He pulled a chair close to her bed and let Bella take a seat. She picked up her sister’s hand and held it tightly.
“Sam, it’s Bella.” The teen’s voice cracked. “I love you.”
He couldn’t take it any longer. He walked around to the far side of the bed, where he gently took her other hand in his. It was warm and soft. He brought it to his mouth and placed a small kiss on the back of it.
The line between witness and something more was becoming increasingly blurry. He wanted nothing more than to lean in, hold her, let the rest of the world fade. But he couldn’t let that happen. Not yet. Even if he was beginning to pray that there would be a time in the not-too-distant future when he could.
He reached out, his fingers gently brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek. “Don’t you dare leave me,” he whispered, his voice rough with an emotion he could no longer hide.
TWENTY-ONE
Something soft and warm rubbed circles across the back of her hand, pulling her from the dark. Quiet voices filtered through the annoying beeping. She turned her head toward the sounds.
“She’s waking up.”
Her whole body ached, and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. It took considerable willpower, but she pried her eyes open, then had to immediately squeeze them shut.
“Kill the lights,” the same husky voice said.
The room dimmed. She opened her eyes and focused on the face next to her. Chestnut-brown hair and a square jaw slowly came into focus.
“Sam?” Someone squeezed her hand.
She knew that voice. “Liam?”
He smiled and nodded. “How do you feel?”
“Everything hurts. What happened?” Her mouth was dry, and her throat ached.
“What do you remember?” His brows dipped.
She searched her memory. “I remember you dropping me off this morning.” There was more, she knew it, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.
“Nothing after that?” Lieutenant Fischer stepped into her line of sight.
What was he doing here?
She shook her head, and sharp pain cascaded through her head. She grimaced.
“It’s okay. Just relax.” Liam squeezed her hand.
“I’m just so tired.” She closed her eyes.
“I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Liam whispered before she drifted off to sleep.
“Sam, sweetheart, can you wake up for me?” a soft, feminine voice asked.
Sam turned her head and opened her eyes.
“There you are.” A brunette woman in hospital scrubs smiled at her. “My name is Neveah, and I’ll be your nurse tonight.” The woman looked at the machine next to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
Sam could hear whispering behind the nurse. Who else was there?
“I’m a little sore.” She vaguely remembered waking up at some point and being in pain, but right now it wasn’t as bad.
“That’s to be expected. Can you rate your pain for me on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst?”
Sam took stock of all the pain. “Um, a three. What happened to me?”
