“We did kind of keep you horizontal for a week,” Seth says, standing up to come to her other side and support her elbow.
“I can walk,” she insists, taking a step and stumbling.
I hoist her up and carry her to the bathroom.
“I can take it from here,” she says, holding onto the doorframe.
“You sure?” I ask.
“Yes. I need… privacy. Just for a minute.”
I let her go, and she shuts the door. I stand outside, Seth leaning against the wall next to me. We listen to the water running.
“She’s okay,” Seth says, exhaling. He looks tired. We all look tired.
“Yeah,” I say. “She’s okay.”
Billy stumbles out of bed, stretching and scratching his chest. He walks over to the tray of sandwiches and grabs one, taking a massive bite. “We need to talk,” he says with his mouth full. “About what happens now.”
The toilet flushes, and the sink runs. The door opens, and Sedona walks out, holding onto the wall for support. She looks shaky but determined.
I walk over to her and scoop her up again.
“Hey!” she protests. “I was walking.”
“Barely,” I say.
I carry her back to the bed and settle her in the middle, handing her a sandwich. “Eat,” I say.
She takes a bite, chewing slowly as her eyes close in bliss. “Best sandwich ever,” she mumbles.
We all climb onto the bed and surround her, forming a protective circle. The silence is comfortable, heavy with what we just shared: six days of madness, instinct, and bonding.
Sedona finishes half the sandwich and drinks the rest of the Gatorade before setting the tray aside. She looks at us.
“I remember,” she says again. “I remember… everything. The things I said. The things we did.” She looks down at her hands. “I was scared,” she whispers. “That when the heat broke, you would regret it. That you would look at me and see a mistake.”
I reach out and grab her hand. “Look at me,” I say.
She looks up.
“I don’t regret a single second,” I say. “Not one.”
“I love you, Tex,” she says. “I think I’ve loved you my whole life. I was just too stupid to see it.”
My chest tightens until it feels like my heart is going to beat right out of my ribs.
“I love you too,” I say. “I’m never letting you go back to New York. You’re stuck with me now.”
She smiles—a watery, tremulous smile—before turning to Seth.
“Seth,” she says.
He takes her other hand and kisses her knuckles.
“I love you,” she says. “You’re my steady place. You always have been.”
Seth’s eyes crinkle. “I love you too, Sedona. Always have. Always will.”
