Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 449: Get Back Here Already

Keeley had been doing monotonous gene sequencing ever since she arrived at work to help Erica with her research and was ready to call it a day. Ordering take out tonight was a definite must. Her brain was too fried to cook.

Over the years she had come to appreciate being rich since she wasn't forced to be a part of high society. She could avoid cooking whenever she wanted, was always able to pay for fun events on the weekends, and got to go on great vacations.

After his parents died, Aaron was shocked to discover he hadn't been written out of the will. The entire Hale fortune was his. As a billionaire already, he didn't need it so he asked his rather frugal wife what to do with it.

She was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of zeroes in front of her but was eventually able to figure it out. Some of it was set aside as a trust for their descendants' education just like the one her crazy great-great grandfather had set up.

That only used up a small fraction of the money the Hales had been hoarding for generations. Keeley's research had barely begun phase III of getting FDA approval at the time but she had the idea that maybe it could be used to provide cheap or free gene therapy for people with cystic fibrosis once it was approved.

When it got approved this January she did exactly that. Hundreds of people across the country had already used what was known as the Kaleb Hall Fund to get the treatment they needed.

Aaron thought it was a great idea. Partially because he supported Keeley's dream of curing cystic fibrosis and partially because he knew his parents would hate the idea of their money helping regular people.

Ah, she had married such a complicated man. She shook her head at the thought with a slight smile as she turned her phone back on. She had a few missed texts, a missed call, and a voicemail.

One was from Aaron and it simply said 'I'm fine.' Did he sent that to the wrong number? She hadn't asked him anything before that.

She got her answer a moment later when she checked the voicemail and heard it was a call from the hospital. So he got into an accident but was supposedly fine. What kind of fine though? 'Alive but in the hospital' fine or 'at home and actually fine' fine?

Keeley called him immediately and he picked up on the second ring. "I got stitches in my shoulder but that's it," her husband said without even saying hello.

Of course Aaron knew what she was calling about and didn't want her to worry. His mindreading skills had only gotten better over their many years of marriage.

"What happened?"

"Some idiot on a motorcycle broke my window and the glass cut me." An obvious smile was in his voice. "What, no asking if it hurts?"

"That was going to be my next question and you know it," she retorted. "Are you taking care of yourself properly? You better not have gone back to work."

Aaron chuckled. "You sound like Violet. She's the one who picked me up at the hospital."

"Sorry, my phone was off," Keeley said guiltily.

That should have been her job. Violet was a busy young woman with her own life. She shouldn't have to worry about taking care of her parents like that.

It was bad enough she was twenty-five and saw no reason to move out. But it wasn't like Keeley was about to kick her daughter out of the only home she had ever known. She knew Violet was a homebody and a creature of habit.

Since graduating from college she hardly ever got together with anybody other than Noah outside of work. Since she saw her coworkers so much she didn't like hanging out with them. Once in a blue moon she would meet up with her college buddies if their schedules matched up.

Sometimes Keeley wondered if the girl would ever change her habits. Would she still be living at home when she was forty and miss out on having a family of her own?

Noah was obviously hopelessly in love with her but had never done anything about it. At this point it seemed likely that both of them would be living at home and being best friends forever without bothering to get married.

She marveled at how her daughter hadn't caught on yet. But it honestly wasn't too surprising. When it came to emotions, Violet was nearly as dense as her father had been in his first life.

"Don't worry about it; I understand. Are you on your way home?" Aaron asked hopefully.

"Yeah. I was going to order takeout. Anything in particular you want? I'll let you pick since you're hurt," Keeley offered.

"All I really want right now is to hold you. So get back here already," Aaron demanded.

She rolled her eyes. Of course that was all he wanted. He always claimed that simply having her in his arms made him feel better.

"Alright but I have to hang up to do that. See you at home. Love you!"

"Love you too."

Keeley ended the call and made her way home, still worrying about Violet. Based on Aaron's reaction on the phone he really was fine and didn't need to be worried about.

She wished her daughter would meet someone who would shake things up for her a little. Violet had always been a creature of habit and a homebody. If someone could change that for her it would be great for her growth.

That being said, she would be equally happy if Noah finally got his act together and asked his best friend out. Those two had always been good for each other. There was nothing wrong with a calm and simple relationship.

He probably wouldn't challenge her out of her comfort zone much because he doted on her and thought everything she said was right. But there wasn't anything inherently wrong with that.

If those two wanted to be predictable and comfortable together they were welcome to it. As long as they finally moved out of their parents' houses like a.d.u.l.ts.

When she made it back to her building the doorman had a stack of mail for her. Most of it was credit card offers but there was also one from the prison. Gray's correspondence hadn't stopped over the years just because Aaron visited him once a month. A letter from him was the cherry on top of a very bad day for her poor husband.