I stare at it. My stomach turns.
“It’s water,” she says softly. “I promise. You watched me fill it. Remember?”
I don’t remember. But I reach for it anyway, hand shaking.
The first sip tastes wrong. Metallic. But it’s just my brain, I know it’s just my brain?—
“What time is it?” My voice comes out scraped raw.
“Almost eleven.” She tucks hair behind her ear. “You slept through the night. That was good. Your body needed it.”
Something goes hollow just under my ribs.
The hospital.
Reed.
The stairs.
My fingers not working on my phone.
White swallowing the edges.
My pulse spikes so sharply I taste iron.
“Hey, hey.” Aubrey reaches for my wrist. “You’re safe now. You’re in your room. Nothing happened. Kieran got to you before Reed could do anything.”
I close my eyes, but that makes it worse. The memory crashes back in fragments.
The drink. Sweet. Metallic. Wrong. The heat crawling up my neck. Trying to move and my body not responding. Reed’s arm around my waist, too tight, steering me. The stairs stretching up.
Trying to drop my weight. Trying to stop.
Kieran’s voice cutting through,“Get your fucking hands off her.”
I open my eyes fast, gasping.
“Breathe,” Aubrey says. “You’re okay. I’m right here.”
“What happened?” The words tumble out. “After I—after everything went dark? What happened to Reed? Did he?—”
“No.” Aubrey squeezes my hand hard. “No. Kieran got there in time. Reed didn’t—he didn’t get you into a room. Kieran stopped him on the stairs.”
“And then?”
Her jaw tightens. “Then Kieran hit him. A lot. Riley and Dalton pulled him off before it got worse. We brought you to the ER. They kept you for a couple of hours for observation. We brought you home.”
My hands are shaking. I press them flat against my thighs. “I remember trying to text. I couldn’t make my fingers work. I kept trying but?—”
“I know.” Her voice cracks. “We saw your phone. You tried to text Kieran. The letters were all wrong.”
Shame floods through me, hot and thick.
“I should’ve—I should’ve known something was wrong with the drink. It was just one sip. It tasted weird, and I should’ve screamed right away. I thought maybe it was just?—”
“No.” Aubrey’s voice cuts sharp. “Don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself. The bottle was sealed. You did everything right. This is on Reed. Only Reed.”
I nod, but the shame doesn’t leave.
