The word barely made it past his lips.
Logan sighed, heart aching, and reached out, cupping Adrian’s face gently in his hands. His thumb brushed across the sharp line of Adrian’s cheekbone, where there should’ve been softness.
“Just a little more,” he whispered. “For me?”
Adrian closed his eyes. A long, quiet breath. Then, slowly, he nodded.
He picked up the spoon again. Small bites. Painfully slow. Each swallow looked like it took everything he had, but he did it—not for the hospital, not for survival. For Logan.
Because somewhere, deep in the tired shell of his body, the fight was still there.
By the time he finished, he was shaking.
His hands trembled in his lap. His legs were weak. But Logan knew that if they didn’t keep moving—if they didn’t push—the strength wouldn’t return on its own.
“Come on,” Logan murmured, rising to his feet. “Let’s walk.”
Adrian hesitated. His teeth sank into his bottom lip. He knew it would hurt. Everything hurt.
But after a long breath, he nodded.
Logan reached out again, arms steady, unwavering, wrapping around Adrian’s waist as he pulled him upright with care. The moment Adrian placed weight on his legs, pain shot through him, a sharp, searing ache that pulsed through his joints like fire.
His jaw locked. His breath hitched.
“I’m here,” Logan whispered.
Adrian’s fingers clutched at Logan’s arm, knuckles white, muscles trembling with each step. His legs felt like they belonged to someone else—useless and burning. But Logan’s grip didn’t waver. He held him like a lifeline, guiding him forward through the ache.
“Just a few more steps,” Logan said softly. “Then you can take a shower.”
Adrian let out a breathless, broken laugh. “You make it sound like I’m running a marathon.”
Logan smiled, pressing a kiss to his temple. “To me, you are.”
And Adrian, despite the fire in his limbs, despite the bone-deep fatigue, took another step.
And another.
Because Logan was there.
Because love, in its quietest form, was movement.
Chapter 19
A Memory That Exists in My Broken Heart
I will never love another.
I have already seen the world without you.
I have already drowned in the days that stretched too long,
Swallowed nights that tasted of regret. I drank oceans to forget you,
But every tide still carried your name.
I will never love another.
