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“I trust you.” Penelope’s good hand cups my cheeks, her forehead pressing into mine. Even though the scent of antiseptic and hospital clings to her, I swear I could still smell that rose scent that was all her. “You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“What if I’m not?” I ask, voicing my biggest fear. What if I take this pill, and then it’s not enough, and I have to get something stronger?
“Then we’ll find a way to get you back on the right path. Please, Sebastian. I don’t want to see you hurting.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and nod reluctantly. The nurse gives me a pill, and I just stare at it for what seems like forever before taking the cup with water and swallowing it down, feeling the weight of it settle in my stomach.
“You’re really bossy, you know,” I say, pulling her to me as I lie down once the nurse leaves us alone.
“I don’t like to see you in pain,” Penelope says softly, tracing patterns over my chest. “I was so afraid I was going to lose you last night. I don’t…” She gulps audibly. “I can’t lose you.”
“Lose me? If I remember correctly, you were the one with the knife pressed against your neck.”
I tilt her head back, my gaze falling on the bandage wrapped around her slender neck.
“I thought I was going to lose you, and all I could think about was that I’d never forgive myself.”
“Sebastian…”
“I would never forgive myself, Penelope. I should have done so many things differently. Starting with telling you how much you mean to me. How you’ve changed my life for the better, and how much I love you. Because I’m so fucking in love with you, some days I can’t see straight. I love your beautiful smile, and I love your resilience, and I love your stubbornness, even though some days it drives me crazy. I love you, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it. And last night, I could have lost you without ever getting a chance to say it to you. I could have lost you.”
“You didn’t lose me. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re here.”
Penelope extends her hand, her soft palm cupping my cheek. “I’m here, and I love you too, Sebastian. I’ve always been in love with you. A part of me thinks I’ve always waited for you, which is silly because I don’t think I actually ever believed I’d get to meet you…”
“But you did. We found our way to each other, and that’s the only thing that matters. I can’t imagine my life without you in it, Penelope.”
I blink a few times, trying to chase away the blurriness. I knew I shouldn’t have taken those stupid meds.
Penelope must feel it, too, because she gently rubs her thumb over my cheek. “Try to get some rest.”
“I don’t want to sleep,” I say softly, my eyes falling shut. “A part of me is still worried I’ll wake up, and you won’t be here.”
“I promise you; I’m not going anywhere. Sleep.”
I can feel that familiar weight as she leans her head against my chest, and my body relaxes instantly. The last words I hear before I drift to sleep are a soft ‘I love you.’
CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN
PENELOPE
The sound of heels clinking against the tiles wakes me up from my slumber. I can feel the steady rise and fall of Sebastian’s chest underneath me. He’s been asleep for a while now, but even though I’ve closed my eyes, I couldn’t drift off. My mind was working overtime, trying to process everything that had happened.
“He’s asleep,” I say softly so as not to wake him. “He didn’t want to take the pain meds, but I insisted since I know his shoulder is bothering him, so they knocked him out.”
“That’s okay,” Sebastian’s mom says, the chair creaking as she sits down. “I’ll just stay here for a moment if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course.”
I try to pull back, feeling slightly awkward to lay on Sebastian when his mother was in the room with us, but even in his sleep, he’s still holding onto me.
“He really loves you,” Mrs. Black says after a while. “I have to admit, I was kind of skeptical in the beginning because Sebastian was always so distant from everybody. Oh, there were girls and women surrounding him. After all, it’s all part of the package deal that comes hand in hand with fame, but I’ve never seen him look at any of them like he looks at you.”
“And how is that?”
Mrs. Black is silent, and I think she won’t answer my question. The woman was an enigma to me, and I didn’t know what to make of her.
