Why was Cole the one sitting here?
But before I could find an answer, all I could see were his dark brown eyes, and then nothing at all.
Chapter Two
Cole
The hospital never really slept.
Even when the lights dimmed and the hallway quieted, the place stayed alert.Machines hummed, doors opened and closed, and footsteps passed by like reminders that pain didn’t take breaks.
I sat in the chair beside Star’s bed with my boots planted on the tile and my cut draped over my shoulders.I hadn’t slept much.That was fine.I didn’t need to.
She did.
Star was out cold now.Not the restless kind of sleep.The kind where her body finally gave in and stopped fighting.
A nurse had come in earlier.I’d watched the whole thing—not because I didn’t trust her, but because I didn’t trust anything.Not after what had happened.She’d checked vitals, adjusted the IV, scribbled notes, and shot me a look like she was trying to figure out if I was family or trouble.
Didn’t matter.
I wasn’t leaving.
Morning crept in through the blinds in thin gray lines.The monitor beeped steadily and patiently, like it had all the time in the world.Star’s breathing stayed even.
Alive.Stable.That was what mattered.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
I stilled, and my eyes flicked to Star’s face.She didn’t move.I stood quietly and stepped toward the window before answering.
“Yeah,” I said.
“You upright or down for the count?”Dad asked.
I glanced back at the bed.“Upright.”
“Figures.She wake up?”
“A little.Water.Passed back out.”
“That’s good.”
I waited.Dad didn’t call just to check in.
“What’s the plan?”I asked.
“Same as always,” he said.“We find who did it.”
“And?”
“And we make sure they can’t do it again.”
That sat heavy but solid.
“Police still working it?”I asked.
Dad let out a low breath.“They’re doing what police do.”
