I gave her a grateful smile.
“I would appreciate that, and if you could convince someone to let me stay here…”
She nodded.
“Consider it done. It’s the least I can do. You get comfortable. No one is throwing you out of here.”
She turned and left the room, leaving me alone with Emerson.
Alone with Emerson… but it didn't feel much like her anymore. I knew it was still her lying there, but without her voice, without hersoul, it just felt weird.
I rounded the bed and sat down on the hard chair that I had pulled up right to her bedside. I took her hand, trying to keep it warm. She always felt so cold here. Since I was too tired to sit upright, I opted for laying my head on her stomach, watching as the ventilator helped her breathe.
Her chest moved up and down. That and the steady beeping of the heart monitor were the only two signs that she was still in there.
She's going to wake up. I know it.
I allowed myself a moment of weakness and let my tears fall onto the scratchy blanket below.
I felt so alone. It wasn’t the first time I was by myself, and even growing up it had happened often, but this loneliness was different. More painful. My chest felt empty, like someone had reached in and taken out a piece of me.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered, hoping she could hear me. “I should've pulled the trigger sooner. He won’t hurt you anymore. Come back to me.”
I would never regret my decision to kill her father. A part of me wished Emerson had been the one who pulled the trigger, finally getting revenge for everything he had done to her.
But knowing he was dead and that he couldn’t come back to hurt her anymore would have to be enough.
I faintly heard the door open and Laura's voice filter in, but my eyes were already closed. I didn’t remember the last time I slept more than an hour at a time. I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
Something warm was placed over my shoulders, and I told myself I should thank whoever it was for it, but the words never left my mouth.
I fell deep into an uneasy sleep.
And I hoped that when I woke up, Emerson would be opening her eyes as well.
Chapter 27
Pearl
“The doctor says it's for the best,” Jax said, her eyebrows pushed together as she looked me over.
I was sure I looked like a mess. I’d barely left the hospital for the almost two weeks that I'd been living out of Emerson’s room.
She still hadn’t woken up. It wasn't clear why. The doctors said she was healing fine.
Maybe it was the trauma of it all.
I grabbed her hand, not liking how cold it felt. I remembered her warmth.
I missed her more than I could say.
People had been coming and going, leaving flowers and food for me. Both Cristian and Leslie had visited multiple times, along with Jax and Laura.
A few people from the club visited as well, namely the girl with silver hair and piercings, who brought the scary one with her. I wish I could remember their names, but I couldn’t. It was a short visit, and I was severely sleep-deprived, so it was all blurry to me.
Jax was by far our biggest supporter. She was the one who was constantly checking on me, making sure I ate and drank,staying with Emerson so I could go home—and forcing me to go when I didn’t want to.
She was also the one that the doctors had turned to when I refused to listen.
