I return to the chair beside the bed and reach for Aiden’s hand, curling my fingers gently around his.
Finn pulls the other chair closer and sits beside me.
I glance at him.
“Shouldn’t you go home and get some rest?” I ask him. “You didn’t exactly get to enjoy your day off.”
He leans back in his chair.
“They gave me tomorrow off,” he says. “I can rest then.”
His eyes shift toward me for a moment.
“I’m not leaving you alone, lass.”
A rough voice breaks in from the bed.
“She’s not alone.”
My head snaps up so quickly my chair shifts against the floor.
Aiden’s eyes are barely open, his voice hoarse and weak, but unmistakably his.
“I’m right here.”
Chapter 44
Everything happens at once.
The moment Aiden’s voice breaks through the quiet of the room, Finn and I both move instinctively, our chairs scraping against the floor as we stand at the same time. For a moment, my mind can’t quite catch up with what just happened, but the sound of Aiden’s voice sends a sharp rush through my chest.
Finn is already moving toward the door.
“He’s awake,” I hear him call into the hallway as he disappears from the room. “He’s awake.”
But my attention never leaves the bed.
I wrap my arms carefully around his shoulders, relief and disbelief crashing together so strongly in my chest that I feel like I might break apart under the weight of it.
“You’re awake,” I whisper, the words trembling somewhere between laughter and tears.
When I pull back just enough to see him, his eyes are open now, heavy with exhaustion but focused entirely on me as if the rest of the room has faded away.
Aiden lifts his hand slowly, his arm moving with obvious effort before his fingers settle against my cheek. His palm settles there, warm despite everything his body has just endured, and I lean into it, letting my face rest against his hand while my eyes close for the briefest moment, grounding myself in the simple comfort of his touch.
“I thought he’d never leave.”
The comment catches me so completely off guard that a laugh escapes me, soft and shaky but real.
Of course that would be the first thing he says.
Within moments, the room fills with movement.
Nurses step in quickly, their voices calm but purposeful as they move around the bed, checking monitors and adjusting equipment while calling out numbers to one another. I step back to give them space, moving toward the wall where Finn is already standing, though my eyes remain fixed on Aiden, who is still watching me with a look that makes my chest tighten all over again.
Even while the nurses work around him, his attention never drifts.
“Welcome back, Mr. Holloway.”
