When I wake up in the white hospital room, I'm reminded of the first time I came here. Except for this time, it's not to an empty room. As my blurry vision clears, I recognize the distraught faces of my friends staring down at me. Jay's there too.
"Ash!" I hear Lylah shriek, immediately enveloping me in a crushing hug. My head pounds at the loud noise. "Ash, I'm so sorry!" she cries into my shoulder.
"Be careful! He's injured!" Wren tries to pull her off, but she doesn't budge.
"I-It's alright," I say, my voice strained. My throat feels as dry as cotton.
"It's all my fault, Ash," Lylah continues. "I'm the one who insisted we go to the game. If I hadn't, this would have never--" she breaks out into another sob.
All I can do is stroke her hair, trying to calm her down. "How are you feeling?" Wren asks me sincerely, gently taking my hand in his. I squeeze it gratefully, noting that I feel like absolute shit.
"Could be better," I try to smile, earning worried looks from both Wren and Jay.
"I should have stayed with you, Ash. I don't know why I--" Jay puts his head in his hands, sounding exhausted.
"It's none of your faults, guys. I shouldn't have walked on my own. That was so dumb of me," I feel my throat tightening, my face getting hot.
"No! That disgusting bastard had no right. Did he-did he hurt you?" Wren's eyes fill up with tears and I know he's not talking about physical injuries. He's talking about whether Henry had his way with me.
I shake my head no. "H-he tried. He was gonna--but Daemon came before he could,"
Jay's face hardens. "I heard they had to scrape that asshole off the pavement when they found him after Daemon was done with him."
"Is he d-dead?" I ask. Because from what I saw, he very much could be.
"No, unfortunately. Alpha Lucien is dealing with his sentence right now," Jay sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Are you really okay, Ash?"
My lip trembles. Am I okay? I don't feel okay at all. I can still hear Henry's voice. Feel his horrible touch. It makes me want to take 10 showers in a row. And worst of all, I can still remember how helpless I felt. How weak.
"No. B-but I'll be better soon," I try to assure them, but from the pained looks on their faces I know it's not believable.
Lylah finally pulls off me after listening silently for a while, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "I'm never letting you go alone anywhere again," she grabs a tissue and violently blows her nose into it. I pat her arm in comfort.
"So...what exactly happened? How did Daemon find me?" I ask.
Lylah looks hesitant, glancing at the other then back to me. "It's kind of a long story. Are you sure you don't want to rest?"
I shake my head. "No. I...I don't want to be alone right now,"
Lylah nods in understatement, clasping her hands together as she begins her story.
"After we left you with Jay, we were at the bathroom and stupidly didn't see your texts to us until later. We figured you were still with Jay, but then we saw him with his teammates without you and were confused. So we asked him where you were and he said that you had left a while ago. So then we texted you but didn't get a reply. We figured you might have gone to my car but when we got there we--we found Jay's jersey laying on the sidewalk, you nowhere to be seen.
Ash, I was so scared at that moment. I knew something wasn't right. And Jay was with us searching too, but we still couldn't find you. We thought Daemon might have picked you up. So one of Jay's teammates had his number and called, asking if you were with him. He said no and we told him you'd been missing for over an hour. Daemon immediately sent some scouts from his team out to look for you.
So then he showed up at the school and oh--Ash, you should've seen him. He looked like he was going to murder someone as we told him what had happened. He didn't waste any time. He said he had an idea of where to find you and just sped off in his car. And then I got a message from Lucien, since he gave both Wren and I his number for emergencies, and he said that Daemon had found you and brought you to the hospital. So we all drove down and have been waiting for you to wake up since." Lylah finishes, taking a deep breath.
"You guys...did all that for me?" I bite my lip, trying to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes. I would have never imagined that much effort would go into finding me. That much effort to make sure I was safe. I didn't know I was worth all that trouble to them. My heart warms as I stare at the three.
"Of course we did. And we should've done more," Wren says.
"No, no. You guys did the right thing. I'm so lucky to have you," I cry into my hands, not wanting them to see my ugly crying face. "And I'm sorry for ruining your victory night, Jay,"
"Hey, hey. Don't be sorry. I don't care about that," Jay scoots closer, rubbing my back soothingly.
As they all fawn over me and give their words of comfort I calm down a little, hiccuping as my breathing slows.
"And where is...Daemon?" I ask after I'm able to speak again.
"Oh, him?" Lylah, scratches at her chin. "He was here all night by your side, driving everyone crazy. He kept fighting with the doctor. So finally Lucien made him go wait in the lobby once it was confirmed you were stable. But he put up such a fight."
I look at her in wonder. Are we talking about the same Daemon? "He did? Really? For me?"
"Yeah. I didn't expect it after what you've told us about him," Wren chimes in.
"Is there something going on between you two? He's so...protective of you, that's why I'm asking," Jay questions, sounding hesitant but curious, scratching the back of his neck.
"Oh," I flush a bit. "No, it's nothing like that," Because it really isn't. In truth, I don't know why he went out of his way to save me. It's just his duty, right? I don't think Daemon cares for me beyond that...
I catch a subtle look shared between Wren and Lylah, wondering if they don't buy what I've said.
"Oh, alright," Jay nods, looking a bit relieved.
Then there's a soft knock on the door and Lucien peeks his head in. "Sorry to intrude on you kids. Can I talk to Ash for a bit?" he asks them.
The three of them quickly get up and leave to let us speak privately. I'm a bit embarrassed Lucien knows what happened to me, but he doesn't make me feel pitiful. He hugs me and apologizes for what I had to go through. He says he's going to make sure he knows where I am at all times now. He also tells me I'm going to have to make a statement to the council saying what Henry did. That's what I was dreading the most. But Lucien says it's to ensure that he's locked up. And I definitely don't want a predator like Henry going free.
It's a lot for me to take in, but I agree to do it. Lucien lingers for a bit, checking with the nurse to make sure everything's okay with me before he leaves to let me get some rest. But I can't rest. My mind is on overdrive. I don't know I want to cry more or sleep. I just don't want to think about anything.
A few minutes later, the door is pulled open, the very alpha I long to see standing in the doorway. "I heard you woke up," he says, sounding unsure of himself. "Can I come in?"
I nod quietly, my stomach flipping nervously. I take in Daemon's appearance. He hasn't shaved. His eyes look bloodshot, with dark circles under them. And when it dawns on me that it's all because of me I don't know how to believe it.
"How do you feel?" he asks, coming to sit beside me.
"I'm fine," I shrug, looking down to avoid his intense gaze.
"You don't need to pretend for me,"
I raise an eyebrow at him. "Do I look that bad?"
"You know that's not what I mean," Daemon's nostrils flare, his eyes darkening as they take in my damaged face. I can't imagine how terrible I look right now. The eyeliner I had on must be all smudged by now from all the crying and fighting I've done in the past night. Not to mention my busted forehead and mottled cheek.
But he looks so exhausted my heart aches for him. Cautiously, I take a risk, putting a hand up to the side of his face, cupping his cheek in my palm. His eyes widen, undoubtedly surprised at the action, and I expect him to push me away or move back. But he doesn't. Instead, he leans into my touch, eyes fluttering closed for a minute.
"Have you slept, Daemon?" I ask softly, stroking my thumb over his cheek. "You need to sleep,"
Daemon's jaw clenches despite starting to relax under my touch. "I couldn't sleep. Not after what he did to you,"
"I'm okay now," I try to reason with him.
"No, you're not. Look at you," he sucks in a breath, eyes opening again to look at me. "Look at what he did to your face," he growls, "And trying to force himself on you--I should have killed that fucker, dammit,"
"No, Daemon, you beat him enough," I say warningly, because his eyes are starting to glow and give way to his wolf side again. And as much as I know that anger is for my sake, I don't need any reminders of last night. Of how brutally he attacked Henry with that same rage in his eyes.
"It's over now, okay? Thank you for saving me," I whisper, hoping the low volume will calm him down.
Daemon's fists clench as we look at each other and I see the effort he's using to hold back. Because he knows it scares me. "I'll make sure he never comes near you again," he promises.
My heart flutters at his words, at how safe they make me feel. "I know you will," my voice trembles, already feeling emotional again. I wipe at my eyes, not wanting to make a scene in front of him.
"Ash," he says my name tenderly. His voice is hoarse and gravelly and exhaustion rolls off him in waves.
So I pat my lap, inviting him to rest there. "You must be tired," I give him a faint smile, knowing I am very much overstepping the boundaries with each other we're both used to.
He looks conflicted for a moment, and I'm not expecting him to take my offer. But then I see a part of him give in and he leans down, laying his head on my thighs. He lets out a content sigh as he does.
I'm frozen for a moment, shocked, not because I dislike the feeling, but because even through my clothes my skin tingles with delight at the contact. Not to mention this so unlike him. His fatigue must be getting to him.
We stay like that for a long time, quiet as I listen to him breathing. I'm tempted to stroke my hands through his hair, but I restrain myself. I don't want him to think I'm weird. And I want to ask him so many things, too. Like how he knew where I was. What I mean to him. But I don't, because I'm too scared to hear the answer.