“Don’t say shit like that, Athena,” he murmured. “I love you, no matter what. No matter what happened to you, to me, to us, I will love you, even after I take my last breath.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-SEVEN
ATHENA
“You need to rest,” Sun said, ushering me to my bedroom. “No watching movies.”
I stared over my shoulder and into the living room, but Charlie stepped into my line of sight, following close behind us. He pulled down the blankets on my bed and gathered some pillows for me.
“But I really want to watch. We were sitting in the hospital for over two hours.”
And honestly, I wanted to get my mind off everything that had happened tonight.
Sitting at the hospital … all I could do was think about Derek’s hands all over me. Every time that Charlie had looked my way, I felt so … guilty. I didn’t mean to, and I knew he hadn’t seen it that way either. But still …
“You need to rest,” Charlie said, agreeing with Sun.
After pouting, I slipped into my bed and rested my head against the propped-up pillows. I closed my eyes and blew out a deep breath, remembering Charlie’s horrific expression when he had seen me in that cage.
“Do you still love me?” I whispered, though I knew he did. I just needed reassurance.
“Yes,” he said, sliding into the bed with me, one arm around my waist.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Sun shuffled out of the room. “I’ll get you some water.”
A couple of moments later, I listened to the front door open, and two more sets of feet scurried around our apartment. Sun returned with a glass of water and with Sierra and Evelyn, both pale with worried expressions.
“How are you feeling?” Sierra asked.
“Not good,” I whispered, clutching my head. “My head is killing me.”
“Don’t touch your bandages!” Sun exclaimed, shaking her head. She set the glass of water down and clicked her tongue at me. “You’ve been picking at them since we left the hospital, and you don’t want your head to get infected.”
“It won’t get infected.”
“You don’t know that.” Sun pointed a finger at Charlie. “You’d better make sure she doesn’t touch them when I’m gone. You know how she is.”
“Maybe Doughburgh could cheer you up?” Evelyn said, handing me a bag of sweets.
I peered into the paper bag and spotted a sampling of almost everything that they had. Warmth drifted through my body, and I held the bag to my chest, lips quivering. No, Doughburgh couldn’t make up for what had just happened. But my best friends sure did try.
“Thank you.” I glanced at the door, waiting for Heather to barge in. “Where’s Heather?”
The girls looked at each other.
“Heather is …” Sun started.
Evelyn scratched her head. “You know, she’s …”
“Heather said that she hopes you’re okay,” Sierra said, chewing on her inner cheek. “She kinda maybe got arrested for beating Derek up with the intent to kill him, and Hector’s trying to bail her out now.”
While that was serious, a laugh left my mouth.
