“So you’re sayin’ my boy might be . . . brain damaged?”

“There’s a possibility, but as I said, I’m hopeful. Ripley’s swelling wasn’t severe, and I’ve seen more cases than not with that kind of swelling who go home with no further problems, however right now I can’t promise that.”

“I understand,” Jack says, slumping back down.

My heart is hammering in my chest. Poor Ripley—he didn’t deserve this. I want to run in there and throw my arms around him, to tell him I love him and that it’ll all be okay, but I can’t. We just have to sit here and wait until he wakes up.

“How long until you expect him to wake?” Jack asks.

The doctor purses his lips in thought. “I would imagine in the next twenty-four hours.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

“We’ll cross that road when we come to it.”

Jack nods. “Can I see him?”

“Yes, one at a time only, in ICU I’m afraid.”

Mom squeezes Jack’s hand. “We’ll be here waiting.”

Jack looks to us all. “Go home, guys, get some sleep. You all need it and I’ll be here with Ripley.”

Brody and Mom nod, but Blade turns to me. The doctors gave me the all clear to go home an hour ago, but he knows I want to be here.

“Honey,” Mom says, apparently reading my mind, “you need rest. Jack will stay by Ripley’s side.”

I nod and turn to Blade. “Will you take me home?”

“Yeah.”

I hug Jack and he squeezes me tightly before following Blade out the door with a hand full of medication. I have a sore, stiff neck and one hell of a bump on the back of my head, but the tests ruled out anything sinister. Now I just need to rest until my poor brain has had the chance to rest too.

Blade and I ride home in silence, and the moment I get through the door Melanie comes charging towards me. She was away on a conference for work, but got home as soon as she could. She throws her arms around me and we cling to each other for a long, long while. “I’m so sorry, Ari.”

I pull back, smiling weakly. “It’ll be okay, I have to believe that.”

She nods, but her bottom lip is trembling. She likes Ripley. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m exhausted,” I admit.

“Get some sleep. I’m making soup for you.”

I can’t help but smile at her. “Soup is for colds.”

She scoffs and waves a hand. “Soup makes everything better. Go and bath, then sleep. I’ll be done in four or five hours. Who knew soup took that long?”

I smile and hug her again. She whispers, “I am so glad you’re okay,” into my ear before letting me go.

She gives Blade a weary smile and he tucks his arm around me. “I’ve got her,” he assures her before directing us down the hall.

While I take off my clothes, Blade runs my bath. Then he helps me in. We sit in even more silence and I can see his mind is elsewhere. He’s distracted, worried, feeling like shit about something more than his brother being in hospital.

“Hey,” I say. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” he murmurs, not looking at me.

“Blade . . .”

He turns to me and his eyes are glassy. I reach over and tug his hand. “Come on, you can tell me.”

“I didn’t know,” he whispers.

“Know what?”

“That he was suffering.”

Oh no.

“Blade,” I carefully say. “You didn’t know. He didn’t want you to know.”

He snaps his eyes to me. “But he wanted you to know?”

“Hey,” I gently go on. “He told me because I’m not close to him like you guys are. He probably doesn’t care what I think about him, but he does care what you guys think about him. He loves you, and he didn’t want to let any of you down.”

Blade looks away with a tense jaw. “He should have known nothin’ he could do would make me love him any less.”

“He’s scared.”

“And now I might never get the chance to tell him.”

I push up out of the bed and sit on the side of it with him, then I wrap my arms around him and hold onto him tightly. He lets me, not moving. We sit like that until my arms are numb, then he finally turns and scoops me into his arms. He carries me to the bed and lays a towel down, before dropping me carefully onto it and wrapping it around my body.

He stares down at me and fire burns in my belly. I think right now he needs me as much as I need him. I want to feel okay, just for a second. I want to know he loves me no matter what happens. I want to know that it’s all going to be okay.

“Make love to me,” I whisper.

He gives me a pained expression, as if the very idea hurts him.

Have I said the wrong thing?

He steps back, and I worry he’s going to leave the room. As I open my mouth to say something he lifts his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side. Then he drops his pants until he’s standing in front of me, naked. He leans down and positions his body over mine, pressing our foreheads together. We stay like that for a while, just feeling each other’s bodies, breathing each other’s breaths.

“I just wanna be inside you,” he says gently. “Just wanna feel you.”

“Then feel me, honey,” I whisper.

He slowly inches inside me, filling me bit by bit until we’re fully connected. Our breathing intensifies as his lips brush across mine, moving up my jaw until they reach my ear. There he whispers, “Fuckin’ love you, Aria.” I close my eyes and let those words sink into my soul, loving how they make me feel inside.