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I growl, “Where are her parents?”
My mom’s jaw tics. “It doesn’t matter, they’ll be back soon. Jasmine is just as much mine as she is theirs. She is safe with me.”
“Mom, I know that but—”
“Easton.” She grounds out my name in a lethal way. “Go. You’re wasting time. You want to be here when she wakes up?” I nod. “Then get moving so that can happen.”
I look back to Jasmine, rubbing my hands over the soft, long stubble on my chin. Sighing, I turn, my footsteps echoing down the dead hallways.
When I get to my car, I rest my head on my steering wheel, exhaustion winning as my body gives out. Mind shutting down into a dreamless sleep.
* * *
I set the razor down after trimming the overgrown hair on my face, staring in the mirror. My eyes are bloodshot, dark circles under them. My head drops between my shoulders as I let out a deep breath.
I passed out in the hospital parking lot earlier, only waking to Ezra’s aggressive banging on my window. Her eyes narrowed, lips twisted in a frown. She told me I looked fucking unappealing, more so than usual. That I smelled worse than horse shit and to get my ass back to the hospital quickly because Jasmine was being moved to our families’ private wings in the hospital.
I drop myself into my car, starting the engine and surpassing the speed limits, breaking every law ever written about driving. When I arrive at the hospital, I throw my car into park, tossing the keys at the valet, almost smacking him in the face. I personally don’t care.
There are people in the elevator, some cooing over a picture of a newborn on their phones, one lady weeping, another showing zero emotion on their face. I push the BB button to take me to the private wing, scanning my driver’s license. When my floor dings open, a guard waits by the elevator doors. One look at me and he moves away. Monroe greets me, a tired smile playing on her lips.
“Where is she? Which wing?” I ask.
“The McKnight wing. Your hospital room.”
I nod, spinning away from her and turning in the direction of the McKnight wing. My hospital room is at the end of the hall. Dark wood and red sheets, a giant flat-screen TV positioned at the far end of the bed. There are rails on the bed but it’s not a typical hospital bed. It’s a king. The room screams comfort and luxury. I kick off my shoes just as a nurse comes in. “Mr. McKnight, you are not getting in that bed with her.”
I huff, eyes drilling into my lifelong nurse. She has salt-and-pepper hair, smile lines covering her face. She wears the same red glasses she always has on and bright-colored scrubs. When I was ten and having surgery, I told Mary to wear black scrubs because her cheerful ones were insulting. She told me if I wanted to be a miserable person, that was fine, but she wasn’t taking advice from a kid who wore his pants around his ankles. Mary and I have been cool ever since.
“Then you better turn around and walk right back out, Mary. Because I am getting into this bed. Watch me.” My knees sink into the mattress as I climb on.
Nurse Mary rolls her eyes, typing things on her iPad. “Just don’t get in the way of the wires, kid.”
I smile, spreading my arms out wide. “Do I look like a kid to you, Mary?”
She laughs, long and hard, wiping a tear from beneath her glass. “I’m too old for jokes that funny, might have a heart attack.”
I glare at her as she finishes up her work, quietly leaving the room.
I avoid the wires, laying as close as I can possibly get, my hand reaching out to lightly brush a rogue strand of hair out of her face. My eyes drift once again, finally feeling enough at ease to fall asleep on my own without my body deciding for me.
* * *
Small, cold fingertips lightly brush over my face. I blink my eyes open, easily adjusting to the lighting in the dim room. Electric green eyes blink back at me. “Hey,” I whisper.
“Hi,” she whispers back, a tiny smile breaking across her lips.
My hand automatically goes to her hair, fingertips rubbing the soft, wet strands until I cup the back of her head. Her body is clean, smelling of her warm vanilla scent. My old t-shirt is draped across her body. Her face is still bruised, swollen as if someone hit her.
“I never thought…” She searches my eyes, clearing her throat. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
I kiss her nose, my forehead resting against hers. “Thinking you could escape me was your first mistake.”
The giggle she releases is light and airy, soft music to my ears. “I should have known better.”
“You really should have.” My smile quickly fades as I pull back, studying those doe eyes I could never get enough of. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She shakes her head, nuzzling her body deeper into mine. As if I’m her protection. “No, I just want to lay here.”
