Page 193 of Fame & Chaos

Macy smiles softly beside him and nods.

“I love you guys too,” I whisper brokenly.

“Well then…” Hux says gently, “… you know we’d do anything for you if you needed us.” I nod slowly. “So when Caleb wakes up…” he continues carefully, “… please take the time to actually find out what happened.” I look down at the floor while he keeps talking. “He loves you, Indi. From the deepest part of his soul, that boy loves you.” Tears spill silently down my cheeks. “And I know you love him too.” My chest aches painfully, hearing the certainty in his voice. “You two need to work this out,” Hux says firmly. “Sasha is a lunatic. And the kind of love you and Caleb have? That’s bigger than some obsessed girl trying to destroy things.”

I wipe at my face shakily.

“Did he fuck up?” Hux asks bluntly. “Absolutely. But that boy would spend the rest of his life making it up to you if you let him.” A sob catches in my throat. “That’s all Caleb’s ever wanted, sweetheart. For you to be happy.” Hux sighs heavily before reaching out and brushing a tear from my cheek. “And if he truly believed you were happier without him, he’d let you go. But none of us is blind enough to think either of you is happy apart.” My bottom lip trembles violently. “And honestly?” Hux gives me a pointed look. “You’re one of the most stubborn women I’ve ever met.” Despite everything, a watery laugh escapes me. “You run every time something goes wrong,” he says gently. “But relationships aren’t about running. People screw up. Sometimes badly. That doesn’t mean you stop fighting for each other.” His words hit me harder than anything else tonight. “Caleb could’ve died tonight,” Hux whispers. “Would you have been okay spending the rest of your life knowing things ended between you like this?”

My heart twists painfully. “No,” I whisper instantly. “No, I wouldn’t.” The tears come harder now. “I’ve been so stupid, Hux.”

He immediately pulls me into his arms, holding me against his chest while I cry properly for the first time in weeks.

“Shhh,” he murmurs, kissing the top of my head. “You’ve both had difficult lives. But you need to learn to go through hard things together instead of apart.”

I cling to him tightly, soaking up every ounce of comfort from the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father.

After a long moment, I finally pull back enough to look at him. “Did Caleb tell you about Sasha?” I ask quietly.

“He told me everything.” My stomach tightens nervously. “He said Sasha claimed they were sleeping together while you two were together.” Hux shakes his head firmly. “That’s just not true, Indi.”

I stare at him. “It isn’t?”

“No.” His answer comes without hesitation. “You know Caleb better than that. Yes, he slept with her that one time, and yes, he regrets it deeply. But he’s never cheated on you.”

The relief that slams into me is so overwhelming that my knees almost give out.

Fresh sobs burst from my chest while Hux tightens his grip around me to keep me upright.

“Sweetheart,” he says softly, stroking my hair. “You two being apart over this is ridiculous. It shouldn’t take a horrific accident for you both to realize what matters.”

All this time… I’ve been wrong.

Yes, Caleb made a terrible decision sleeping with Sasha, but I should have listened to him. I should have trusted him enough to let him explain. And now he’s lying upstairs recovering from emergency surgery after drink driving because we were both too broken and stubborn to fix things sooner.

“Thanks for everything, Hux,” I whisper shakily once I calm slightly. “You’ve always been more of a father to me than my own dad ever was.”

Hux gently sits me down beside him in one of the chairs. “Indi,” he says warmly. “You’re the daughter I never had.” My throat tightens instantly. “And one day…” he adds with a soft smile, “… I hope you’ll be my daughter-in-law.” Tears immediately spring back into my eyes. “That’s how much I believe in you and Caleb.”

I swallow around the lump in my throat, completely overwhelmed.

Hux smiles. “So when they tell us he’s waking up… I want you to go in first.”

I widen my eyes in shock. “Me?”

He nods like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

That’s when I glance toward Macy. “Shouldn’t you guys be the first people he sees when he wakes up?”

Macy smiles and reaches over to squeeze my hand. “No, sweetheart,” she says softly. “You should.”

I blink at her in shock.

“You two need to talk properly,” she continues gently. “As long as Caleb’s medically okay, then your face is exactly who he should wake up to.”

Emotion clogs my throat completely. “Thank you,” I whisper. “That means so much to me.”

Hux nudges lightly against my shoulder. “Just don’t break his heart again, all right? I don’t think the poor kid could survive it another time.”