Page 169 of Symphony for Lies

She exhaled softly, letting go.

Stacy grabbed my shoulder.“Do you think Amelia wants to see you like this?” Her voice was heavy with emotion. With anger and pain.“Do you think she’ll be happy seeing you hurt? You fool! The moment she sees you, she’ll worry about you instead of herself.” She wiped her tears away. “Do you want that?”

Fuck.

She was right.

Amelia… the first thing she did was apologize. She’d blame herself.

“Come on.” My mother pulled me to my feet.

I moved mechanically as she led me to a doctor. They cleaned my wounds, stitched me up, and gave me something for the pain.

I let it all happen in silence.

Then, I washed my hands.The red swirled down the drain, but it didn’t wash away anything. Not the memories. Not the fear. Not the rage.

By the time I was done, Amelia was lying in a private room. She was still unconscious.

I sank into the chair beside her, exhaustion clawing at my body. The steady beeping of the monitors filled the silence, a cruel reminder that she was stable but not awake.

I couldn’t breathe.

Not until she opened her eyes. Not until I heard her voice.

She lay there, small, fragile, and drowning in the cold sterility of the hospital room. Amelia looked nothing like the fierce, stubborn woman I loved. Nothing like the girl who had once stood before me, fearlessly challenging me with every glance, every word.

I reached for her hand, wrapping my fingers around hers. She was warmer than before. But still not warm enough.

Despite my weak, tired muscles, I refused to move.

I wouldn’t leave. Not until she came back to me.

Her friends had let me stay, not that I had given them a choice.

I wasn’t going anywhere. Not ever.

Carefully, I leaned forward to rest my upper body against the edge of the bed, never letting go of her once.

My free hand slipped beneath my head, too drained to hold myself up.

“Wake up,” I whispered. “Please.” A single tear slipped from my eye, landing on her skin. “Amelia… I love you.”

My thumb brushed over her fingers, tracing the delicate lines, memorizing every ridge, every curve. My throat burned, and my chest was tight with a pain I didn’t know how to carry.

“It hurts to see you like this.”

Nothing. No movement. No flutter of her lashes.

But there was a slight pressure.Her fingers curled faintly around mine.

A tremor ran through my body as I lifted her hand to my lips, pressing desperate, reverent kisses against her skin. Again and again. Until I simply held it there, against my mouth.

More tears blurred my vision, but I didn’t care. I squeezed my eyes shut as if that could quiet the storm raging inside me.

I had never known fear like this.

Never.

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