been content with hanging back in the shadows, piped up.

"I think we've met before, actually."

Chloe blinked several times then gasped. "Oh! You're the-" She stopped speaking abruptly.

"The blind one, yes," Sebastian quipped.

"I wasn't going to say that," Chloe mumbled as her brows knitted together. "Look, I appreciate that you came all the way here, Beck, but visiting hours ended awhile ago. You and your friends shouldn't be here." There was an edge to her tone that suddenly escalated the mood of the room from awkward to tense.

Rebekah almost squeaked in indignation. She hadn't expected her sister  to welcome her with open arms but neither had she expected Chloe to kick her out.

"It's for Finn's sake," Chloe added hastily. "The doctor said that he needs rest and that the more visitors and people he has in his room, the less likely he is to have the amount of rest he needs to recover quickly."

Rebekah felt her eyes inadvertently dart to her nephew and a surge of warmth spread through her body.

"Why don't you all stay at our house tonight?" Shye suggested, her voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "There's no way I'm letting you kids drive back to campus so soon. We have a spare room in the house and enough blankets and pillows to build a pretty solid pillow fort so hosting you guys won't be a problem."

Elise exchanged glances with Danny before murmuring to Sebastian in a low voice.

"If it's not too much trouble, we'd love to spend the night at your house, Shye. I think Danny and I are a little too knackered to drive back tonight."

Shye beamed. "Wonderful. Chloe, you stay here with Finn. I'll help set up these kids up at our house but I should be back in a couple of hours max." The mood of the room lifted as the expectation of warm baths and cosy beds cheered the weary travellers.

"Okay." Chloe looked wary and just with her one word and hostile demeanour, tension diffused back in the room, sucking up the oxygen and filling the air so that it was nigh impossible to breathe.

"Well, I guess we'd better be going then," Elise said in an overly cheery tone. "It was nice meeting you, Chloe."

"It was nice seeing you guys too. I'm so sorry for seeming like such a bitch and pushing you out."

Rebekah found herself almost incredulous. If she didn't know her sister better, she probably would have believed her sister and not seen that apology as the half-assed one it was.

Shye was the first one to open the door to walk out and as Elise followed her, Rebekah found herself insinctively reaching out for Sebastian. He had his cane tucked under his arm and when he made movements to use it, Rebekah quickly took it from him.

"It might be too loud," she whispered. "The tapping sound could wake up other patients."

Sebastian shrugged. "Then I need someone to guide me."

"That's what I'm here for." Rebekah slid her arm through his and after exchanging a friendly nod with Danny, she led Sebastian out of the room and down the brightly illuminated hallway. The hospital was silent as a ghost and even the nurses and doctors making their rounds did so in total silence.

As they waited for the elevator to take them back down to the first level, Rebekah could feel Sebastian's restlessness as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. Noticing her mother deep in conversation with Elise and Danny, Rebekah leaned over.

"Seb, are you okay?"

"Fine. Great. Awetastic."

Rebekah stifled a grin. "Awetastic?"

"Fuck, I didn't mean that. I meant fantastic and awesome but the words got jumbled on the way out." Sebastian grinned impishly. "It's all your fault by the way."

Rebekah was appalled. "Why is it my fault? What have I ever done to you to make you forget how to speak properly?"

"Well, you tell me. I'm still trying to figure out how you initiating a simple gesure such as holding my hand or arm can scramble my brain and make me feel like I'm back in primary school. You've even got me making up my own vocabulary now." He shook his head lightly in disbelief. "I just don't know what I'm doing around you anymore, Rebekah Lee. You have utterly bewitched me."

The affection with which he spoke couldn't be ignored and suddenly, a million butterflies erupted in Rebekah's stomach. She didn't know why Sebastian was feeling this way; maybe he was coming down with the flu which would explain his strange and sudden inability to think straight. Or he had a brain tumour. Or both. Those were entirely more plausible explanations than the one he was offering.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Rebekah asked finally. She touched his forehead in concern. Finn was already hurt; Rebekah wasn't sure if she could handle another person who she cared getting sick or injured in any way.

Sebastian laughed softly. "That's your response to my declaration of my feelings?" A wry grin danced across his lips. "If I didn't know you better, Beck, I'd be offended." He paused but before Rebekah could say anything, he spoke again. "And in response to your question: no, I'm definitely not alright. I'm sick."

Rebekah felt her heart lurch in her chest. "Oh no. I knew we shouldn't have-"

Sebastian chuckled, a warm rich sound that turn Rebekah's bones to jelly.

"Beck, babe, relax. I don't think being lovesick is contagious."

*

A/N Hello fellow Wattpadians!

Happy early update! I hate to put catches on stuff but there's a catch with this chapter; I have mock exams for the next 2 weeks so it'll be highly unlikely that I can update. I hope you guys enjoyed this update though. I had a lot of fun crafting the last part...

Also, could I ask a huge favour of you guys? Could you encourage and recommend this story to your friends? That is, if you guys like this story and think it's good enough for others to read it.

Stay safe and beautiful, awesome people!

'Til next time,

Percy