Chapter 201
When I get up this time, Noah doesn’t reach for me. He just lets out a quiet sigh behind me and I pause for half a second, waiting for him to argue again, to tell me to sit back down, to rest, to listen byt he doesn’t.
I don’t say anything, I just walk out.
The hallway feels too bright after that room. My head still aches faintly, a dull pressure sitting behind my eyes, but I ignore it. I follow the direction I saw them take Zane earlier, my steps slower now, more careful, like my body is still catching up with everything that’s happened.
I find the room easily, There’s a glass panel in the door and I stop right in front of it but I don’t go in.
I just stand there looking He’s on the bed, hooked up to machines, his shirt gone, bandages wrapped tight around his abdomen. There’s a doctor near him, adjusting something, and another nurse moving around quietly.
He looks… still but his chest is rising, That’s all I needed to see.
I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding, my shoulders dropping slightly.
Okay. He’s alive and he’s being taken care of, that’s enough That has to be enough.
I turn away before I can think too much about it, before I can change my mind and walk in.
Noah is leaning against the wall a few steps away, arms crossed, watching me.
I meet his eyes.
“Can you take me home?” I ask quietly.
He doesn’t hesitate.
“Of course.” No questions asked.
We walk out together.
The hospital air feels colder now as we leave, or maybe it’s just me finally coming down from everything. The car ride is quieter this time. I don’t keep looking back anymore. I just sit there, staring ahead, my body heavy, my mind… not even sure what it’s doing.
Trying not to think or not to feel.
Noah’s phone rings, cutting through the silence…he glances at it, then answers.
“Yeah p>
Caleb’s voice comes through loud enough that I can hear it from here.
“Are you okay? Did you find her? Is she with you p>
There’s panic in his voice and behind him, I can hear Ivy her voice overlapping, rushed, anxious.
“Is she there? Noah, is she okay? Let me talk to her p>
Noah lets out a small chuckle, shaking his head slightly.
“I’ve got her. Relax. We’re on our way home p>
There’s a pause, then more noise from the other end, but Noah cuts in.
“I’ll talk when I get there. I’m driving p>
And he hangs up.
The rest of the drive is quiet again as it takes a while, but when we finally pull up to my brothers’ house, something in my chest tightens.
Home.
The car barely stops before the front door swings open and ivy comes running out barefoot, hair a mess.
She doesn’t even wait properly for me to get out of the car before she’s right there, grabbing onto me the second my feet touch the ground.
“El p>
Her arms wrap around me tightly so tightly but I don’t complain as I hug her back.
She’s shaking.
When she pulls back, there are tears all over her face as hr eyes scan me quickly, like she’s checking every part of me.
“You lost so much weight,” she blurts out, voice breaking. “You look so skinny and dirty and and p>
She sniffles hard.
“You need to eat. And ew you need a bath too p>
I stare at her for a second…then I let out a small, tired chuckle.
“Yeah,” I say softly. “I need a bath p>
She nods like that settles everything, grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
We head inside and the house feels warm and safe with Caleb already there in the living room, waiting.
The moment he sees me, his expression softens.
“Hey,” he says, stepping forward then he pulls me into a brief hug, not as tight as Ivy’s, but just as real.
“Sit,” he says after, guiding me toward the couch. “You look like you might fall over any second p>
He’s not wrong.
I sit my body sinking into the couch like it’s been waiting for this all day.
Caleb turns toward the kitchen.
“Mia!” he calls out. “Bring it out p>
Then he looks back at me.
“When Noah said you were coming home, I told her to make your favorite smoothie p>
Something in me stills but I don’t react yet a few seconds later, Mia walks in, same as always with a tray in her hand.
And on it a glass full of smoothie.
The sight of it makes something twist in my stomach.
She walks closer, holding it out slightly.
I get up from the couch slowly, my eyes don’t leave her face.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Mia p>
Mia blinks at me like she didn’t hear me right Ormaybe she did, and she’s just buying time.
“I’m just happy you’re back,” she says, a little too quickly, her smile not sitting right on her face. “That’s all p>
I tilt my head slightly, watching her.
“Drink it p>
Caleb shifts beside me. “What’s going on, El p>
I don’t look at him.
“It’s probably nothing,” I say, though my eyes never leave Mia. “Just… drink it p>
Mia lets out a small, awkward laugh, shaking her head.
“No, this is for you,” she says, nudging the tray forward a little. “I made it just the way you like p>
“I said drink it p>
This time there’s no softness in it.
Ivy goes quiet.
Noah, who had been leaning casually by the doorway, straightens a bit.
Caleb’s eyes move between me and Mia, confusion starting to settle into something heavier.
Mia hesitates for a second but I see it And that’s enough.
“I can’t drink it,” she says finally, her voice thinner now. “It’s yours p>
“Why can’t you?” I cut in.
She opens her mouth then closes jt, her fingers tightening slightly around the tray.