No one says a word when I walk back into Ember’s hospital room two hours after I had left. Not one mention of my new clothes or the fact that two knuckles are now split with dry blood. And not one damn word is said when I stop on the opposite side of the bed from my chair to take her hand in mine, slipping the diamond ring on her finger before placing a kiss on her hand and laying it gently back down.
Not one word.
I sit back in the chair I had left earlier, and with my eyes back on her sleeping face, I take my first deep breath of the night.
Nothing will ever take her from me.
Not one damn thing.
“I’M OKAY,” I TELL MY fussing mother as she pulls the covers up to my chin.
“Yes. You’re okay, sweetheart.” Her voice wobbles, and I just sigh, letting her fret if that’s what she needs to assure herself that I’m okay.
“Emmy, leave her alone.” I look over her bent head and smile at my dad.
“I’m not going to leave her alone. She’s been through something traumatic and then had to sit there while the police questioned her as if she had done something wrong. She is not okay!”
I whine when her voice gets louder; the slight headache that I’ve felt since I woke up this morning had followed me all the way to where I am now in Nate’s bed.
Dad walks over to the side of the bed, and I follow his movements. I lose his eyes when he bends to place a soft kiss on the top of my head.
“It’s time to go, Emmy. Let Nate take over. He’s what she needs now.”
My heart flips at his words and the bigger meaning behind them, and I feel my chin quiver with emotion.
He’s letting me go. Completely letting me go to give me to another man.
And … he’s happy about it.
I watch in awe as he pulls my mom away and walks to where Nate is leaning against the doorframe with his arms over his chest. He pulls him in for a quick hug before letting go and looking into his eyes. The flipping in my heart starts to turn into summersaults as I watch something heavy move between them.
They leave with one last look over their shoulder, and I watch as Nate moves over to sit at my side.
“Are you going to cry?”
I blink a few times but don’t answer. I’m sure, without a doubt, that if I were to open my mouth to speak, I would cry.
“Are you really okay?”
I clear my throat. “I am now. Thanks to you.”
He looks down, holding my hand in his. “I’ve never felt the kind of fear that I did when I thought I was too late, Ember. Just the thought of spending one second without you is more pain than I care to ever feel.”
“Nate, baby, I’m here. I’m okay.”
“I can’t, Ember. Not one second or any day. I can’t be without you.”
I can’t see his face with his hair hanging like a curtain shielding him from me, but I don’t miss the tear that falls down from his eyes to his lap.
“Get up, Nate.”
I shift to the side and wait for him to stand. He doesn’t argue with me; instead, he climbs to his feet and looks down at me. My heart clenches when I see the expression on his face. Eyes wet with unshed tears and full of fear as they look down at me. His strong chest is moving with the force of his harsh breathing. I see his hands shake before he clenches them into a tight, white-knuckled fist.
“Come.”
I make sure my tone is hard and unbending, giving him no doubts that I mean what I’m telling him.
His fists release, and with shaky movements, he pulls his pants off and his shirt over his head. With just his black boxers on, he lifts the corner of the sheet and folds his tall body down next to me. I move to my side, facing him, and with the hand that is against the bed, I slide it up until I’m holding one of his. My other hand moves up his arm until I can curl it around his neck and focus on his face.