Lost In Love (vol. 1)

Every Beat Of My Heart

"Just one chance, Just one breath
Just in case there's just one left
'Cause I know, you know, you know
That I love you, I have loved you all along
And I miss you, been far away for far too long
I keep dreaming you'll be with me, and you'll never go
Stop breathing if I don't see you anymore."

- Far Away, NICKELBACK

What the fuck did you do, Kyle?

He sat rooted to the chair. He couldn't move, his fingers squeezing the armrests, whitening his knuckles. His head felt thick, clogged. What the fuck was the man saying? That he would be the one to decide when there was no hope left? That it was his choice – and his alone – to make the call to snuff out Kyle's life?

Nate's chest heaved as hot breath flared his nostrils. He pitied the man for what he'd gone through with his son, but there was no fucking way this man was going to touch Kyle.

The anxiety in Stolsig's face was enough to tell Nate that the man was picking up on Nate's extreme disapproval of Kyle's decision. Nate pushed himself up out of his chair slowly, his face tight. He hovered over the desk and looked down at Stolsig with hard eyes. The doctor leaned back involuntarily and seemed about to shit his pants. Good.

"I don't give a fuck what kind of legal authority you think you have." Nate spoke low, his tone deadly. "If you fucking touch Kyle." Nate's face twitched as his eyes narrowed and seared into Stolsig. "You'll wish to God you'd never been born. Kyle is the only thing that means shit to me in this life." He leaned forward and flattened his palms on the desktop, letting Stolsig feel the heat of his threat. "You remove him...and I won't give a flying fuck what happens to me. And trust me – you don't want me there."

* * *

Should Greyson make that final call – his life would be in jeopardy, for real. The threat Nate Westfall dropped on him was not an empty one. The man was desperate, terrified. Now more than ever, with Kyle's decision to give Greyson the power over his life.

"Nate." Greyson held up one hand slowly. "Calm down. There won't be any rash decisions made concerning Kyle. And though he did give me legal authority, I would never make any such decision without discussing the matter with both you and Janice first."

Nate straightened up to his full height, his body stiff, tense, hands clenched in fists at his sides. "There is nothing to discuss." The words squeezed out between clenched teeth. "And there never will be. No one is going to take his life from him. No one." The young man leaned down just a bit. "Are you fucking hearing me?"

Nodding slowly, Greyson stood to his feet. "Yes, I am, Nate." He said quietly, calmly. "But you have to understand-"

"No." Nate bit sharply, slicing Greyson's words in half. "You better understand. I don't care what kind of fucking arrangement Kyle made with you, you don't get to decide if he lives or dies."

The guy was trying desperately to regain control. His love for Kyle drove him to threats, seeking dominance...when deep down, he surely knew that Kyle's decision was legally iron clad. Greyson did have control. And Nate knew it, whether he was willing to admit it or not.

Greyon moved out from behind the desk and returned to the window. He clasped his hands behind his back and gazed out into a night that shimmered with a myriad of lights. "Tell me, Nate." He murmured. "You said that all financial matters concerning Kyle were to be brought to you." He turned slowly and faced the young man. "How are you going to pay for Kyle's treatment?"

A hardness turned Nate's eyes to stone. "You're back to this?" He asked tightly. "After everything you told me about your son. After telling me how Kyle was your friend. You're fucking back to this?"