“At what point did you think I was just going to let you go home alone?” He snaps at me, “You’re only just getting out the hospital after spending over a month here and still can’t remember everything. Leaving you to just fend for yourself isn’t something I am willing to do.”
“I’m a big girl,” I snap at him, “I’ve been looking after myself for years. I’m not a kid!”
“Why were you driving that night?” He hits back.
I open my mouth to argue with him but then snap it shut because fuck if I know.
“That’s not fair,” I tell him instead.
“I almost lost you, Savannah,” He sighs, “I was fucking terrified I was going to have to bury my baby sister. I can’t just let you go home after all of this; you’re not even fully recovered.”
“It was an accident,” My chin dips in defeat, “I’m sorry.”
The elevators doors open and I step into the cart, Bast stepping in beside me.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Savvy,” Sebastian rasps and I finally look over to him. It’s there on his face how terrified he was at the idea of losing me. “But just humor me on this, please, just until you’re better.”
“I’ll give you a couple of days,” I compromise, “But I have to get back to my life at some point, I don’t want this to change it.”
He sighs, “Okay, deal.”
Once the bags are in the back of the SUV, I climb up front and buckle in, a bundle of nerves suddenly tightening in the pit of my stomach. Anxiety washes through me and only heightens as he pulls out of the parking lot and onto the Main Street.
My fingers curl around the handle on the door, white knuckling it to the point of pain and all my muscles tighten, bracing.
It’s fine, everything is fine.
I can’t even place the fear, I can’t remember the accident, but Iknow. We pull up to a stoplight and cars whizz through the junction.
It won’t happen again.
I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to tune out the sound of tires on tarmac until the sound of crunching metal and an echoing bang go off inside my head instead. It’s screeching and hissing, and glass shattering as my body is thrown to the side.
“Savannah!” My eyes snap open to Sebastian shaking my knee, desperately trying to get my attention. “What happened?”
He’s pulled over to the side of the road now on a quieter street, the traffic still moving behind us.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, unwrapping my cramped fingers from the handle, “I thought… I think I remembered part of the crash.”
His green eyes search my face, “The doctor said it could happen,” His voice is soft and empathetic, “Routine and daily habits could bring them back. I didn’t think it wouldhappen so soon.”
“It wasn’t… I just heard noises; I didn’t see anything.”
“You didn’t remember anything else?” He pushes.
“No,” My heart feels as if it’s trying to burst outside of my chest, battering against my ribcage, “Can we just go?”
“I’ll drive slow,” He assures me, “We can take it easy.”
“Okay,” I let out the breath lodged in my throat, “Thank you.”
Sebastian does as he promised and drives us back to his house, only using backroads and quiet streets to get there and the moment he stops us in the driveway and Willow is standing there, Hope in her arms, I begin to relax.
“You’re free,” She grins at me once I get out the car, “How does it feel?”
“So good,” I boop Hope on the nose and get a cute, gummy smile in return. “She smiled!” I gasp.
Willow softens, “She started smiling about a month ago.”
