Before I can react, he lifts his good arm and makes a grabby hand in my direction.
“C’mere, boyfriend!”
My whole body locks up, my stomach dropping straight to the floor.
Oh, fuck.
Ashton is high as a kite. He has absolutely no idea what he’s saying.
I bite down hard on my lip, my feet suddenly glued to the floor. “Ash—” I start.
But Ashton just giggles again and puckers his lips dramatically. “Missed you,” he says dreamily. “Want kiss.”
The room goes completely silent. Every single person freezes.
My eyes squeeze shut for a second as I curse under my breath.
When I open them again, Debbie is staring at Ashton like the air has been punched out of her lungs. Her face has gone completely pale. Slowly, her gaze shifts to me, then to Mark.
They exchange a knowing look.
Mark doesn’t say a single word before turning sharply on his heel and walking straight out of the room.
“Mark—” Debbie calls after him, already hurrying after him like a shadow.
The door slams shut behind them.
For a moment, no one moves.
All four of Ashton’s siblings stare at me, eyes wide, while Ashton lies obliviously in the bed, tracing his finger along the bedsheets without a care in the world. There’s still a big, dopey smile on his face.
He has no idea his entire life has just changed—and it breaks my goddamn heart.
Luke steps forward slowly, his gaze fixed on me. His chin dips slightly, his expression hard.
“Care to explain,” he says, his voice low and controlled, “what the hell is going on?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Ashton
I’vebeendriftinginand out of consciousness, fragments of conversation stuttering through my brain like a scratched DVD that won’t stop skipping. I vaguely remember the muffled sound of my siblings’ voices, some raised shouting, and Troy’s hand squeezing mine somewhere through it all. I think I might’ve spoken at one point, but I don’t remember what I said.
Hopefully nothing embarrassing.
For the first time in… I don’t even know how long, my mind feels a little clearer. The fog is thinning, enough that I can finally hear my own thoughts—enough that the world around me starts to come into focus.
The first thing I notice is the beeping.
It cuts through the fog in my head like a metronome, pulling me slowly back to the surface. My eyelids feel heavy as stone, but I manage to pry them open and stare up at the ceiling. The cool-toned fluorescent light above me hums softly in the background.
My mouth is dry as sandpaper. When I try to swallow, my throat burns a little. Everything else feels… strange. Floaty. Like my limbs aren’t quite attached to the rest of me.
I blink slowly, my vision swimming for a moment before it settles. White ceiling tiles. An IV pole. A heart monitor blinking quietly beside the bed.
I try to move, and that’s when I feel it.
My arm is heavy and immobilized. I tilt my head down slowly and see the thick cast running from my wrist to my elbow, cradled carefully in a sling across my chest.
