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Cameron’s hands clamp down on me, squeezing. “Oh my god! She moved! Mason, she moved!”
My head turns to look at the others, but my eyes wait until the last second to flick their way.
Mason’s eyes gloss over, and he glances from me to her. “Is she finally… think she’s…” He swallows, unable to say the words out loud.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out, so I turn back, release her, and reach up to cup her face in my palms. Slowly, I stroke her cheeks.
“Open your eyes for me, baby,” I breathe as Mason grips my shoulder tight for support. “Juliet, open your eyes.”
Her lids begin to flutter, and the room fills with small gasps.
My heart rate spikes, my lungs squeezing, pleading she’ll fill them with hope once more. With purpose.
“This is it,” Cameron croaks, tears falling from her eyes. “She’s waking up. Ari, come on girly, wake the fuck up.”
“Baby… come on,” I whisper, trying my damnedest to keep my emotions under control but failing.
I watch, waiting for my world to start spinning again, as my girl ever so slowly opens her eyes.
A half laugh, half cry whooshes its way out of my chest and my forehead falls to her stomach. My body shakes with relief, and I pinch my eyes to try and calm myself, if only for a second.
She blinks a few times, her eyes widening as she slowly flicks them around the room.
They settle on Mason, and she lifts her left arm.
The sight alone has my smile spreading wide.
Movement from both sides.
Thank God.
Mase pushes closer, gripping her hand and giving it a squeeze.
“Hey brat.” His voice cracks. “You scared the shit out of us.”
That gets a small smile out of her, and all our sob-muffled chuckles follow.
She tries to sit up a bit, but winces, her hands shooting to her ribs.
“Try not to move too much,” I tell her softly.
Her eyes flash to mine and hold.
Just like that, my tension-riddled body goes lax. Every part of me settles, the left corner of my mouth lifting more and more until I couldn’t possibly smile wider. “Hi, Juliet.”
My voice is strained, and her chest rises, her mouth opening, but then her hand shoots up to touch her neck.
She tries to clear her throat, wincing once more.
There’s a shuffle in the room, but she doesn’t look away until someone is lowering a cup of water in front of her.
She looks, and her lips turn up at the edges.
“Hey, stranger.” Chase smiles back, passing the cup into her open hand.
The second she takes a small sip, Cameron is there to snatch it away. Water spills all over the floor as Cam throws her arms around Ari, careful not to squeeze her too hard. “I can’t believe you’re finally awake! You scared me, you bitch.” She laughs through her tears.
Ari’s low, raspy laugh runs through me, waking me up even more.
Every nerve in my body is firing to life, I can hardly sit still.
Ari takes a deep breath, dropping her back onto the pillow behind her.
Reaching up, I use the knuckles of my index finger to push her hair from her face, and she peeks through her lashes.
“How are you feeling, baby?” I ask, realizing how fucking stupid the question might be, but I need to know. I need to hear her speak. I need to know she’s okay.
She hesitates at first, a curious pull between her brows, but then she nods. “I’m okay. My body aches everywhere and my head is starting to pound, but I think I’m okay.”
I swallow, clenching my teeth so I don’t scare her by breaking down, but her voice…
I fucking missed it.
I missed her.
God, I love her.
I couldn’t bring myself to admit it before, but for a moment there, I wasn’t so sure I’d ever get the chance to tell her.
“Wait.” She tenses, looking around again. “Why am I here? What happened?”
My eyes meet Mason’s a moment, and then I lean forward, catching her attention. “You walked into the street.”
“You ran me over?” She clutches the blanket, and the monitor behind her starts beeping wildly.
“What? No.” I frantically shake my head, tipping my chin so she’s looking in my eyes. “No, baby. A car was coming, and I couldn’t get to you in time. They didn’t see you before it was too late.”
She visibly relaxes, but her breaths are short and labored, and she winces again.
“It’s okay, little sister,” Mason rasps, reaching out and placing his hand on her ankle. “You’re okay now.”
“What the fuckity fuck? My girl’s awake and no one called me?!” Brady tears through the little bubble we’ve formed around Ari. “That’s some bullshit, right there!” He grins, leaning down to place a giant kiss on her cheek, and I want to wipe it away, replace it with my own. “Glad you’re back, Ari Baby. Our boy here turns into more of a vagina with each passing day.” He looks her over, humor his way of working through his worries. “I told him you just needed your beauty sleep, ain’t that right?” he teases, knocking his fist into my shoulder.
