Page 139 of The Sweetest Oblivion (Made 1)

“Three weeks.”

Three weeks?

I have been in the hospital for three weeks? That much time has passed the both of us by? What does that mean? What does that mean for me? For Reed?

Oh god, did Razor and Fiend manage to escape? Did they really manage to make it out alive?

They don’t deserve to.

What they deserve is to go up in flames and choke on their ashes.

But Razor deserves a slow torturous death for what he has done to my Reed. Then after he’s endured all the pain imaginable we will both set him on fire and watch him burn.

“He’s still there,” I reply weakly.

“Yes.”

“Did he wake up?”

“No.”

No.

What’s left of my heart obliterates in my chest.

I knew it. I knew when I took my first breath that he hasn’t yet. I was hoping I was wrong. Hearing that I’m not. That shatters me like nothing before.

Not thinking it’s possible but more tears fall from my eyes. My lower lips trembles uncontrollably. Despite feeling like my heart has been ripped out of my chest I hear the monitor besides me accelerate.

He places his hands on my shoulder again except this time without force. It’s a gentle assuring touch that I don’t believe. “He will wake up, Alice,” he tells me determinedly. “He will and when he does you have to be strong for him.”

“I can’t,” I sob. “I can’t breathe without him. I can’t live without him. I can’t.”

Then Oak does something I don’t expect. He pulls me in his arms, offering me his embrace. Wrapping his arms around me gently he lets me cry on his chest. “He can’t live without you either. He’s fighting. His fight is taking longer than yours but believe me he will wake up. And it will be because of you.”

My cries continue until I can’t cry any longer. All the while Oak consoles me. He holds me in his arms as I completely fall apart. He holds me as the doctor and nurses rush in. Even when they check me over he keeps his hand in mine.

When they finally leave, when it’s just the two of us again I look at him through glassy eyes and notice that his are the same.

The both of us experiencing a great pain.

And I want to reassure him, I want to comfort him like he did me.

Squeezing his hand he looks in my eyes. He doesn’t bother hiding the emotion. He doesn’t care that a tear has managed to slip free. He’s just as broken as I am but better at concealing it. Of keeping it together.

“When he wakes up it won’t be because of me,” I tell him softly. His head tilts to the side. “It will be because of you, too. You’re his brother, Oak. He would never leave you behind. All of you are his family. He wouldn’t leave you guys behind.”

He nods his head, swallowing past the lump I know is in his throat. “I’ve lost too many of my brothers, Alice. Like you I can’t lose him, too.”

“We won’t,” I promise him.

“If I have learned one thing in the past three weeks is that we have to have faith. We have to believe in something.”

It sounds so achingly familiar. My lips twitch. “Grace can be very wise, can’t she?”

The corner of his lips tip up in a smile. Lightness returns in his eyes. “She is.”

“She’s a great friend. The best that I have ever had. She’s a sister to me, Oak. The same way Reed is a brother to you. So, thank you. Thank you for keeping her and Connor safe. I owe you everything for that.”