(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 248

Chapter 248: An early morning phonecall

The call came early the next morning. His Dad had woken up for the first time early in the morning, around 1 am, and then had woken up a second time around 5. His Mom hadn’t called him after the first time since he was only awake for a few minutes, but after the second time, she called.

Kellen was so glad to hear the relief in her tone. He even got to hear his Father over the phone.

"He’s been asking about you." She told him. "Of course, I told him you’re fine, but he won’t calm down without seeing you." She was exhausted, but happy. Kellen hoped that she’d at least be able to sleep after this, but he doubted it.

His stubbornness came from both sides, after all.

"Is that Kellen? Is he okay?" Kellen felt his eyes water as he heard his Dad’s voice over the phone. He took a shuddering breath as Rhys sat up in bed beside him. _{freēwēbnovel.com}

"Is that?" He asked quietly and Kellen nodded, fighting for his life to prevent the tears from spilling over. Rhys placed his hand on his stomach, moving in and placing a kiss against Kellen’s shoulder. "You’ve got this." Rhys told him warmly, smiling at him and Kellen’s whole body flexed.

His support was something he had never expected, something he didn’t know was part of being a pair, of being in a relationship. He was worried he was going to get addicted to it.

"Hi, Dad." Kellen got out. He knew his voice sounded strained, but there was nothing he could do. His throat felt so tight he was worried he was going to squeak. Rhys’ hand on his stomach was comforting, if not a little distracting.

"Oh. It’s so good to hear your voice, Sweetheart." That was it. Kellen felt the tears spill over and he blinked rapidly. Rhys leaned over to turn on one of the lamps as Kellen felt the tears run freely from his eyes.

"It’s good to hear your voice too, Dad." Kellen whispered. He was cursing himself. He had wanted to remain strong for his Dad, yet here he was, two seconds away from sobbing like a baby. He’d already done that once. He didn’t need to do it again.

"Oh Kellen. I am so sorry that you had to-"

"No." Kellen cut him off. "Don’t you dare. You don’t get to apologise. You did nothing wrong. The people who did something wrong are the fuckers who shot you. I don’t want to hear your apologies, and I’m sure Mom doesn’t either. I know you know we’re upset, but that is only going to make us more upset." Kellen told him and heard his Dad gulp on the other end. He even laughed lightly.

"My strong, strong baby. I wasn’t going to apologise for that. Your Mother has already torn into me for trying to. I wanted to apologise for having to do everything you did." Kellen was shaking his head, a sob escaping his mouth and Rhys wrapped both arms around him from behind, trying to comfort him as Kellen tried to speak.

"No. Don’t do that. It wasn’t...I wasn’t going to let you die, Dad. You don’t need to-to-" Kellen’s throat caught on the word and he had to take a second to gather himself. "You don’t need to thank me. It wasn’t going to happen. I am incredibly grateful for my Field Guide training. If I hadn’t been doing this for so long, I would have panicked and-" Kellen cut himself off, shaking his head again. "I don’t want your thanks. Just get better." Kellen told him.

Kellen could hear that his Dad wasn’t doing much better on the other line.

"Then what am I supposed to do with these feelings, Kellen? I heard you were shot too, and you gave me your blood. You are the only reason I am alive right now. That’s too big of a burden for my son." His Dad sobbed and that was all it took. Kellen was fumbling with the sheets, trying to throw them off but his hands weren’t moving fast enough.

Rhys was there, his hands gentle but still helpful. He helped Kellen get out of the bed, put on a shirt since they had both gone to bed topless and then scooped Kellen up, slippers and all, and raced down the stairs. He made sure to take his keys with him and grabbed some tissues for Kellen before they began to move towards the elevators. It was the fastest way at the moment, and with no one quite up yet, Kellen and Rhys got to the Medical Bay quickly.

Kellen’s Mom was already waiting for them. She wasn’t unaffected by what was going on and Kellen could tell that she had been crying too. She’d wiped her tears away, but her eyes were slightly red and still watery. Kellen took her hand in his, Rhys acting like he was his mobility at the moment as the three of them stepped into the room that they had been watching over.

HIs Dad looked pale, thinner than usual, and tears streamed from his grey eyes. Rhys knew what Kellen wanted, but he wasn’t going to put him down on his own. Instead, he placed Kellen down in the chair pulled up against the bed and Kellen and his Dad hugged.