Page 113 of Audiophile

Reed

I’m fucking exhausted. Thelights are too bright, and I’ve been injected, prodded, and stitched for who knows how long. No matter how many times I ask for her, no one will let me see Petra.

It’s only after the officer finishes taking my statement that he’ll entertain my questions. “What’s going to happen to Kinley?”

The officer shakes his head. “She succumbed to her injuries shortly after arriving at the hospital. A volunteer will come by before you’re discharged with some information about counseling. There are free services to help you make it through this difficult time.”

Gone. She’s gone.

A ball sits in the back of my throat, and I can’t swallow it down. The small part of my heart that once loved her—or the idea of her—cracks. I know something in her cried real tears. She was fractured long before she met me, and her obsession made her just as unhappy as the rest of us. If she’d stuck with a treatment plan, she might’ve lived a full, beautiful life.

But my fist clenches by my side as the rest of it hits. The bigger part of me, the one I’m not proud of, is angry. Angry that she hurt me. That she would’ve killed Petra. That Kinley had to die for this chapter to be over. That she couldn’t justlet it go,for all of our sakes.

She’ll never understand the way I drowned, the way her mistreatment crawled over my skin. I will never get an apology, and it will be on me to figure out how to live without it. All of it sits heavy in my stomach.

The officer pauses on his way out. “I read your whole file. The system failed you—we failed you—when you should’ve been taken seriously. I’d like to say that it would’ve been different if it had all happened here, but… I’m sorry it had to come to this to get any meaningful intervention. I hope it helps that you don’t need to keep running.”

Grief, relief, guilt, and the remnants of overwhelming fear claw at my throat. “Please tell the nurse I want to see Petra.”

The officer nods, and he’s only gone for a few minutes before there is a quiet knock on my door. A nurse finally leads Petra into the room, dressed in a hospital gown that matches my own.

“Oh, Pet.” I suck in a harsh breath at her injuries. “What hurts?” There are heavy bruises blooming across her face. There are small cuts from her jaw to her hairline, and a jagged one at the corner of her mouth. It’s hard to tell what else is wrong under her loose gown. But she’s alive, and she’s never looked more beautiful.

“I’m okay. How’s your leg?” She bites her lip as she pulls up a chair close to the bed and reaches for my hand. “They wouldn’t tell me anything about your condition.”

Fuck that. I pull her in beside me. She shifts her weight away from me, but I tug her closer. “Come back. It’s my other leg, and I need to feel you more than I need to stay still.”

I touch her everywhere I can, needing to make sure she’s whole. She’s just as soft as she was under my hands last night. Twelve hours ago she was giggling under the sheets with me. How did we get from there to here so quickly? For a brief, terrifying moment, I thought one night of possibilities was all we’d get.

She flinches when I brush her wrist, and my chest constricts. “I’m so sorry. I promised to protect you—”

Petra finally gives up the distance between us and curls into me. She presses a gentle finger to my lips. “We protect each other,amato.That’s how families work.”

“Are we family now?”

She nods, brushing our noses together, and something hot builds behind my sternum and in my eyes. “It’s amazing how clearthings got for me today. I’m done holding back, Reed. I sure hope you’re okay with that, because you have a whole clan of Diamantes out in the hall who are worried sick about you. Mama is feeding the entire nursing staff as we speak.”

She’s trying to make me feel better, and I wish she wouldn’t. “Don’t they hate me for getting you involved? Because I do. I was about to watch you die today,” I choke out, clutching her tighter. I’m going to glue her to my side. “You were so brave, but I was fucking terrified that you—”

“So was I,” she admits. “But I didn’t. And you didn’t. I’m sure we could both use a hefty dose of therapy after this. Just be here with me,tesoro. Breathe with me. That’s enough.”

“You and me,” I promise. Our kiss is soft and quiet. It’s our first since my heart stopped when Kinley pressed a gun to Petra’s head, and is our most precious. I wrap my arms around her, breathing her in, unwilling to let her go for a second.

When I pull back, a glint of red catches my eye. Her hair still has blood in it, and my terror surges forward like a tidal wave of ice. “She’s gone, Petra. She’ll never hurt you again.”

“Hey. She’ll never hurtyouagain.” She strokes the back of my neck—a touch I relish. Each moment with her is sacred. “Are you…okay? She was a huge part of your life.”

Petra knows me better than anyone, but that she guesses at my turmoil is a testament to just how well. I struggle to find the right words. There’s a storm growing inside of me that defies description.

“I met her, you know,” Petra says, biting her lip. “For about five minutes. I didn’t know who she was, but she was charismatic and sweet. When she left, I wished we could’ve been friends.” Petra frowns. “…And I think she might’ve vandalized my car. But what I mean is, I saw a glimpse of something beautiful. Maybe it was fake, or maybe there was good in her. What happened between you is complicated, and your feelings about it are going to be complicated, too. I understand that.It’s okay to be heartbroken, Reed.”

I blink back tears I can’t even begin to understand. “I think I’ll need to double my therapy sessions. But I’m counting my blessings today, and I’m so blessed to look at you, Pet.”

Petra blushes and half-laughs in disbelief. “My face feels like I went through a car wash where all the spinning parts are made of bricks. I’m sure I look lovely.”

I kiss her nose, her jaw, her mouth. Bruised and bloody parts of her that showcase her strength, her determination. Her love for me. The pink across her cheeks means she’s not waxy on our kitchen floor.

“There is no one as lovely, Petronia Diamante. I’m going to make you blush every single day of your life. And I don’t want to wait. I love you. I want you to move in—” My request goes sour, and I close my mouth against the taste.

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