Fury ignited Aden’s core.

“Sorry, sir, but I’ve worked for the Kellingtons for eight years now. I would have known if a Kellington had been checked in here.”

“Well, apparently you don’t know when one’s standing right in front of you,” Aden snapped, gripping the counter as the doors slid open behind him.

Eyes widen in surprise as recognition settled over her. There’s a touch of elation soothing the blaze writhing beneath Aden’s skin at the immediate fall of face. She doesn’t get to say anything, though, as Tony took his spot beside Aden with an annoyed scowl.

“Sorry about my companion,” Tony apologized, shooting Aden a well-deserved scowl. “Blue Fields PD, Tony Agular. Badge number 03109691. I’m looking for a young adult male, Caucasian. The ambulance number is Alpha 1231, likely arrived…” he paused, checked his watch, and continued, “around 1:19 this morning.”

The registrar rapidly typed in the information as Tony delivered it.

“Alright, Officer Agular, I’ve got your guy. Emergency room 103,” she said with a slightly relieved sigh. It’s hindered by the news she’s about to deliver. “Patient won’t be able to receive visitors for a while yet. You’re free to wait here, but it’ll be several hours. You may want to go home and rest.”

Aden shot Tony a look that had the officer immediately replying, “No. We’ll wait.”

And, so…they did.

Autumn days were short in Blue Fields, but being in the center of the city, surrounded by high-rises, meant that the dawn light making it through the lobby windows was that of a sun risen many hours ago. How long had they waited? Had Aden fallen asleep at all? Time seemed to pass so slow yet so swiftly at the same time.

The only thing he remembered with any kind of vibrancy was the phone call to Captain Kohler when Aden delivered the news that he’d—once again—be letting his instructor down. Kohler knew, of course, the situation; had insisted on Aden spending the next few days at home. Strict as he was, Captain Kohler was still a firefighter. He loved watching lives thrive just as much as he enjoyed saving them and it always came through in situations like this.

Knowing that didn’t help the guilt, but knowing Logan was beyond those doors was like a salve on the wound.

“Officer Agular?”

Tony sprang up with surprising energy, though Aden matched him stride-for-stride.

“Patient is in room 103,” she informed with a far more tired tone than the one she’d had earlier. Made sense since she was working a graveyard shift. Her eyes flickered to the door she opened with the press of a little yellow button. “Do you need navigational assistance?”

Tony shook his head. “No, ma’am. I know my way around this floor.” There’s a mournful glimmer in his eyes and Aden wondered what kind of trauma Tony witnessed being in his line of work. It disappeared as soon as his gaze landed on Aden. “Come on. But walk this time. It’s a hospital for Christ’s sake. Even if you hate the people who run it.”

“I don’t hate all of them.”

“Sure,” Tony replied dryly. “Just the vast majority of them.”

Aden would’ve snapped back if the black numbers showing 1-0-3 hadn’t come into sight. Anything Tony said became immediately irrelevant as thoughts of Logan flooded Aden’s mind.

Is he okay?

How bad is it?

How did it even turn out like this?…

Aden knew the answer to that one. He knew it painfully well.

Whirring, electronic breaths fill the room from the assisting oxygen mask secured around his face. Even with its assistance, Logan’s breaths were shallow, quick, and scraping. His brows still furrowed in his unconsciousness, and the bandages wrapped around his frail frame left only a small percentage of pale skin uncovered. Here and there, bulges in the wrapping gives away the locations of the worst burn wounds, one of which is nearly fist-sized and rested on the top and back of his left shoulder. That must have been one of the burns that Tony was talking about…

“…You won’t be able to take him from here, Aden. He was found doped up on heroine, and working in an extremely illegal business place.”

Aden froze halfway through the room as Tony’s level voice approached him.

“Best case scenario, he goes to a rehabilitation center. Worse case….”

“Worse case, what?” Aden hissed through clenched teeth. No way this was happening right after he found the one he’d abandoned. He couldn’t do that again.

“Well…prison time for sure, though I could see it being as low as a year.” Tony paused, scowled, and then continued, “Don’t hate me for suggesting this, but maybe your dad?”

For once, Aden considered it. He detested what his family did, how she sent him away while everyone else turned a blind eye.

“If he could get you a good enough lawyer…maybe just a couple months jail time?”

Aden didn’t want Logan in a jail for even twenty-four hours, let alone a few months.

“Tony…is there anything you can do for him?”

“I’m a beat cop, Aden. I train newbies and sometimes take the lead on certain ops, but that’s it. I have no pull,” Tony answered honestly. “That’s why I told you—”

“My client will not be needing a lawyer. He already has one.”

The woman’s voice wasn’t familiar to Aden in the slightest, and he could feel himself tense.

“Who are you?” Aden asked, turning to face her.

“How did you even know about this case?” Tony questioned skeptically. “He’s still unconscious, hasn’t been able to make a phone call.”

The woman flipped out a business card, a picture of her with those thick, red locks tied in as neat a bun as her curly hair allowed. Jessica Shaarif, Scarlet and Pen Law Firm. “One of our PIs discovered evidence of forced drug abuse. Our client is a potential victim of a sex-trafficking ring.”

Aden’s heart stopped at the news.

“He’s already been cleared—well, once the hospital releases him, anyway—to return home. That’s all you need to know, officer.” She handed him an official document that Tony scanned as she continued, “Aden Kellington, right?”

Aden stiffened at the fact that she knew his name.

“Logan has no home, no known family, and no close friends. As far as we can tell, he disappeared from the foster system when he was seventeen but…when he applied for an identification card a year later, your name was listed as an emergency contact,” she said with a melancholic smile. “I would advise that you speak with him about living arrangements. I’m familiar enough with his file to understand why getting him to agree will be difficult but—”

“He’ll figure it out,” Tony interrupted, a more relieved expression warming his round face as he secured the paperwork safely in a zippered pocket. “Anyway, I’ve got to get back to the station. I wasn’t supposed to have stayed this late. Ronnie’s gonna kick my ass.”

Jessica let out a relieved chuckle and even the tension in Aden’s shoulders had begun dissipating. The conversation with Logan, trying to convince him to move into Aden’s apartment was going to be incredibly difficult, and that wasn’t even accounting for the potential court case Logan might now have to take part in.

Still, it was a beginning, and it was more of a chance than Aden was realizing he deserved.

Tony left the room, and Jessica turned to follow him out. She paused at the door. “Please call my office when you can. I need your number to update you on our case as we move forward. You’re my only connection to him.”

“…What’s your relationship with him?”

Jessica’s blue eyes softened to cool pools of tenderness. “Logan was very close to us. It was because of our mistakes that he ended up where he did. This is the least we can do, even if he’d say it was going overboard,” she said fondly. “You know…he was always so angry at you. Aden Kellington, the guy who ruined his life.”

The guilt nearly suffocated Aden and obliterated his further questions.

“But we all knew that wasn’t true,” Jessica continued. “He always had these…these horrid nightmares. We tried our best to help him, we did. But the only thing that soothed him were these…random days where he’d return with the smallest smile, and he’d sleep murmuring your name.”

Her words melted the ice crippling Aden’s heart, but he didn’t know how much of it was truth and how much of it he just wanted to be true.

“I can see you don’t trust that as much as I wish you would, but I don’t really care either way. My point is that…you may have to work a little harder to break the ice but, once you do, you’ll find there’s still warmth in him, for you.”

Jessica didn’t wait for a reply.

Aden hesitantly looked at Logan, unmoving in the bed. His steps became slower and more timid as he grew closer. He didn’t know if he was allowed to, but Aden carefully took Logan’s hand in his, careful to avoid the bandaging.

“I’ll say this again…when you’re awake. But…I’m sorry, Logan. I-I was wrong. So, so wrong,” he admitted, his face twisting with guilt and sorrow. “I thought that…staying away would protect your life, not destroy it. But I won’t ever make that mistake again. I’ll take care of you, protect you. If you’ll let me…”

Only silence answered Aden’s words but he was content with it. Getting it off his chest didn’t relieve all of the pressure and pain, but it did soothe it to a small degree.

Tired from the night but secure in the knowledge that Logan was right by his side, Aden found his eyelids growing heavy. He didn’t even notice the darkness encroaching until it took him in its sweet embrace.

Dreams That You Dread