Colin's posts

Jaden read the text, and sighed.

He thought for a moment, before grabbing some bottles of lemonade from the fridge, and making his way to the backyard.

Sure enough, it looked like Darrell had been crying.

A lot.

Jaden made his way over, and sat down close to them.

"So. Mom, Dad, and Kalin know." he told Desiree.

"Kalin said she'd babysit for us if there's an emergency." he went on.

"And Darrell? If you want to spend some time with grandma and grandpa, they said you're welcome any time." he told their son.

Darrell just nodded in response.

"Thanks." Jaden replied.

"See you guys." he said, before they exchanged goodbyes and he used a portal to leave.

Once he did, Nico sighed.

"Damn it..."he muttered, cursing his uselessness at this moment.

Jaden then appeared back in his home, and looked around.

I'm home. he texted Desiree.

Where are you and Darrell? he asked.

Jaden nodded.

"That would be appreciated" he said.

"I'll take any help I can get." he told her.

"Understandably so." Nico commented.

"But yeah, I figured I'd stop by and let you know what's going on." Jaden told them.

"I can't stick around for long." he continued.

"I should consider getting back home ASAP."

"....we might take you up on that." Jaden admitted.

"I'll let you know in a bit." he said.

"Kalin said she's on call as well, if need be." he continued.

"And Rene's going to be at the hospital to help with Jordan." he added.

"...I'm so grateful for the network of friends and family I have." he then said quietly.

"I only wish there were more I could do to help." Nico commented.

"Considering we don't know what the prognosis will be until 48 hours from now?" Jaden asked.

"...as well as can be expected." he said.

"I'm holding it together. So is Desiree." he continued.

"For Darrell's sake." Nico commented.

"For Darrell's sake." Jaden confirmed with a nod.

"We need to be strong for him. He's probably with Desiree, crying his eyes out." he reasoned.

"I don't blame him." Nico sighed.

"......" Jaden was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"Right." he said.

"Jordan's sick." he told them. "VERY sick." he said further.

"...and how sick is VERY sick?" Nico asked.

Jaden was silent again, before sitting down and properly facing the two of them.

"..." he was silent again, biting his lip slightly.

"...diphtheria sick." he said.

I'll be there in a moment. Jaden sent back.

"...." Nico was silent as he heard that.

"I don't like the sound of that." he muttered.

Meanwhile, Jaden had said goodbye to Kalin, and disappeared from her place, appearing at the front door of Sydney's house, knocking on the door.

"That'd be him." Nico said.

"Door's open!" he called out.

Jaden then stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He made his way to where he'd heard the voice, and paused when he saw them.

"...wow." he mumbled.

"Mom, you look... rough." he commented to Sydney.

"Uh... yeah." Jaden replied, looking at the text.

"She JUST got back to me..." he muttered.

We need to talk. Like, an hour ago. he sent to her.

It's about Jordan. he then sent further.

Where are we meeting? I'm currently with Kalin. he added.

"Guess she was out on a hunt or something." he then said.

"Same." Jaden replied.

"Not that I care so much as to dig into it and ask, I just wonder." he shrugged.

"Regardless, thanks for being so understanding." he went on.

"I... should probably tell Mom and Dad about this." he continued.

He then took out his phone and sent Sydney a text.

Mom, you busy atm? it read.

Jaden just smiled at that.

"I like the thought of that." he said.

"Darrell always did like Serenity." he told her.

He then paused for a moment, taking another drink from his mug.

"...I wonder if he's ever met Syraene, though." he mused.

"Which is to say, he's never met her... in PERSON..." he went on.

"Makes me wonder if she's visited him... well, in other ways." he added.

"....I don't know." Jaden replied.

"Although knowing that you're here as a friend is already a massive help." he told her.

"Our support network is second to none." he chuckled further.

"So thank you." he said.

"It means a lot to me and my family." he assured her.

"If it's all right, can you be on call to babysit Darrell, in case Desiree and I need to be off quickly in case of an emergency?" he then asked.

"I will." Jaden replied.

"I'll make sure Rene knows he has the authority to update you as well." he then said.

"Just so you can hear it potentially sooner." he reasoned.

He was then silent, and shook his head, looking into the mug she'd given him.

"...I never would have thought something like this could happen." he admitted.

"I can't help but think that there was something I could do to prevent this." he went on.

"We took all the precautions. Why is THIS virus so special...?"

Jaden nodded in response.

"I know." he replied.

"Just... I know..." he said.

"I'm still worried." he admitted.

"My little girl is suffering, and there's nothing I can do about it." he sighed.

"...sorry." he apologised.

"I'm a worrier." he chuckled lightly.

"I don't think I'll be doing many shows until she's out of the hospital." he then added.

"I hope you understand."

He was silent as he accepted the mug.

"...thank you." he said.

"And... no. She's not." he told her.

"Well... I mean... she's..." he then stammered, before sighing heavily.

"Rene's been called to the hospital to help." he continued.

He then paused for another moment, before looking at Kalin, meeting her eyes.

"Jordan has diphtheria."