I take the pills from her, downing them in one swallow with the glass of water she hands me. She checks my vitals, then leaves the room after telling me if I need anything else to let her know.
When she’s gone, I close my eyes, but when all I see are flashes of Damien—fist drawn back to hit me, blue eyes burning with anger, hands tight around my throat—I open them again.
“You okay?” The bed dips with Arlo’s weight as he sits down beside me.
“As okay as I can be, I guess.”
He holds a hand out, and I take it, squeezing his fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
My eyes dart to his. “Why are you sorry? You didn’t beat the shit out of me.”
“I left. I shouldn’t have. If I had stayed, this wouldn’t have happened.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “Maybe it wouldn’t have happened tonight, but it would have happened eventually. He was watching me. Or having me watched, rather.”
Arlo’s eyes widen. “Remember at Hobby Lobby when I got distracted? I think I saw him that day. I didn’t get a chance to ask him if it was him.” I let out a pained laugh. “No guarantee he would have told me the truth anyway.”
“Fuck,” Arlo breathes. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“I don’t know, really. Thought I was crazy.”
Austin didn’t want me to get hurt. He worked so hard to make sure I didn’t. I’m not even sure if he knows I’m okay. Not in any real way. He was so out of it, I’d almost think he was the one with a concussion.
Tears burn my eyes. “Fuck,” I croak. This could have all been avoided if I had just fuckingtoldAustin about my weird feelings instead of hiding them. It didn’t have to be this way. “I should have pressed charges against Damien. Got a protective order or something.”
“That’s just a piece of paper, Luca. Do you think it would have mattered?”
I nod, then shake my head because really? I have no fucking clue. Probably not, but it might have protected Austin more.
“Is Damien here?” I ask, suddenly curious where he is.
Arlo hesitates before finally nodding. “Yeah, he’s two doors down. They have him in a medically induced coma.”
“Did they tell you that?”
He shakes his head. “No. I overheard them talking about it.”
“I want to see him.”
I need to, I think. He didn’t win. He didn’t beat me. I mean, sure, I’m lying in a hospital bed, but he didn’t hurt me. Not where it matters. Not in my spirit or my heart. I want to see his battered face. I want to tell him to fuck himself. I don’t even know if he’d be able to hear me, but I bet it would still be good to say it.
“I can try to sneak you in there.”
Shock reverberates through me. “I thought you’d say it was a bad idea.”
Arlo shrugs. “I know a thing or two about needing to say goodbye to people who hurt you. If you think you need to see him to close that chapter, I’ll help in any way I can.”
My heart lurches, part sadness for whatever Arlo is carrying, part fear about Damien. “What if I fall apart? What if I can’t do it?”
Tightening his grip on my hand, he leans over, a lock of hair falling across his forehead. “Then you fall apart, and I’ll help you hold the pieces. But youcando it.”
“Fuck. Okay. Alright.” I try to sit up, and my head throbs. “Do you think you can help me up?”
Arlo stands, then carefully helps me get my legs over the edge of the bed and pulls me to my feet. With an arm wrapped around my waist, he helps me walk across the room to the door.
He opens it, carefully peeking out into the hallway. “The halls are empty. Can you stand here while I see if there’s anyone in his room?”
