“I’ll fucking kill him.”
“We don’t know if it was him.” I rub my forehead. Yes, I was terrified, I still am, but this is all a working theory. If this is why it happened, whoever did it deserves to be punished, but we can’t falsely accuse someone. And this kind of cruelty doesn’t scream Andrew to me.
He paces the room and takes his phone out. “Your parents are almost here.” He presses a couple of buttons and brings the phone up to his ear. Whoever he’s calling picks up. “I need you to look into where Andrew was tonight.” There’s a pause, and I know he’s speaking to Jake. “You already looked?”
“What?” I whisper from my bed.
Levi raises a brow at Jake’s response. “Who was on the camera feed then?” His eyes meet mine, and his other hand turns into a fist. “The doctors are testing her for it.” He nods once more. “Keep me updated.”
He brings the phone down, and I stare at him. “What did he see on the camera feed?”
“When Andrew came to the party to try to talk to you, he was trying to be your friend.” His jaw tics. “There’s only one person who hates you enough to do this. One person Jake identified on the feed.”
My eyes widen at the realization. “Tiffany?” He nods. “How?”
Levi tells me more about what Jake saw on the camera feed, but then I think about the few times I felt like somebody waslooking at me, following Levi and me. The girl in the hoodie at King’s Wolf, whose face I couldn’t see because it was partially blocked. It wasn’t paranoia, it was this psycho who made one of my worst nightmares come true.
As I’m about to tell Levi this, my family walks in, and he’s kicked out of the room. There can only be two people in at a time, according to the nurse.
I’m not even able to say good night as they drag him and my father out of the room. I hear Levi fight, until his voice fades down the hall.
“What doyou mean only one family member can stay overnight?” Ma spits out to the doctor.
“Ma,” I warn. I’m far too tired for this. It’s been two hours of MRIs and CT scans with and without contrast. I’m exhausted and my body is at its limit. The test came back, and it is now confirmed that somebody either put alcohol in my drink or switched mine with another without my consent.
“No, Stephanie. Someone hurt you tonight. You need both of us here. Levi should also be able to come in.”
I wince at the last comment. He hasn’t been allowed back into the room since he was kicked out, practically yelling at the nurse to let him back in. Even Jake’s connections have limits, and hospitals seem to be it. As much as I love my family, I only want to spend the night with Levi like I have for the past three months, but the doctors aren’t giving in.
My phone is also dead, and I haven’t been able to text him, except to quickly tell him about Tiffany possibly stalking me. He needed to know so that Jake could look into it. My moms are the only ones who’ve been keeping me updated on him, andby the simple “Fine” I get every time I ask about his state, I’m beginning to believe that he’s worse than he was before.
“Your wife can come back after eight a.m. tomorrow, and so can your boyfriend,” the nurse addresses me at the end. “Stevie needs her rest.”
My eyes burn, and my chest feels heavy at the thought of being so close, yet so far away from the man I love, after something like this happened.
“She’s right, Ma. I’m tired, let’s get some sleep.”
Without waiting for a response, I turn to face the wall and close my eyes, letting sleep take me, knowing I’ll see him the second I wake up.
“Bambi,”I hear a distant husky voice say. “You need to wake up, my love.” Levi’s voice once again fills my head.
I must be dreaming. He rarely calls me that, and it can’t be eight a.m. yet. I just went to sleep. “Baby, please.” A featherlight kiss presses against my lips.
Finally realizing he’s here, I open my eyes to meet the beautiful man standing in front of me. An exhausted-looking Levi, yet hot nonetheless.
“Hey, Hotshot,” I rasp out with a dry throat. “What time is it?” Moving my hands upward, I feel the wires move against my scalp. I groan. “Oh God, I must look like crap.”
Levi raises a brow, then lets out a ragged breath. “Shut up, you look beautiful as always.” He squeezes my hand.
That’s such bullcrap. Nobody can make these wires work. “It’s almost eleven. I know you needed to sleep, but I couldn’t wait anymore.”
He caresses my cheek, and I lean into his touch, reaching up to do the same to him. “Did you call me your love?”
He kisses the inside of my hand and nods. “Yes. You are my love. The love of my life.”
I inhale a sharp breath. “Levi?—”
“Marry me.”
