We’re all sitting around playing Never Have I Ever to pass the time when someone I never would have expected comes through the door.
“You know,” Grayson says, looking around the room, “I’m getting really sick of coming to this place.” His gaze lands on me and he tsks playfully. “Tessa, Tessa, Tessa. Always getting yourself into shit.”
A disbelieving smile spreads across my face. “What the hell? When did you get here?”
“Our plane landed about a half hour ago,” Savannah appears in the doorway. “The plane we got on as soon as I got Delaney’s phone call.”
“Sav?”
She shakes her head. “What? You think because I’m closer with Laney that makes you any less my sister? Hate me all you want, that’s fine, but you’re stuck with me.”
My eyes water as all the animosity I had toward her goes right out the window. She comes closer and hugs me, and for the first time in years, I realize how much I’ve missed her. When she pulls away, Grayson sits on the other side of my bed.
“Psst,” he whispers loudly, like everyone can’t hear him. “Do you realize you have two professional football players in your hospital room?”
Everyone chuckles as I play along.
“Yes,” I whisper-shout back.
His brows furrow. “Are they lost?”
“No. They’re my little playthings. I kidnapped them and claimed them for myself.”
His grin widens, and he high-fives me. “I’d expect nothing less from you, CBP.”
I throw my head back, groaning. “Not you, too!”
Asher’s confusion is evident as he looks at me. “What am I missing?”
“Knox started this nickname for me, CBP, and he absolutely refuses to tell me what it means.”
He mouths each letter slowly as he tries to figure it out. Then, somehow unbeknownst to me, he gets it and starts cracking up. Great, someone else in on the joke.
“Babe, really? You haven’t figured that out?”
I shake my head with a pout.
He leans in closer. “C–B–P. Cute But Psycho.”
My jaw drops, and I look over at Knox, who is cackling. “You’re an asshole, and if I wasn’t in a hospital bed, I’d kick your ass.”
Knox bends down and puts his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Yeah, but he just figured it out with no help, so what’s that say about you?”
I roll my eyes, trying my hardest not to laugh even though it really is funny. “It says I need new friends.”
Looking around, I realize all the people who are here for me. Delaney, Lennon, and Savannah. Knox and Zayn. Asher and Colby. Last night I felt so alone that I allowed the past to convince me that I’m not good enough. That these people who love me would be better off if I wasn’t around. But I don’t think that’s true. It can’t be, not if they’re here, coming from all over the country just to be there for me. I may not have been enough for my uncle, or even my dad, but I am enough for all of them, and that is enough for me.
One of the nurses comes in, her eyes focused on her tablet. When she looks up, she stops and her cheeks tint pink.
“Wow, that’s a lot of attractive men,” she tells me and I chuckle. Then, she turns to Asher. “We have a bit of a problem. It seems someone caught wind of you being here. Reporters are flooding the parking lot.”
Asher’s eyes meet mine before looking back at her. “Okay, thanks for telling me.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “That’s all you’re going to say?”
“What else did you expect? That I’m going to leave you here? No way in hell.” His tone is full of assurance. “Besides, all they know is that I’m at a hospital, with thousands of patients.”
“Uh,” Colby chimes in, looking down at his phone. “That’s not entirely true. Someone figured out that Tessa’s one of those patients, and your student, and they’re starting to put the pieces together on how much she looks like the woman you’ve been seen with lately.”