Page 74 of Shattered

From the look he gave his brother, Koen didn’t agree, however, he spent the next few minutes explaining the basics.

What the fuck? Buried alive! Who does that?

“How in the world did you find me?”

Jett drew closer, tugging my hand into his and grinned wide. “Your brother is a freaking genius, that’s how.”

The bed shifted as Koen leaned over, retrieving a Styrofoam cup, then putting the straw to my lips.

“Small sips,” he said. “The water will help your throat.”

Initially, it hurt to swallow, but as I drank more and more of the cool liquid, the burning subsided. Other than my throat, my face ached from where I was punched and my chest twinged with every breath, even though I didn’t recall that specific injury. Besides those few things, I was tired and hungry and grateful to be alive.

“I slipped one of my AirTags in your pocket on the elevator. We used it to track you down.”

Memories of those few moments assaulted me. The sheer terror I’d felt. That I wasn’t strong enough to hold that man back so Jett could get away. My eyes stung with unwanted tears.

“Hey now.” Koen pressed his lips to my forehead. “Breathe, Angel. You’re safe.”

Despite his reassurance, the tears continued to flow and worse, my body began to shake. He slid down next to me, carefully avoiding the wires and IV tubes I hadn’t noticed, then gently wrapped his arms around me. Given the space constraints of the bed, I didn’t know how he was able to do it without falling off the side, but I was so very grateful he found a way. I closed my eyes and just breathed while his love surrounded me––blanketed me––until the tremors stopped and my tears dried up.

“Better?” he asked, kissing my shoulder.

“Better. I love you so much, Koen. Thank you for finding me.”

“I’ll always find you, Angel. And I love you too. More than words can express.”

“Can you let me go now, Keaton? I really need to hug my best friend.”

He chuckled.

“Okay, Little Bird.”

“How are you really?”

Henley kept me company while Koen took a shower. He argued against leaving my side untilIexpressed my displeasure with his odor. It was a dirty tactic––pun intended––but we both needed the time apart to know neither of us was going anywhere. According to Riley, he rode in the ambulance with me, then refused to be more than two feet away at any given time until I woke up. He and Willow had taken their mom back up to her room to rest for a bit with promises to return later.

“You were here when the doctor came in. Mild concussion and dehydration, which is why I’m still hooked up to these fluids.” I lifted my hand off the bed, indicating the tube taped to my arm.

Fact: intravenous fluids go into your body almost as fast as they come back out. I swear I’d spent half of the time I’ve been awake in the bathroom. Thank God the doctor decided not to put in a catheter. Ugh.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it. Stop deflecting.”

“Physically I don’t feel too bad, a little achy maybe. The rest of it is going to take some time to process.”

“Understandable. I’m here for you, Jade,” she promised. “You need to cry? I’ve got two shoulders at your disposal. If you want to hit something? I’ll get the boys to take us to their gym. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

She meant it too. Every word. I was a firm believer in the whole right place, right time saying. Evenmore so after meeting Henley and then Lanie. Some friendships took years to cultivate. The three of us though? Peas in a pod. Our bond was almost instantaneous. I couldn’t imagine a time when they wouldn’t be at my side and the same went for me.

“Love you, Henley. You’re the best friend anyone could ever hope for.”

Her eyes welled up. “Stop it. These damn pregnancy hormones are no joke. These days I’m either crying or puking.”

“Eww, sorry.” Changing the subject, I asked, “Have you heard anything from Noah and Lanie?”

“Not personally. Duncan said some shit was going down, that’s why they're not here. But he did talk to Waverly so they’re all aware of what went down here.”

“Damn.”

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