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Several people rushed over to me with a bed, and someone in dark-blue scrubs told me to put her on it. They wheeled her away. My feet carried me forward, intent on going in there with her.
“You can’t go in there,” a soft voice said. I turned to look at the nurse, about to tell her I didn’t care what she said. I wasn’t leaving Aria’s side, not again, but beeping machines had my attention back on Aria as they slammed doors to a room shut.
“No!” I shouted, running toward them as they started to pump at her chest. She couldn’t be gone, not now, not after everything. She’d fought too hard, she’d gotten help, she was in a better place. She couldn’t die. I refused to let her die.
“Cade.” Ford grabbed my arms, but I wrestled to get out of his grip.
“Son!” Dad’s voice shouted, and my chest started to cave in. I couldn’t take my gaze off the room as she flatlined. I couldn’t look away in fear that, if I did, I’d miss the moment her heart beat again.
Lola’s gasp echoed next to me, and the fight left my body. I’d not been there. I’d left her, and now she’d left me, in the most permanent way possible.
The nurse touched my arm, but I didn’t make a move to acknowledge her. “You can all wait in the waiting room. A doctor will update you as soon as we have information.”
My feet were stuck to the white floor, unable to move. I couldn’t leave until I saw the—
A beep sounded, and then another, and I took another step toward the room, seeing the beat of her heart on the monitor.
She was alive—for now.
Chapter Seventeen
CADE
It had been hours. Hours of me pacing the waiting room while they worked on Aria. Hours waiting for someone to come and tell us she was okay. Hours while I was left in limbo, feeling my heart cracking, threatening to shatter.
Dad had tried several times to get me to talk, but I wouldn’t say a word, not until I knew she was okay. I needed to know she was still fighting—still breathing.
Lola sat huddled in the corner with Dad next to her, and Ford sat opposite them. Dad’s team had been at the house when we’d left, so I assumed they were watching Belle and Asher. Lola said she’d called Jan and Sal on the way to the hospital, but they wouldn’t be here until the morning. The clock on the wall read 3 a.m., and the more time went by without an update, the more I fretted what would happen.
Was she dying in there? Or had they brought her back completely and needed time to assess her. Had Dr. Bay turned up yet?
“Sit down, son,” Dad said, his voice tired. “You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor.” I didn’t stop pacing, not until he stood and entered the path I’d been walking for hours. “If you’re not gonna tell us what’s been going on, then at least try and get some sleep.”
“Can’t,” I croaked out, my eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the minute. “I need to know she’s okay.” I pushed my fingers into my hair, gripping on the ends and feeling the burn along my scalp. “I get it now,” I said, meeting Dad’s stare.
“Get what?”
“When you told me you couldn’t choose who you love.” I slowly sat down in one of the wooden chairs, not moving my gaze off his. “I never understood what you meant when you said that, but I get it now.” I paused. “I get it.”
“You love her,” Dad said. It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded anyway. “That kind of love only comes around once in a lifetime, son. You make sure you hold on to it and never let go no matter what.” He sat next to me, his hand squeezing my shoulder. “She’ll be okay.”
“How do you know?” I asked, hoping he’d tell me something I desperately needed to hear. He patted his chest over his heart. “I know in here. This isn’t how this ends. Fate wouldn’t bring you together to rip you apart.”
“I hope you’re right.” My voice wasn’t my own. It was different—tired, heartbroken, hopeful. I let my eyes close for a second, feeling the utter tiredness set in.
“Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up if anyone comes in.”
I couldn’t even open my eyes to tell him I needed to stay awake. My body shut down, and with it, my brain. I needed rest, but I didn’t want it. I wanted to be here when someone came in to tell us how Aria was doing. She needed me to be there with her, holding her hand and promising I’d never let go. She needed me, but I needed her more. I needed her more than I’d ever realized.
“Lola?” The sound of Jan’s voice had my eyes springing open and my body shooting out of my seat. Tears streamed down her face as she ran toward Lola. “What happened?”
“I…” Lola’s gaze flicked over to Dad and me. “I went out to get groceries, and when I came back.” Lola paused, and I could see she was trying to collect herself. “When I got back, I noticed my calendar was ripped and realized what the date was.”
“The date?” Jan asked, her brows furrowing. “I don’t—oh my god. Her dad.”
“But then Aria wouldn’t answer me and then…it all happened so fast. I don’t…I don’t know how it happened. She cut herself, and…” Lola hiccupped a sob, and although I knew how she felt, I couldn’t help feeling anger toward Jan. She hadn’t been there when Aria needed her most. She’d known what was happening in her house all those years and hadn’t protected her from it.
“Cut herself?” Jan asked, her voice sounding far away.
