I headed down the hall, but the sound of voices coming from Ava’s room stopped me.
“You want to know what the last thing I said to Ava was?” Ez asked with a sniffle. He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I told her to leave me alone, that I didn’t want her around me anymore. But I never thought she’d actually begone…”
“She’ll heal,” Sophia said, though her tone wavered like she wasn’t certain.
“I’m sorry for what I said in the hall, Dad,” Ez added. “I didn’t mean it—”
“Yes, you did,” his father said. “And you were right. About all of it. You have nothing to apologize for. I hurt you, and you should be proud of yourself for how brave you were to stand up to me. I needed to hear it, so I can do better. I’m sorry I pushed you. I’m sorry I was hard on you. None of the lessons I tried to teach any one of you kids matters if it means you’re no longer a part of my life. I love you and Ava both, Ezekiel. My kids are my life. My greatest hope is that this family stays together. We’ll make it through this. All of us.”
I heard the squeak of a chair, and I knew they had to be embracing.
“I love you, Dad,” Ez said softly.
“I love you, too,” Liam replied.
Footsteps approached the doorway, and I stood straighter. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. The door swung open, and Ez made a sound before nearly ramming into me.
“Charlie,” he said. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Didn’t see you, either,” I deadpanned. I knew he didn’t need it, but I was fucking pissed at him right now. Ava had been crushed by what he’d said, and they hadn’t made up before all of this. If she didn’t recover—
I cut that thought off before it could go any further.
Ez sighed. “Look, Charlie. I’m sorry. More than sorry. There’s nothing I can say, really. I was a total dick to Ava, and I wish I could take it all back.”
He sounded so torn up, and my heart broke for him. I relaxed a little. “You couldn’t have known what was going to happen,” I said. “We all say stuff we regret when we’re upset. I think Ava would just want you to be there when she wakes up, you know? She’ll forgive you. I know she will.”
“But she’s not—” Ez choked up. “Charlie… what if she doesn’t wake up?”
“She has to,” I nearly growled. For him to suggest otherwise was fucked up.
Ez sniffled. “I love her so much, you know?”
Of course I knew. No one loved Ava as much as I did.
“I just wish she knew it,” Ez said.
Then Ez hugged me. At first, I was caught so off guard that all I could do was freeze. I’d been hugged so few times in my life that it seemed unnatural. But when Ez hugged me, he embraced me like a brother. No one had ever hugged me like that before. It felt like we were actually family, and I realized… we were. So I hugged him back.
“She knows,” I assured him. “I’m sure of it.”
Ez cleared his throat, then backed away quickly, like he didn’t want to make things too awkward. “Thanks, Charlie. I’ve gotta get back to Opal.”
He rushed off down the hall before I could say anything else. I turned back to Ava’s hospital room.
A familiar voice played quietly on TV. It was one of the newscasters who reported on the secret channel for supernaturals. This program was always playing in the Villain’s Den. It was one of the few channels that actually came in on campus.
“Liam, turn it off,” Sophia begged.
“We need to know what’s going on out there. If the Union buys the Warden’s story—” Liam said, but he cut off when I entered the room.
“Charlie,” Sophia said, sounding relieved.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and stood near the door. It was the first time I had a chance to talk to Ava’s parents since everything happened, and I didn’t know what to say. All I could manage was, “How is she?”
“Not any better,” Liam practically sneered. He didn’t sound mad at me— just deeply hurt by the situation.
“Are you both all right?” I asked.
