“She’s awake and just threw-up.”
“Okay. Nurse is on her way.”
It should have been obvious already, but I suddenly realized that I was in a hospital and as I questioned my reasons for being here, reality sunk in like an anchor around my ankle, dragging me to the bottom of the ocean.
Theo.
Eden.
Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine.
Adrian.
Mother.
Javier.
Carlos.
My chest ached and I studied Enoch, wishing this wasn’t another hallucination.
“Ar—” my throat was raw, voice hoarse, but I pushed through the pain as his hand landing on my cheek, eyes on mine with rapt attention. “Are you real?”
Enoch nodded, “Yeah, baby.” He leaned forward, his lips on my forehead, leaving a tingling sensation as he pulled back. “I’m real. You’re safe.”
I didn’t want to cry, didn’t want my vision to be blocked by the reaction my body would have, didn’t want to lose sight of Enoch, of the safety and comfort he provided. And I needed it like a drug.
But the tears started falling, and I couldn’t get my breath to calm down.
“Shh, I’m here. You’re safe. You’re safe.”
I could hear it in his voice, that he was crying too, and I blindly reached out for him, my hand gripping on the front of hisshirt as I forced him towards me. He caught himself before he crushed me, but I just needed to feel him. I needed him to drag me back to the surface.
I was drowning.
“I love you,” I rushed out. “I love you. I love you. I love you. I l-love you.”
Why hadn’t I said it sooner?
What if I’d never gotten the chance?
What if this wasn’t real?
What if I was actually dead?
What if all of this was just a hallucination?
What if I was still trapped in that brick cell with Mother?
“Shh,” his voice hushed, the warmth of his breath fanning my ear as his hand held the back of my head. “I know. I know. I love you.”
He started to pull away, and I clutched him tighter, “No, don’t leave.”
“He’s not leaving,” a female voice spoke. “I just need to get this mask on your face.”
Enoch pried my hands off his shirt and held them in his own. “I’m not leaving. I’m right here.”
The nurse sucked in a sharp breath. “What happened?”
