stream the video above for clear skin xoxo ð
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"So, you came all this way... just to dump me?"
After Killian had left the hospital, he dropped by Yolanda's place to end things with her. West was right, Yolanda was a mean bitch, but that didn't mean she deserved to be someone else's rebound. Using her was cruel and rude, and Killian was neither of those things, even though for a short while, he had tried to pretend he was.
"Well... I also kinda left my backpack here." Killian said as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes were focused on everything in the room that wasn't Yolanda. He'd never broken up with anyone, anyone that wasn't a friend, that is. It was scary.
"Okay, but, I don't understand. Did I do something wrong?"
"No. I just think it's best if we went our separate ways. I still need to deal with some feelings that I've been ignoring."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed as she came to a realization. "Is this about West?"
"Yes. I mean... no, he just helped me realize that I wasn't being very fair to you."
"Okay." She replied monotonously. She liked Killian, but she couldn't afford to show him what she was truly feeling, which was heartbreak. Boys weren't worthy of her tears.
"Are you not mad at me?"
"No."
Okay, one word answers. What have I done?
"I'm sorry." He expressed as he picked his backpack up from her bedroom floor. He honestly felt bad, he also made a mental note to never dump anyone, ever again. Unless it was really necessary.
"Just go, Killian."
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West ran like hell to his dad's hospital room, his sneakers were squeaking all over the freshly mopped floors, and his hospital robe was dangerously close to revealing the parts people really didn't need to see.
He got to Paul's room in record time, and was about to enter when he heard voices coming from the inside.
"...is very lucky to be alive. The CPR that Weston performed was able to keep your brother's blood flowing, if that weren't the case, he would've been deprived of oxygen and we would be dealing with an insurmountable amount of brain damage."
"But he's going to be okay, right?"
Fucking Dennis is here. Great.
The Doctor paused. "It's hard to say at the moment, but we're doing the best we can."
West heard something being knocked over, followed by his uncle's aggravated voice. "That's not good enough!"
"Mr Rickert, you have to understand that Sudden Cardiac Death, or rather, cardiac arrest, isn't an easy thing to deal with. Your brother has been drinking excessively over a 10 year period, his body naturally adapted to the substance, so when he suddenly stopped drinking, his central nervous system fell right out of balance. It was the right thing to do, however, he went about it the wrong way, he needed medical assistance."
"So he's an alcoholic? What the hell are you talking about?" Dennis sounded genuinely perplexed. He didn't know much about his brother, after all.
"Please, keep your voice down, this is a hospital." West could tell by her tone of voice that the Doctor would've preferred to be anywhere else but in that room. Dennis did that to people.
"Your brother is suffering from Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome, side effects include shaking, vomiting, anxiety, headaches, and those are just the minor symptoms. The more serious ones are Delirium tremens, which can be fatal if not treated, Cardiac arrest and heart failure also contribute to that list."
"I don't... understand."
"We're going to have to conduct a echocardiogram--"
"An echo what?"
The Doctor released a heavy sigh, "His heart has been taking a lot of blows over the years. There could be extensive damage to his cardiovascular system, this test will help us determine what needs to be done, or fixed, in order to save his heart."
West reactively placed a hand over his chest. He couldn't imagine was his dad was going through. He was worried for him, what if he needed a heart transplant? He wasn't sure his dad's insurance could cover such an expensive procedure. Would the hospital let him die if he couldn't pay up?
Probably...I should set up a GoFundMe, just in case.
"Is there any treatment... for all of the things you just said to me?"
"Of course, he's--" The Doctor was interrupted by the beeping of her pager, signaling that there was an emergency. "Excuse me."
West entered just as she reached the door, she gave him a small smile, and then she was gone.
"Westie, are you okay?" Dennis asked as West took a seat right next to him. "Came to check on you earlier, but you were asleep and Rich's boy was there."
Uhm, what?
"I must've hit my head when I fainted. No way you just asked me that."
Basically, Dennis was a bit of a nutjob.
He shrugged, "Believe me, don't believe me, doesn't really matter."
"Thank Goodness Killian was there, you probably would've smothered me in my sleep."
"If I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it by now."
"Definitely feeling the love, Uncle Dennis."
Dennis rolled his eyes, then glanced over at his comatose brother again. He reached out for his hand, then squeezed it tightly. West suddenly felt enraged.
"Are you content with the way you left things with my dad?" He seethed.
"What?"
This might get me bitch slapped, but fuck it.
"If he had died last night. Would you be content with the way you left things?" West lifted his eyes, only to find Dennis's face twisted into a grimace. He was so going to get bitch slapped.
"He told me everything. About you, about why you resent us so much... About the band, and how you had to give up your dream."
Dennis let out a bitter laugh, "A dream? It was more than Just. A. Dream."
Alright Weston, you've lit the fuse, and now it's time to watch it explode.
"We had it. It was in the palms of our hands. The contracts with the record company were already drafted, all we had to do was sign on the dotted line." He stood up abruptly and started pacing the small room. He was losing it. "We had it, and, we lost it because of you."
West hadn't been entirely truthful with Dennis. Paul didn't tell him the whole story, only that they had to quit music to take care of him, and that Dennis was still angry about it, 18 years later. He figured he'd use reverse psychology, he didn't actually think it would work, though.
"He chose you. I'm his flesh and blood, and he still chose you!"
"I didn't ask to be born, and I definitely didn't ask to lose my mother. He could've given me up for adoption, or given me to my real father for fuck's sake. He had a choice, just like you also had a choice."
"I didn't--"
"But you did." He responded calmly. He wasn't at all fazed by Dennis's outburst. The outburst which he caused. He was literally smiling in the face of chaos.
"Why couldn't you carry on without him? Bands change members all the time, you could've gone out on your own, too. Or were you so attached to your twin brother, that you felt you wouldn't succeed on your own? If music was really your dream, you would've done anything and everything to make it a reality."
"You don't know anything." Dennis sneered through gritted teeth.
"You had the opportunity, and you blew it. Don't put the blame on us. He chose what was important to him at the time, he learnt how to become his own person at 17." West left his seat and headed for the door, but not before getting one last thing in.
"Sadly, though, you never grasped the meaning of individuality, or developed a sense of identity, and that was your downfall. You probably would've been great."
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