THEO
The knife drivesinto my body in slow motion. Skin piercing as cold metal slices into muscle.My mind plays it on a loop over and over until I gasp awake.
I open my eyes, expecting to see Shane, but it’s so bright I have to squeeze them shut again. It takes me a moment to realise I’m no longer tied up. My back is no longer pushed up against an unforgiving wooden post—I’m lying on a firm mattress.
A hand slides into mine, warm and clammy. “Teddy?” Bailey’s voice is small and uncertain. He squeezes my hand tighter, and my eyes land on his, the flash of gold in his irises makes me choke on a sob.
“Where’s Shane?” I ask, voice croaking. I can’t remember anything past the knife going into my leg. Lifting the blanket that’s covering me, I see a large bandage covering my thigh.
“Gone,” he says curtly. “After you passed out, Shane … he told me what really happened with my dad, and why he had fucked with my head for years.”
Wincing, I lean over and put my hand on his cheek, stroking my thumb along his jaw. He leans into it, kissing my palm. “I wanted to go for him, Teddy,” he whispers. “If the police hadn’t shown up, I think I would have. It would have finally given him what he wanted: for me to be just like him,” he chokes out.
I shush him, cupping his jaw and forcing him to look at me. “You arenothinglike your brother. Even if you had hurt him, Bay. He hurt you first—foryears. Took your childhood and destroyed anyone who dared to love you. If I’d managed to get free of the ropes, I can promise you I would have done a lot more than hurt him.”
“Really?” he whimpers.
I nod. “Yeah. For you and for me. The urge to hurt him—it wasn’t a want, it was a need. You needed to get him away so that you could protect yourself.”
“I didn’t care about myself! I wanted to get you down off the post and call a fucking ambulance, but he wouldn’t shut up.”
“How did the police know where we were?”
“Robbie and Noah saw on the news that Shane was wanted for murder. They went around the farm checking all the buildings, just in case.” He stares at my hand, tracing circles on the back of it. “The police searched the buildings that Robbie and Noah hadn’t checked yet and found us at the far end of the estate.”
“And what happened to Shane?”
“The police wanted us to drop our knives, Shane didn’t. They … Shane’s dead, he isn’t coming back,” Bailey chokes out.
Lord help me, but those two words send relief flooding through my veins. I close my eyes and let my head fall back onto the pillow, grumbling, “Fuck, I’m tired.”
“Me too. Unlike you, I haven’t slept for the past sixteen hours,” Bailey chuckles weakly. I watch as his face scrunches up and he struggles to draw breath.
“Don’t cry. You’rehere,mo leannan. We’re both still here.” When he lifts his head and holds my gaze, tears cling to his lashes. Any anger that had built up softens. “I love you, Bay.”
I watch his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows and chokes out, “I love you too.”
I should have expectedthat everyone would follow me home. Bailey helps me out of Robbie’s car with a hand under my elbow, and Noah hands me the crutches the hospital provided. I feel as though I’ve been in a train wreck. Just standing upright pulls on my aching muscles.
When I turn around, my grandparents, parents, and Isla are all getting out of their cars. My cottage is absolutely not big enough for this many people.
“Ma, I’m fine, go back to the farmhouse, please,” I say as she follows on my heels through the front door.
“I want to make sure you’re taken care of, Theo. I’ll cook you some food so you can microwave it throughout the week.”
“You don’t need to do that, Bailey’s staying here …” I look at Bailey sharply. “You’re staying here, yes? Or do you need to go back to Cumbria?”
Bailey looks nervously at Noah, “I need to talk to Jake, but I’m not going back to Cumbria yet.”
“I already called Jake. He’s not expecting you back anytime soon.”
Bailey nods and looks back at me, “I’ll stay with you until you get back on your feet, and then I’ll—I’ll figure out what to do after that.”
“There, Ma, Bailey can cook and clean for me.” I grin at him.
“Good luck. He’s a terrible fucking cook.” Noah laughs as Bailey shoots him a look.
Ma side-eyes Bailey like she’s unsure whether she can trust him to feed me properly.
