Page 64 of Until We Come Home

“Don’t even joke about that.”

“Too soon?”

What comes out of me is half laugh, half sob, muffled behind my hand as the relief hits, and I squeeze his fingers tight. His gaze holds mine, steady.

“How’d you know I was here?” he asks, his brow furrowing a bit.

“Because I’m your emergency contact, you idiot.”

He blinks, squinting up at the ceiling as if trying to piece it together. “Oh, right. I forgot I put you down for that.” He winces, shifting on the mattress. “Sorry if that caused a whole fuss.”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” I say, cutting him off before he can spiral into self-blame, “or your injuries are going to be the least of your problems.”

He laughs, raspy, and pays for it. “Fair enough.”

I study his face. “What did the doctors say? The nurse could only give me the basics on the phone, but I ran into James in the hallway and he filled me in on some. What’s hurt?”

He looks drowsy and thoroughly beat, his eyes heavy. “A couple of cracked ribs, a concussion, plenty of smoke inhalation, and some minor burns on my forearms. Nothing terrible. I came out in one piece.”

“They’re keeping you overnight?” I ask, and he nods against the pillow.

“Yep,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Get to have the full hotel experience. Plus they’re talking a few weeks before they’ll let me back on the rig, which is bullshit.”

“Well, it sounds to me like you’re long overdue for some bed rest,” I tell him, keeping my tone firm.

He makes a face. “Yeah, well, James and I are both losing our minds over it. Neither of us likes leaving the crew shorthanded out there.”

I know more than anything he wants to be back out there with Rebecca, Callum, and Ollie, and I know there’s not a thing I can say that will make sitting this one out feel okay to him.

“They’ll hold down the fort,” I say. “Rebecca will make sure of it.”

He huffs out a laugh and immediately regrets it. “Yeah, no kidding. God help anyone who tries to stop her.”

A quiet settles between us, and I hold his hand while he holds mine back, his thumb tracing a slow, familiar path over my knuckles as we take each other in.

“Listen,” he says after a beat. “About last night...”

“Oh, God,” I interrupt, the weight of guilt rushing back in. “I’m so sorry. I said such horrible, bitter things out on that dock, Mateo, and I didn’t mean a single word of it. Then you went straight into a wildfire, and all I could do was replay the awful things I threw in your face about running away.”

“Well, you weren’t entirely wrong,” he says, almost smiling. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. I said plenty that was out of bounds. I’m the one who let it blow up.”

“No, you didn’t,” I insist. “I was being defensive about Derek, and when you tried to walk it back, I kept picking the fight.”

“Yeah, well,” he says, his gaze going soft and warm. “I guess even best friends fight sometimes, right? But I meant what I said when I apologized. Your life is your own, Mia. I had no right to lecture you.”

He clears his throat, coughing against the smoke still in his lungs.

“You shouldn’t be talking this much,” I scold him, brushing a stray dark lock off his forehead. “Just rest, and stop apologizing.”

He smiles at me, and before he can say anything else my phone buzzes on the hospital bed between us, Derek’s name lighting up the screen. Of all the fucking times. His hand slides back from mine onto the blanket, casual, like it was going to anyway. The intrusion sits heavy between us.

“You can take that,” he says, his voice going careful and distant. “Really, I’m fine, and I should probably get some sleep anyway.”

“No, I⁠—”

The door opens behind me and a doctor comes in with a tablet, introduces himself, and asks if he can have a few minutes with his patient. I nod, stepping out into the hallway while they talk. But instead of waiting outside the door, I keep walking, and walking, until I find the hospital doors and push through them into the air, feeling like if I stop I’m going to come apart.

I sit down on a concrete bench, taking a minute to collect myself as the fresh air hits my skin. My phone goes off again, another call from Derek, but I can’t bring myself to answer it. All I can think about is how close I came to losing Mateo today.