A soft grin forms on his beautiful face as he shrugs. "I don't know. Six-one, six-two, maybe."
"You're like supermodel hot, you know that right?"
"Did you hit your head?" He cups my chin between his thumb and finger. "You're worrying me."
"No, my head is fine." At least physically, maybe not mentally…I just don't mention that last part. "You're just really pretty." I weave my hands under the hem of his shirt and poke my head under. "And you have a lot of abs. More than normal."
Alec swats away my hands playfully. "I have the normal amount of abs, thank you very much."
"No, I'm pretty sure there's a few extra." I chuckle and release his shirt. "But I'm apologizing because I've been an asshole to you, and you deserve much better. I was really mean to you, Alec, I'm sorry."
Alec draws in a breath and lowers himself onto the bed next to me, weaving his fingers through mine. He studies our entwined hands and meets my gaze. "You've been through a lot, Cora, probably more than you've even told me. I don't fault you for that. I don't blame you for pushing me away, or at least, trying to. I get it. I understand. I'm not mad at you for it. And I wish you'd stop punishing yourself for something I don't hold against you. This..." He holds onto my hand between his like he's afraid I might slip through his fingers like sand. "Us, that's all that matters to me." He looks at me, really stares into my eyes, his soul begging mine to comprehend how serious he is. "You're all that matters to me."
He swallows and it's as though that simple movement changed everything about his tone, his demeanor, because when he opens his mouth back up, it's unlike anything I've ever heard come out of his mouth. "I am not a violent man, Cora. I am cool-tempered, I do not yell, I do not start fights, I do not have a thirst for violence like a lot of men do. But watching you struggle like this, witnessing you go through something no other person should, well, it's sparked something to life in me that terrifies me, and I'd be lying if I said there weren't any lengths I wouldn't go through to keep you safe."
"Alec..."
"I want to kill him, Cor. Like really kill him. Make him suffer. Make him pay. Make him dream of the day he never laid a finger on you or even looked your direction. I get it now, how psycho the guys get over June...the things they've done." Alec shakes his head. "Unspeakable things. Things that will make them go straight to Hell...things a person cannot come back from. I would do that and worse, just to get you justice. To get revenge." He pauses for a second and adds, "If it's the last thing I do, I will kill him for you."
My heart pounds a little harder with each word he says, my brain unable to grasp whether he's real, whether the things he's saying are a part of my imagination, some vision I've conjured up because in reality, I died there on that crusty floor in Ricardo's torture room.
But when he squeezes my hand and averts his gaze like he's embarrassed by his confession, I know that this is real. He is real. The love we have for each other is real.
Love. I love him.
And with that realization, my chest tightens even more. How can I love him and still feel the way I do for Silver and Miller?
29
CORA
The doctor checks me over. Both the doctor and Alec insist that I get a CT scan to rule out any internal damage, and I'm told exactly what I already suspected—my ribs are fractured.
Per the doctor’s orders, I'm supposed to: take pain relievers, ice regularly the first few days to reduce swelling, and rest. The same goes for my shoulder, too. The doctor told me I was lucky, but nothing about my life feels very lucky.
There's been no update on London, and I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing.
"No news is good news, Cor," Alec attempts to reassure me but it does nothing to soothe the raging pit inside of me.
How could I let this happen? Why couldn't I have protected her?
"What time is it?" I ask him since my phone screen is too cracked to read it clearly.
He pulls out his cell and mutters, "Fuck."
"What's wrong?"
"I have like thirteen missed calls from Miller." Alec pushes the green button and presses the phone to his ear,Milleranswering without it barely ringing.
"Where is she?" Miller says so loudly I can hear him from my spotnextto Alec.
"We're at the hospital," Alec tells him.
"What room? Where are you? Tell merightnow."
Alec slides off the bed and makes his way to the door, popping his head out to check for the room number. "Uh, two nineteen."
Miller appears out of fucking nowhere, shoving past Alec to barge into the room, his gaze frantic until it meets mine.
