Page 72 of Icebound Hearts

“Maria helped.”

“Yeah, but Maria’s not the one missing sleep every night. Or carrying guilt like it’s stitched into her spine.”

I stare at her. At the way she’s looking at me like she sees something I can’t. I don’t know how I thought I could do any of this without her.

She leans in and presses a kiss to my cheek, letting it linger.

“I’ll be there after. When you wake up. I’m not going anywhere.”

That almost undoes me.

I pull her into my chest and bury my face in her hair.

“Thank you,” I murmur. “Just… thank you.”

The hospital is cold.

Not the usual cold. Not just air-conditioned. This kind of cold lives in the tiles, in the lighting, in the walls. It gets into your skin.

Even though I’ve been here before—for tests, blood draws, briefings—today is different.

This is game day.

Aunt Maria meets me at the check-in waiting room. Her hair’s pulled back in a rushed, messy bun. Her eyes look tired, but when she sees me, she smiles like she’s trying to transfer all the strength she has into me.

“There’s my brave boy.” I hug her and let myself sink into it. For a second, I don’t have to be strong. She holds my hand as the nurse walks me through the final steps. There’s an IV.Paperwork. Monitors. She kisses my forehead before they start to wheel me away.

Kat hasn’t come yet.

And part of me thinks—maybe that’s for the best. She doesn’t need to see me like this. Pale. Hooked up. Half-dressed in a gown that doesn’t even close right in the back. But then the curtain slides open, and she steps in. She’s in sweats and my hoodie, no makeup, hair in a braid she clearly slept in. Her eyes land on mine and everything in me just… stills.

“You shouldn’t be back here,” I whisper. She walks straight to me like I didn’t say anything and grabs my hand.

“I told you I’d be here.”

I stare at her. “They’re going to give me anesthesia in a few minutes. I might say some weird shit.”

She smiles. “Can’t wait.”

I want to say more, but I’m suddenly tired. More tired than I’ve ever felt. “Kat—”

“Shh.” She brushes my hair off my forehead. “You’ve already done the hard part. Just rest now.”

The nurse steps in. “Ready?”

I look at Kat. Then back to the nurse. “Yeah. Ready.”

The meds hit fast.

Everything slows.

My last thought before the dark swallows me is Sophia’s laugh.

And Kat’s hand still in mine.

I wake up groggy. And sore as hell.

It feels like someone took a hammer to my lower back and then backed a car over my hips for good measure. My body is lead. My brain fog. But I’m awake.

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