𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙄𝙣.

Take The Risk, or Lose The Chance.

For the first time in a long while, Killian was happy. He was acing his exams, he had gotten rid of all the toxicity and negativity that was invading every aspect of his life, his siblings were well taken care of, and he was rather enjoying being single.
He still liked West, that was for sure, but he was facing his feelings head on, and had stopped running away from them. He swore to himself that he'd start being mature about the whole situation, and try to understand where West was coming from. Being friends with him was better than not having him in his life at all.

A raspy voice tore him from his thoughts, "Why aren't you eating, baby?"

"I ate earlier..."

"Yeah? Did you go the hospital? How's Paul doing? Is he going to be okay?"

Killian couldn't tell if Linda genuinely cared, or if she was just looking for something new to talk to her friends about.

"I think so."

"So... What happened to him?"

He looked up from his plate of food and found Linda looking at him expectantly. West had told him what happened, but he'd prefer it if his friend's dad wasn't everyone's topic of discussion. "West didn't say."

"Oh." She shrugged, "Y'know, I spoke to Winona earlier, apparently Dennis asked for a divorce." She informed him in a hushed whisper, as if they weren't the only two at the dinner table.

I really don't care about the local town gossip.

"That's sad."

"I know, right? Do you think he knows the baby Winona is carrying isn't his?"

Killian nearly choked on his food. He never understood promiscuity, he felt that if you were unhappy in a relationship, it was best to end things, than to find satisfaction elsewhere, knowing that you were currently still in a relationship. He lost his appetite.

"I'm just gonna head to the hospital. Don't wait up."
-------
Paul had awoken from his coma a few days earlier. The doctors were still conducting their tests, so he was still going to be there for a while. West hadn't left his side ever since. He only left the hospital to take his exams.

"Has Dennis called yet?" Paul asked tiredly.

West checked Paul's phone for the 7th time in a 60 minute space, there were no calls or texts. "No, sorry."

Dennis hadn't called or visited ever since West had told him to get a life. He didn't regret what he said, but he wished he could've been more... polite. He was worried that he had scared him away. That was originally West's aim, but now, Paul desperately wanted to see his brother, and West didn't have the heart to tell him what had really happened. He guessed that Dennis was probably cowering away in a corner like the rat that he really was, though.

"You can leave if you'd like."

West stopped counting the circles imprinted onto the wallpaper, and looked at his dad. "Why would I leave?"

"I just assumed... you were bored."

"Oh, I am." He replied truthfully. "But I want to be here."

Paul released a sorrowful sigh, "I'm sorry. For putting you through all this."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know you were going to--"

"It is." He interjected, "If I hadn't started drinking..."

West shook his head, then gave his dad a warm smile."Just so you know, my eyes don't see the person you used to be. Only the person you're fighting to be."