Page 147 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
Heavy.
I move forward quietly, setting the things down carefully so nothing makes too much noise, before I grab the throw blanket and step closer to the bed.
I hesitate for a second.
Then I drape it over both of them, covering them gently, adjusting it so it sits properly over her, over him, like it matters, like I can give them something even if it’s small.
He doesn’t wake.
Doesn’t move.
I walk around to the other side, my hand coming up to brush lightly over her hair, softer than I’ve ever touched anything in my life.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I murmur quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.
Her skin is warm.
But she doesn’t respond.
Zach steps in after me, doing the same, his hand lingering for a second longer before he pulls back, his jaw tightening as he steps away.
We don’t speak.
There’s nothing to say.
We both move back to the chairs, sitting down without looking at each other, both of us facing the bed, watching her, waiting.
Just... waiting for her to come back.
thirty-two
Liana
Coming back doesn’t feel like waking.
It feels like being dragged.
Like something is pulling me up through layers I don’t want to move through, thick and heavy and wrong, my body resisting it even as my lungs try to take in air that doesn’t come properly at first.
There’s weight everywhere.
In my limbs.
In my chest.
In my head.
Like I’ve been underwater too long and my body hasn’t figured out how to exist outside of it yet.
Then the pain comes.
Sharp enough to split through everything.
It hits low and to the side, deep and burning, like something inside me has been torn open and stitched back together wrong,and the sound that leaves me is small and broken before I even realize it’s mine.
My body reacts before my mind does, a weak attempt to curl in on itself, to move away from it and it only makes it worse.
The pain spikes, stealing the breath from my lungs, dragging me further up whether I want it or not, forcing me into awareness I’m not ready for.
