“I knew,” she whispers. “I figured out they were mates.”
And she didn’t tell her mate? I respect her loyalty to Evan.
“You knew?” Jaxon says with furrowed brows.
Ava nods. “For a while. But that’s not important. Evan’s mental stability is.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “He can’t keep living like this.”
“He thinks it’s his fault.”
After hearing about their past, I know what she’s talking about.
Jaxon takes another step back and looks at Ava. “You said he’s started therapy.”
“Only a few sessions. Therapy doesn’t work overnight. You know that. It took months to help me.” She wraps her arms around herself. “But we need to do more. What if Caleb wasn’t there tonight?”
I remove myself from the wall to pace. The thought lingers and claws at my insides, nausea creeping up my throat. “I don’t even want to consider that possibility,” I say through gritted teeth.
Ava’s eyes are remorseful. “But thank the Goddess you were.”
I wouldn’t have forgiven myself for ignoring him earlier if I heard a different outcome from them. No doubt my entire soul would have been ripped to shreds, and that thought alone is terrifying.
My hand slams onto the wall as I let my head lower. Every inch of my body suddenly feels like lead, and as the seconds tick by, all I want is to be beside my mate.
“We’ll make sure he’s okay, Caleb,” Ava says as she steps to my side.
Her words might be strong, but her voice tells me she’s just as scared.
“I don’t want him to hurt anymore.”
“Me neither,” she sniffles. “He’s suffered so much.”
The doctor pokes her head out of the door, and we all glance over.
“Is he okay?” Jaxon asks, voicing my thoughts immediately.
She nods slowly. “Yes, he’s stable, but he needs rest. Do I need to get Gemma?”
“When he wakes up,” Ava says as the doctor leaves. “We’ll give you a minute with him.”
“And we’ll keep people away from this area,” Jaxon says. “I’ll try my hardest to keep your privacy.”
“I know people are going to work it out sooner or later. The doctors probably already have their suspicions.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“Thank you.”
When I step into the private room, my eyes immediately fall upon Evan as he rests on the bed. I look at his wrist to find it bandaged along with one of his palms.
I pull up a chair right beside him and take his hand delicately. My lips press to his knuckles as I stare at his peaceful state, then my chest feels like a sledgehammer has torn through it when I think this is the kind of peace he wants forever. My head bows, and I press my forehead to our joined hands.
“I’m never giving up on you,” I whisper. “I’m going to do everything I can to help you through your struggles and your battles. No matter what it takes.”
I stroke my fingers through his hair softly, unable to take my eyes off him.
Ten minutes later, his eyelashes begin to twitch, and his lids flick open as he blinks and glances around the room.
