"Do you want a drink?" I reach for the cup of what I think is water sitting on the bedside tray.
"Could..." She pauses to her clear throat. "Could you get me a soda?"
I nod a bit too enthusiastically. "Of course, yes. What kind?"
"Sprite, if they have it."
"On it," Miller says from the door. "I'll be right back. Scream if something happens."
I focus my attention back on London. "What else do you need? What can I do for you?"
"I'm kind of cold." She wiggles her toes as they hang out from the bottom of the blanket.
"I can fix that." I rise from the bed and rummage through the drawers and closet until I find two extra blankets to layer over her. "Here you go."
"Thank you," London manages to get out with what she can of a smile.
Her face is fucked up and I wish it were possible to take her place, but I'm not sure if we switched if things would be any better for her in my shoes. Both of our lives are currently not going well, I'm not sure which is worse. Not that this is a competition by any means, I'd just like to put her in the position with the strongest chance of making it out of this alive.
"Do you need anything else?" I ask her.
"The company is nice." She blinks slowly and sighs. "I've never really had friends." London swallows and from where I'm sitting, it looks like it causes her a great deal of discomfort. "I mean, I have friends, but they're superficial, you know?"
I nod and sit on the edge next to her, taking her hand in mine again. "I know." Patting her hand I say, "I'm here for you, whatever you need. You're not alone in this."
"He's never going to let either of us live through this." London's bright green eyes meet mine. "I'm sorry you ever got involved."
I think about her words and consider my life without having met Ricardo. Sure, it would be different, but I'm not entirely sure it would be for the better. I never would have met Silver, and perhaps the circumstances never would have pushed Miller and me past the awkward unknowing phase we were stuck in. Maybe things with Alec would have progressed, but it's not certain. One thing is though, if I hadn't sealed that fateful deal with Ricardo, London and I never would have crossed paths, and she would be doing this all on her own. If I'm forced to find the silver lining in this incredibly unfortunate situation, it's that maybe this happened so I could help her.
But if we don't come up with some kind of plan soon, we're both doomed.
34
ALEC
"Just what the doctor ordered," I say as I walk through the door holding two bags of take-out.
"The doctor, or you?" Cora slides off the stool at the counter to come over and take one of them from me. "This thing is heavy. What did you get?"
"Everything."
Cora places her bag on the counter and starts pulling boxes out and going through it. "Mmm, tuna sashimi, my favorite."
"I got those crab rangoon things you love, too." I glance around at the vast space. "Where are the guys?"
Cora rolls her eyes. "Off in another room having aprivatemeeting."
"That's dumb."
"You're telling me." Cora finds the rangoons and bites one of the corners off before continuing to put things on the counter.
By the time we're done, the entire surface is covered with take-out containers. I smile triumphantly and discard the bags into the trash. "What do you want to drink?" I open the fridge and wait for Cora to answer me, my hand already inching toward the Sprite in the corner.
"Sprite," she confirms.
I take out two of them and place hers next to her water and coffee, and hop onto the chair next to her.
Cora hands me a pair of chopsticks and takes one for herself. "I was starving, thank you." She places a quick peck on my lips before latching onto a container of fried rice and eating straight from it.
