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Crew shakes his head no.
“How’d it happen?”
“We’ll fill you in on the details later,” Scar says, squeezing my hand. “Right now, you need rest.”
I drop my head back on the pillow. “Still can’t believe this bullshit. Was it really him this whole time?”
“Yeah, I think we’re all pretty shocked,” Jagger says. “Especially Maddie.”
“She came with me in the ambulance. I remember holding her hand.”
“Yeah,” Jagger begins, “Maddie was brought in because of the missing person’s case. The cops questioned her and she told them she woke up and left the home on her own free will. It’s far-fetched, but she dared them to try and prove otherwise.”
I smile. “Sounds like Maddie.”
My eyes start to feel heavy, and when I open them again, time has passed.
“Hey, you,” Scar says, still in the same spot she was when I must have dozed off.
I try to sit up, but I’m restrained by all the cords and wires. “Where’d everyone go?”
“Crew and Jagger took Riley back to the house. She’s still pretty shaken up. Maddie’s still here.”
“Hey, loser,” she hollers from her bed. “Glad you know you’re still alive.”
“Can’t get rid of me that easily, sis.”
“Good. Because you’re all I’ve got now. We need to stick together.”
“Bullshit,” Scar says. “We’re all family now. Me, you, Crew, Jagger, Riley,” then she looks at me, “and Neo.”
I’m not sure what to say. The asshole in me wants to make a joke or ignore these emotions. The heart inside me, that almost didn’t make it, tells me this is a second chance to make things right.
“Yeah,” I say, “we’re all family.” I grab Scar’s hand and hold it up, running my fingers over her knuckles. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got a lot of apologizing to do and you know damn well I don’t like dragging out emotional shit, so I’m just gonna say I’m sorry and then let's move on from—”
She shuts me up with her mouth. Her delicious, beautiful mouth.
When she pulls back with a grin on her face, I say, “Glad we can both agree on that.”
“I forgive you.”
“You shouldn’t, but I’ll take it.”
* * *
It’s been two days,and Scar hasn’t left my side. Well, she’s used the bathroom, showered here, and gone to the cafeteria a couple times, but only because I’ve made her. Me, her, and Maddie have played our fair share of UNO and almost every game ended with me throwing the cards because I swear to fucking God, Maddie cheats.
They’re releasing Maddie today, and I get to go home tomorrow. After a few phone calls, I got round-the-clock care set up for Maddie back in Essex. I’m going home to recover until after Thanksgiving break, and while I hate to leave when everything is so new with Scar, I know it’s best to be with Maddie right now. We’re both still dealing with the loss of our dad and while I still hate the bastard, it’s still a loss. There’s a lot we need to handle back home, so my priorities lie there for the time being. We decided not to honor our father with a memorial service. He doesn’t deserve it after all he’s done.
Besides, it’s only a couple weeks, then Scar and the guys will be back in our hometown, too. Things are going to be different from here on out. I mean, me and my best friends are all dating the same girl, so we sort of have to get along now.
But more than that, I feel different. This really is a second chance, and I have no intention of fucking it up this time around.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Scar says, with her head resting on my chest.
“It’ll go fast, and once we’re together again, nothing is going to break us apart.”
Her chest rises and falls against mine, and I savor the sound of each bated breath she takes. I cannot even fathom that I almost lost this girl. She’s thanked me dozens of times for saving her life, and Riley, too, but I don’t look at it like that. I did what I had to do, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
