She stands beside me and holds my hand as I have a complete meltdown. The only good thing about it is that she’s turned the damn machine off and it’s no longer irritatingly beeping in time with my heartbeat.
“Here,” she says when my sobs finally subside, and when I glance over, she’s holding a cup with a straw out for me.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
The silence that follows as she begins to check my vitals, something she probably should have done before now, is deafening.
“W-what happened?” I finally ask. “Why am I here?”
Her soft, sympathetic eyes find mine.
The last thing I remember was running from Seb, Theo, and Alex as they beat the shit out of Ant and Enzo.
What went so wrong after that for me to be lying here?
“You don’t remember anything?”
I shake my head, swallowing the sarcastic remark that wants to fall from my lips. It seems that even in my state, whatever that might be, I haven’t lost my sass.
“You were stabbed, Stella.”
All the air rushes out of my lungs as I process her words.
“S-stabbed?”
My eyes drop from hers to take in the state of my body.
“W-where?”
“Your abdomen. You were very, very lucky. You’ve not sustained any serious damage internally, but you lost a lot of blood.”
Lifting my hand, I take in the cannula in the back of it, the weight of the situation suddenly pressing down on me.
“You’re going to be okay, Stella.”
I nod, but it’s all I can do to muster up the energy.
Now I know the truth, it’s like my body has just given up.
I stare at my hand for three more seconds before I lose my fight and my eyes finally close.
“Stella, wait,” Toby says softly, and my body follows orders, too exhausted to even think about arguing with him. “Are you okay?”
I take a step back, colliding with the wall. My knees almost give out and I think he senses it, because he’s in front of me in a flash.
He stares into my eyes and tears fill mine faster than I’m able to comprehend.
“Shit. What’s going on? Tell me how to help.”
I suck in a ragged breath as his hand lands on my waist, his support, his presence almost enough to send me crashing into the realms of emotional breakdowns.
“I-I don’t… I just want to forget it all,” I whisper.
His eyes drop from mine and to my lips as I speak, and my heart rate picks up. When they come back up to mine, the blue is significantly darker than a few seconds ago, telling me everything he’s thinking about right now.
My chest heaves as I wait for him to win whatever internal battle he’s fighting, and when he does, my entire body sags in relief when his lips meet mine.
My eyes fly open, my heart thundering in my chest as I stare around my dark, empty room.