Page 42 of Exiled

Sam gazed at me with worry in his eyes, slowly pushing himself up against the pillows. "You look like hell, Teo," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked around the room, and his brow furrowed when he noticed the absence of my IV line. "Why the hell did you unhook yourself?"

"I couldn't stay there, Sam,” I confessed, my heart pounding in my chest as I inched closer to his bed. My head spun with dizziness, but I forced myself to stay upright. “Not when I knew you might be in danger."

Sam’s eyes widened further, genuine fear replacing the initial worry. "What are you talking about?” he stammered out, swinging his legs over the side of the bed to sit leaning closer towards me.

"The Viper," I said softly. “He came to see me.”

Sam's face paled at the mention of that name. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. He looked like he was struggling to take it all in, to make sense of what I had just told him.

"No..." he breathed out, shaking his head forcefully. "He wouldn't...how could he?" His voice broke down into a whisper, almost drowned out by the low hum of the hospital's air conditioning.

"He has people watching us," I admitted, feeling a lump forming in my throat. Talking about this felt like picking at an old wound, but it was necessary. Telling Sam about the Viper's threats and plans was the first step towards figuring out how to counter them.

He stared at me in disbelief, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Right…right now?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

"Don't try to get up," I said, noticing the way he was trying to push himself up from the bed. "You need rest. We'll figure this out together, just... not now."

Sam gave a weak nod, sinking back against the pillows. He looked smaller somehow, lost in the expanse of white sheets and sterile hospital equipment. “Where’s Sofia?”

I swallowed, looking away from him. “I don’t know. I think he has her.”

The words hit Sam like a physical blow. His face drained of color, his eyes wide and horrified. “No…” he breathed out, his voice feeble and shaky. His hands clenched the sheets so hard his knuckles turned white. “How did this happen?”

“Don’t blame yourself,” I said quickly, hating the guilt that was already apparent in his eyes. “It’s not your fault, Sam. The Viper… he’s cunning and cruel.”

But my words didn’t seem to reach him – he was lost in a world of guilt and fear for Sofia. “I should’ve protected her,” he murmured, his eyes glazing over with unshed tears. He was spiraling, blaming himself for something that was out of our control.

“Sam,” I said firmly, leaning over the hospital bed and gripping his shoulders, forcing him to meet my gaze. “Listen to me. This is not your fault.”

“But…”

“Seriously, Sam. This isn’t on you.”

His shoulders slumped, the fight draining from him, and he sank deeper into the pillows. "I wish I could believe that, Teo," he said softly, his eyes brimming with regret as he stared back at me, his gaze holding a depth of pain that made my heart clench tightly.

"Believe it or not, it's the truth," I fired back, holding his gaze. "No one saw this coming."

“She didn’t have to come after me. What are we going to do to get Sofia back?”

"I don't know, Sam," I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. "But we'll figure something out. We always do." I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself.

Sam looked like he was going to throw up. “Where are the rest of the guys?”

“Trying to get her back.”

He let out a shaky breath and nodded, his fingers gripping the sheets even harder. I felt a pang of empathy for him. We were all feeling helpless, left to the mercy of the Viper's twisted games.

"You should rest," I suggested, ignoring the way my own words echoed hollowly in my head.

"I can't... not now..." he protested weakly, but his eyelids were drooping. The sedatives they'd been pumping into him were kicking back in, pulling him under their heavy fog.

“You’ve been through something terrible. Rest.”

“What about you? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

"I should," I admitted, rubbing tiredly at my eyes. “But I can’t. Not now. Not when there’s still so much left to do.”

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