“I’m glad you’re here,” I say. “All of you.”
Eventually, the room settles into something like peace.
But it doesn’t last long. The nurse comes in again and says it’s time for me to rest—alone. They’ve already bent the visitor policy to let everyone in at once, and now it’s time to let my body start healing.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Macy says as she stands reluctantly, grabbing her purse from the chair she’d attacked earlier. “But we should get some food, before I attack something bigger than that chair.”
“You can come back in a few hours,” I assure her.
Makenna smooths her blazer and leans down to adjust my blanket, just like she would do when Mom left her to babysit.
“If you need anything, I’ll be down in the lobby threatening to sue the hospital admin until they bring it to you,” she says with a small smile before brushing a kiss to my temple.
I laugh, weakly but genuinely, knowing that she absolutely means it.
Mom stands, too. She doesn’t say anything at first. She just looks at me with those same tired eyes that somehow still hold all the strength in the world—the same way they always had.
“We’ll just be downstairs,” she reminds me. “Get some rest, darling.”
She brushes the hair away from my face before kissing the top of my head—light, careful.
Then they leave, one by one, until I’m alone again, drifting back to sleep.
Chapter forty-eight
"Yours" - Russell Dickerson
Grayson
Idon’t want to leave her.
Even with the monitors steady and the nurse swearing she’s stable—especially with her awake and looking at me like I’m her whole world—walking out of her room feltwrong.
But I have to do it.
She’s alive. She’d made it. I’m not going to waste another second pretending like I don’t already know exactly what I want.
I’d already told the hospital staff that she’s my fiancée.
It’s time to make it true.
Johanna and Rylee are waiting right outside the door when I step back into the hallway.
“She’s awake,” I tell them as the nurse slips inside. “She looks exhausted. She’s probably in pain. But she’s okay.”
Rylee covers her mouth, her eyes welling up instantly.
“Thank you, God,” she whispers.
Johanna lets out a long, sharp breath—like she’s been holding it in since she got the call. “You’re sure?”
“She squeezed my hand,” I say. “Looked right at me. She’s here.”
She closes her eyes and her shoulders visibly relax.
“You should go in, once the nurse is finished,” I add, glancing toward the door. “She’ll want to see you both.”
Rylee nods quickly, but then pauses. The look she gives me hits like a brick wall.
