"Cason, wake up!" I shook him and called an ambulance.

It happened in such a blur, the ambulance coming, calling his family, everyone getting to the hospital... We all sat in the waiting area and when the doctors told us that it was okay to see him, the rest of his family took turns going in and I waited. He seemed really mad at me.

"It's okay, Brooke. He's overreacting," Grams reassured me.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"Your turn, Brookey!" Aiden chirped as he came from seeing his big brother.

I went in and Cason seemed to be doing well. I bit my lip nervously. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," he sighed.

"I'm sorry, Cason. I didn't mean to upset you," I said.

He closed his eyes and breathed. "I know."

The doctors came in and discharged him and gave him an inhaler. Anger was evident on his face and I wished I could make it go away. I didn't know what to do.

"Hey, I'll hold onto your inhaler for you. I'll put it in my purse until we get back to the house and give it back to you," I offered.

"Fine. Catch," he tossed it to me and I caught it and put it in my purse.

When the family got back to Grams' house, everyone went to bed. It seemed like they all knew something I didn't. Cason went to his room and I followed behind him.

"What're you doing in here, Brooke?" Cason snapped.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" I asked.

He sighed and looked at me. "You embarrassed me in front of my whole family, Brooke!"

"Why is it so embarrassing? You're good!" I said.

"Not according to my dad I'm not," he said and things started to click. "My singing is supposed to be private, Brooke!"

"Hey, you can't get mad at me for something I didn't know. It's not like you haven't done the same thing!" I snapped back.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"My art, Cason? Remember? Stealing it, sending it in... I was so afraid that I'd get a form letter back asking me if it was a prank. But things worked out and I wasn't mad anymore. The difference between the two is that you knew how important art was to me. You saw me draw all the time and you saw me hide it when someone approached me. I didn't realize singing was the same thing for you," I explained.

He stood there in silence, taking in everything I said. So I used this opportunity to keep talking.

"I'm sorry, Cason. I didn't know. Had I known, I wouldn't have done it. But I figured since you sang in front of fifty people the day you sang that One Direction song, it wasn't a problem. I'm really, really sorry, Cason. You don't have to forgive me right now, but I just... I'm sorry," I shrugged, out of words.

He looked at me and started walking towards me. Was he gonna hit me? I'd deserve it. I suddenly couldn't breathe. He was so close to me and I didn't know what he was gonna do. He wiped tears I didn't know I had away.

"I'm—"

"It's okay, Brooke. I should've told you," he said softly.

"Tell me now," I urged.

He sighed and looked down. "My bio dad didn't like my singing. Everyone else does, but he didn't. He called it noise. So I quit. I wanted to make him proud. So I'll just do something more practical, like he wanted."

"Cas," I took his hand. "Take your own advice. You told me to go ahead with my art and now I'm in Janet Brookland's studio. If singing is something you're passionate about, you should go for it. You're really good. And I'm not just saying that."

"Thanks, Brooke," he nodded.

"So... bio dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, Aiden's dad wasn't my dad. But when my mom married him and had Aiden, I started to like him. He's the one I consider my father the most," he said.

"Did he like your singing?" I asked.

He smirked a bit. "Yeah, he did."

"So why don't you listen to the guy you actually thought of as your dad, as opposed to your bio dad?" I asked.

He didn't really have a response, so I didn't push it.

"Hey, so I met someone," I said.

"Who?" He asked.

"My cousin, Josh. That's why I was so messed up at the studio when you picked me up. He'd told me all of these things about my mom and... I was just processing," I said.

"Is he nice?" He asked.

I nodded. "He's like twenty something."

"So he kinda knew your mom then," he said.

"Yeah," I breathed.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.

I filled him in on everything Josh had told me. From how horrible my father was, to my mom's cancer.... All of it. As I spoke, tears fell and I tried to wipe them away, but as quickly as I wiped them away, they kept coming back. Once I was done, Cason wrapped me in a hug and I took in his scent from his shirt.

"At least she loved you," he petted my hair.

"At least," I chuckled, pulling away. "Oh here's your inhaler."

"Thanks," he said, taking it from me and setting it on his nightstand by his bed.

"So are we okay now?" I asked.

"You know I can't stay mad at you," he half joked and I laughed.

"Hey, I actually wanna show you something," I said pulling my phone out and scrolling to a blank video.

"What's this?" He asked.

I pressed play and since you couldn't see anything, all you heard was signing. My singing. I was singing Stupid Boy by Cassadee Pope. I think that's how you spell her name. I'd made this video ages ago. As he listened, his eyes showed that he actually liked it.

"Who was that?" He asked.

"Did you like it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was great," he chuckled.

"It was me," I said. "I'm an undercover singer. I don't do it often. But next time you feel like singing, and you're nervous about it, I'll sing with you."

He smiled and took my good hand in his as he stepped closer to me. We were staring into each other's eyes, our faces so close we were almost kissing. His eyes flickered to my lips and back to my eyes and I did the same. My heart was so loud, I was surprised he couldn't hear it. I'd never been so nervous about a guy before. But this was Cason. Not a boy toy. Cason swallowed and I swear I thought he leaned in a little when the door slammed open and my cousin Josh appeared.

Cason and I sprang apart as Josh waltzed up to the bed and I tried not to pass out. Cason and I almost kissed. And I was okay with that. More than okay with that.
******
So how did Josh find out where they were?! Haha so close!