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I gave her a weak smile, ignoring the pain spreading through my face. “You don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”

She stared down at my hand, finally taking hold of it tentatively. “Damian says your rib is broken.” She glanced up to my face. “And this bruise here, looks god awful.”

I didn’t tell her that neither injury came from the guys who ganged up on me. That damage had David’s name on them, but the doctors didn’t know that. No one did. If that’s all she noticed—a broken rib and a bruise—then those guys with Silas hadn’t done nearly as much damage as I’d thought.

“You had brain swelling,” she whispered gently. “You’ve been asleep for about four days.”

That took me back some. Four days? Fear flooded my chest almost instantly. Four days were gone, just like that, wiped clean from my memory.

Panic began to spread throughout my body. If I hadn’t realized the extent of my own injuries, I couldn’t imagine Silas’s. His were ten times worse. I had to figure out where he was, and if he was okay—and fast.

Then another thought hit me. Four days I had gone without anything. My vape, my pills, a drink of some sort. Instantly, my body began to send stress cues to my brain.

The craving came on so fast it was frightening. Four days unconscious, and somehow my body remembered exactly what it was missing. My pulse quickened as the anxiety crept in. If I’d been out that long, what else was waiting to hit me once the shock wore off?

Another tear rolled down Delane’s cheek.

“Please, don’t waste your tears on me,” I muttered.

She stared at me blankly, as if I’d just said the dumbest thing imaginable. Then she shook her head, looking completely done with me.

“What am I going to do with you?” She sighed, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

I smirked. I could think of a few things I’d like her to do with me. “Maybe the doctors will let me dress you up as my private nurse. You can tend to my every desire.” I winked at her, trying to get a smile.

Her eyes widened, unable to stop the flush of red emerging on her cheeks. “Stop joking like that. Seriously.”

I chuckled, enjoying the momentary distraction.

“You’re something else, Noah,” she said quietly.

I watched her lay her head on the bed, eyes closing. Our fingers were still intertwined when I felt myself drifting off again.

The last thing I thought before the darkness took me: She’s right. I am something else.

I was a troublemaker.

I was unworthy of her loyalty.

I was a walking collection of bad choices.

I was the kind of man that people should give up on—just cut their losses and move on.

Yet, somehow, Delane never did. That was what I could never seem to understand.

If I was so hopeless, what was holding her here?

And when would she finally give up?

DELANE

“You can leave now.”

The voice was strong, booming. It rattled me awake from my light sleep.

“E-Excuse me?” I stuttered, turning to see who had spoken to me so roughly.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Noah’s father standing in the doorway. He stood stiffly, his features tense, a faint frown flickering on his lips. From first glance, his expression looked bored, but beneath the emptiness in his eyes, a rage simmered so intense it sent a chill down my spine.