Page 107 of Unbidden

“Hey, girl.”

Three days later, I’m sitting in my room recovering while the world around me goes on.

“Come in, V. Don’t hover by the door.”

I’ve barely had a moment by myself since the attack. At the hospital, Tinsley, Keaton, and Reed took turns watching over me. I didn’t miss the fact that Reed often took the shift when I was sleeping. His own way of giving me space but also protecting me.

My heart warmed every time I remembered waking with him by my bedside.

“Actually, you have a visitor.” She looks at me nervously before stepping aside.

Sterling comes in. “Hey, Sage. Can I have a minute?”

I jump up, wincing at the tenderness still in my side before running to him, hugging him tightly.

His arms are reluctant at first, but then he wraps them around me, holding me tight.

“I’m going to give you two a minute.” Victoria leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

I release Sterling, tears flowing from my eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving me.”

He looks as if he’s holding back his own tears. “I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

“No apologies needed. Come. Sit.” I pull him over to sit at the end of my bed. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Can we talk about that night? Vic said you don’t remember much. I was hoping to fill in some gaps for you, if you’re up for it?”

Sadness fills me, as it does every time I think about that night. “Please. I want to know everything. They gave me roofies, so I can’t remember parts. It’s likely I’ll never get those parts back.”

He nods solemnly. “I went to the party to score some weed. With everything that happened with Tinsley, I needed something to take the edge off.”

I interrupt before he can go on. “What happened with Tins?”

He gives me a sort of half smile. “Finley fucked up. We all know she has a crush on him. She always has. We’ve always ignored it. She’s off-limits. He’s been flirting with Ms. Wheeler. Well, I guess she finally decided to give it up. Tinsley saw Finley go into the room, but when he didn’t come out, she went to check on him. She found him balls deep in Ms. Wheeler.”

I have a brief memory of getting a similar text from Victoria the night of the attack. “Why doesn’t he just talk to her?”

Sterling shrugs. “I have a hard enough time dealing with my own shit. I can’t take on his too. I’ll always be there for him, but he uses his goofy facade to hide his true self. When he’s ready to talk to someone, he will.”

I let out a deep sigh. “So you were going to buy some weed.”

“I was. So, imagine my surprise when I walk into the party and find you. I watched you go upstairs with Ingram. I didn’t really think anything of it. I mean, you did break my best friend’s heart. Then I heard some girls in the kitchen saying Reed Yates’s girl had gone upstairs to fuck another guy. I won’t lie. I believed them. I went up there to catch you. It’s why I waited as long as I did. I thought I would catch you in the act.” He shudders. “I’ll never forgive myself for waiting. I should have come up right away. If I had, maybe I could have stopped it. Hell, if I’d just stopped you when I walked in, you wouldn’t have gone up there alone.”

He drops his head in his hands as he pulls on the ends of his hair.

I reach out and grab his hand. “This is not your fault. This is not your burden to bear. You’re my savior. It doesn't matter that you didn’t come up sooner. You came. You saw what was happening, and you helped me. The rest? It really doesn’t matter.”

He gives me a grateful smile before continuing. “I wanted to beat the ever-living daylights out of Asher right then and there. I got a couple of licks in before I glanced over and realized you weren’t moving. I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn’t. I slapped you once and you came back to me. That’s when I picked you up and got you out of there. I kept asking you if you were okay, but all you kept saying was ‘Tinsley.’ I freaked out, thinking she was there somewhere, so I called Finley. I knew he was planning to go to another public school party and would be close. He went in search of her while I called Reed and told him what was going on. Then I got to the hospital and told them all I knew. The cops took me in for questioning and ended up holding me until you woke up and told them I was innocent. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“Of course. You are innocent. I’m sorry it took so long.”

He shrugs. “I just wanted to tell you how sorry I was and to tell you that Reed cares about you deeply. He nearly lost it when he found out what happened. Did you know he went to find Asher?” At my nod, he continues. “He did what I wanted to do. He put Asher in the hospital. Not that he stayed there long. He’s in jail now.”

“I know. Elijah also sent Ingram off to a psychiatric care hospital. He wanted me to press charges, but I don’t think that would help. She’s technically family, after all, and I would rather she receive the help she needs rather than be lost in the system.”

“You’re a better person than me.”

I smirk. “That’s not hard to do. You’re kind of an asshole.”

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