"Hallo, Serina, Royl wanted to give you all some free coffee, so I thought I I would bring it over."
I blinked my eyes back, feeling a little tired as I woke up to a familiar voice.
"Ryan?" I questioned, and he nodded, "Surprise, your silly childhood friend has come to visit." He clicked his tongue, "I mean, I had to when I heard that Korian was in the hospital."
I stood up with worry, turning to the nearby bed, where he was lying, squeezing my hands together. "Is he okay?"
Ryan nodded, "Yeah, he is, just got a few bruises and a mild concussion, but he'll be okay."
I couldn't help but tear up, rushing over to hug Ryan, and he embraced me back with a tight grip, "It will be okay." He kisses the top of my forehead, "He's okay, don't worry."
"I was so scared he was hurt really bad, I mean, after he could barely walk on his boat and the damage to it."
Ryan rubbed my shoulder and didn't let go, "I know, when I heard you were there, I was scared that…"
He shook his head, "I am glad there weren't any casualties and that the damage was minimal."
"I'm okay, don't worry." I took a deep breath. "Has Korian been awake yet?"
"Only briefly, to check to see how you were doing and to greet me, but after that, he passed back out. After, the doctor cleared him of course."
"I see, I'm glad he's okay then."
Ryan and I embraced for a little while longer before he offered me the coffee he'd gotten from Royl.
"It's Sea Salt Caramel if you don't mind with cheese foam."
"A large?"
Ryan smiled, a little laugh following. "He felt it would be necessary even though I told him it would be fine."
I couldn't help but smile too, taking the coffee in hand and sipping on it, which made my eyebrows raise.
"This is delicious, I don't know why I haven't tried this before."
Ryan playfully rubbed his small beard and shook his head, "He said you would like it, said it was something different from your usual."
"It definitely is that." I playfully nudged Ryan, "What did he say if I didn't like it?"
"Rückerstattung."
I covered my mouth with a laugh, "Refund? But I didn't pay for anything."
"Exactly, but-" Ryan shrugged, "That's Royl, for you."
My smile soon faded as I thought further about the night, sipping more of the sweet and salty notes of the coffee, reminding me of a caramel candy.
"What about Korian's boat? Did they find out what caused him to crash?"
"Lack of light, maybe? They are still looking into it, they think maybe a shark or something, at least what Sammie Lee suggested."
I tried not to roll my eyes, "Sammie Lee's on the case, huh?"
"Yeah, along with Dr.Windstone, since he has been doing studies with the sea."
I clicked my tongue, "Interesting duo, don't you think?"
"I haven't really thought about it that much, to be honest. You think so?"
I nod, "It's not something I would usually expect, maybe my brother and Sammie Lee, but not Doctor.Windstone."
I hear a knock at the door, and my ear twitches, "Can I come in?" A voice asks, and I bite my lip, looking to Ryan, who nods.
"Come in, Kimo!"
My brother then gradually opens the door with a light smile, bringing over a platter of food with him. "Mama said you all might be hungry, so she sent over some fruit, rice, and Kalua puaʻa."
"Pig?" Ryan mumbled, and I gave a thumbs up, "Cooked Pig."
"Yes, I hope that's alright, Ryan. I know you used to eat it with us all the time, but I don't know if your preferences have changed."
"Nope, that's good. Do you have plates?"
"Yes, in here with the forks, Mama made sure I packed everything, so I got napkins and pretty much everything so..."
Kimo turned to me, "You were talking about me?"
"Just about you and Sammie Lee, I was thinking you two make a better team than him and Dr.Windstone."
I could see a blush on his face with the mention of Dr.Windstone, and I poked out my lips, "By the way, did you have a date the other day with him?"
"A date?! When did you hear that?!"
My eyes narrowed and I felt something bitter in my throat, as Kimo looked confused.
"I did talk to him a few days ago, but he hasn't formally asked me out, why did you hear something?"
I shrugged, "No, I just assumed so, but I guess you two haven't gotten to that stage yet."
I yawned and Kimo flushed again, "Not yet, but I hope so soon, he's been busy lately but anyway how is Korian?"
"He's doing okay-"
"Busy with what?"
Kimo raised a brow, "What's got you so curious lately?"
"I don't know just curious about Dr.Windstone, is all, he works close with Kai's Dad so-"
Kimo went silent, "About Kai's Dad actually…"
I went over to him and folded my arms, "What's up with Kai's Dad?"
"He didn't come into work the other day, of course Alistair, thinks he could be working at home but he hadn't been answering his phone either."
I swallowed dryly and looked over to Ryan and then back to my brother.
"Did you go check on him?"
"Not yet, Alistair, said he would check."
Ryan gulped, "You don't think something happened to him do you?"
Kimo set down the food on the hospital table along with the plates and sighed, "I have hope that he's okay. But since last night, with the accident with Korian, I've been worried. That whole area is shut off now."
"Shut off?!" I shouted, quickly quieting down, "Oh, my bad, I just, let me guess Sammie Lee?"
"And Alistair. They needed to do some further investigating and felt it was safer."
"That's fair." Ryan stated and I tried to avoid eye contact with him. It might seem like a good thing to them but I still need to find Lillian. And with the back part of the Ocean closed off that means I'm going to have to go from the main part of the beach.
The part where Kimo usually overlooks.
I shivered, this is going to be a real problem, I hope Lillian is proud of himself, now I got to clean up his mess again.