stay awake. “How is she?”
“Still asleep,” I say, taking a sip of the piping hot liquid, then setting the cup on the table next to her bed. “Surgery went well. He got her deep on her stomach.”
Once I had Palmer in my arms, I applied pressure to the worst of her wounds. Breaker called 911. He didn’t give an explanation, only the easy facts. A girl had been attacked and had several knife wounds.
“It wasn’t a good idea,” Breaker admits, taking the seat across from me. He speaks offhandedly, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from losing the small amount of control I’ve gained since holding her hand after her surgery. He watches her, sorrow and worry crossing over his usual stoic face. “I see that now, and I didn’t think he’d come as unglued as he did.”
“If she doesn’t wake up, I don’t know what I’ll do.” I lower my head, the heaviness too much to hold any sense of strength in my body.
“We won’t do anything.” Byron’s voice startles us both. He’s the last person I expect to see in the doorway, in this room, with Palmer. “Because she’s going to wake up. She has to.”
How he musters up the desperation in his voice is a fucking talent. He’s done this. He stabbed her, making the choice to take our plan to a level it was never meant to be.
Palmer’s heart monitor speeds up. I stand and squeeze her hand, running my thumb over her skin. Does she sense Byron in the room? Can she hear the voice attached to the hatred that landed her in this bed?
“I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Byron’s useless excuses don’t mean shit right now. He’s not someone capable of remorse or guilt.
“Get out!” I yell, pushing my chair out of the way to shove his body further from hers, to finally protect her as I should have all along. “Now.” I slam my hands into his chest, forcing him backwards. He looks betrayed and confused at my aggression.
Breaker steps between us, gripping Byron’s shirt and helping him out of the room. When he’s gone, I close the door and settle back in next to her. Once he’s back, Breaker scrutinizes me, a curious squint to his eyes. I don’t justify his thoughts with an unwanted response. Instead, I watch her eyelids, praying I’ll see the life in them again.
Nurses and doctors frequent the room. None ask us to leave, accepting our existence without an argument. We aren’t family. We aren’t supposed to be back here, but it seems we are the only ones here for her now.
“No one should be alone,” one of the nurses says. “We haven’t been able to reach any of her family.” She offers me a settling pat to the shoulder before leaving.
Of course, you haven’t. They’re worthless.
How did we get here? At what point did everything turn south? Since the beginning, Byron has been dead set on clawing his way to revenge. He’s not the only guilty party. I was thrilled at the prospect of finding out who was responsible for Reed’s murder.
Until her.
Palmer changed everything. She changed me before I had a chance to stop her.
“He took it too far this time,” I whisper, leaning back in the chair, fixed on Breaker’s reaction.
“You think?” He gestures to Palmer’s lifeless body. “His intentions were in the right place. The delivery ended up being a bit fucked in the end.”
“You think?” I scoff, angry and discouraged.
We’re no saints. No one is looking at us with hero worship. We are the guys you call when you need something discreetly handled, and at our own discretion. Pain isn’t something we shy away from, and we certainly don’t buckle at our knees to anyone.
But this? For the first time, I’m ashamed of us.
“You’re in love with her.” Breaker breaks me away from the flood of emotions taking over at the memory of the last few months. Every game of cat and mouse between us. Orchestrating hatred with our classmates to alienate her. Treating her like she was nothing, when, without realizing it, she became everything without even trying.
“I don’t know if I’m capable of loving anyone.” If there aren’t any truer words in the world, I’d be stunned.
“But . . .” He knows me too well.
“She consumes me,” I admit, watching her tiny chest rise and fall. “She has since we found her on the floor of Reed’s dorm, covered in her sister’s blood.