“I’m so glad.”
“Are you here to read to me?”
“Actually, I’m visiting somebody.”
“Oh, hope they’re doing okay.”
I hang a thumb over my shoulder. “They’re just next door.”
He waves me off. “Give them my best.”
I clutch my heart. In his state, he’s still so caring of other people. “Thank you. You’re the sweetest.”
I move across to the next room and gradually make it to Dax’s bedside. He’s hooked up to an IV, a tube runs into his nose, and he’s connected to monitors. I clutch his tattooed hand and lower to the seat beside his bed. I watch his closed eyes as I press a kiss onto his hand.
I gently place his hand down and unclasp the chain around my neck. I set the St. Christopher pendant by his pillow, hoping it’ll bring him back to me.
“Ness?” a soft voice whispers from the doorway.
I turn and find Sylvie and Hope huddled together.
“Oh my gosh. What are you doing here? You said you’d never set foot in this place.”
They step into the room, clutching hands.
“Weheard about all the crazy stuff that happened,” Sylvie says, wide-eyed. “Like, wow, are you okay?”
I rub my hands over Dax’s and nod heavily.
Hope steps closer and presses her hand onto my shoulder. It lingers as she searches for the right words. In the silence, I look up at her and am surprised by the welling of her eyes.
“I’m so sorry you went through all this.” Hope gulps when her voice cracks. She eyes Dax. “And you put yourself in danger for him?”
“I love him,” I murmur.
She lifts her hand off me. “I’m sorry for getting in the middle of you two. I shouldn’t have sabotaged your love life.”
I sigh. “I would’ve done the same thing under different circumstances.”
Sylvie fiddles with her necklace. “I’m prepared to put down the gossip-fueled, social-damaging weapons if you two are.”
“Why do you think I’ve been avoiding school?” I reply. “I don’t want to do that stuff anymore.”
Hope pats her eyes dry. “I only did the social media post because I thought if more people agreed with me, you’d finally see the light.” She hides her face with her hand. “But they didn’t agree with me.”
I look at her sideways. “They voted for Dax?”
“You didn’t see the results?” Sylvie questions.
“No. I blocked Hope, so I wouldn’t retaliate.”
Hope’s jaw drops. “You blocked me?”
“Believe me, I could’ve done a lot worse. You have Dax to thank for that.”
Hope nods, knowing my reputation-damaging capabilities. “Oh, okay. Thanks.”
I look Hope square in the eyes. “You should spend more time with your sister. She’s shown me so much compassion.”
