Page 50 of Venus
Trevor’s parents come to visit. His mom, who looks like a saint if I’ve ever seen one, collapses to her knees and prays for Carter, telling his sleeping body how proud she is of him and how happy he’s alive, thanking him for trying to save her son. They must be close, because she fusses over him like a mother would, demanding answers about his condition and prognosis.
It warms my heart to see how much people in his life care for him. But none of that matters if he dies, does it?
Well into the night, when the rest of the world is asleep, I’m stroking Carter’s wrist when I swear I feel a muscle twitch. My head jerks up, and I’m suddenly fully awake. I throw my empty coffee cup at Jackson’s head to wake him up too.
“What!?”
I nod down. “Look!”
We both observe Carter’s wrist for what feels like a solid hour, but he doesn’t move again.
“I swear…I felt…”
And then his fingers twitch. Two of them.
I let out a sound of pure relief and lean over him, carefully cradling his head without touching him.
“Carter! Carter, it’s me. It’s Venus. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
From under his bandages, his swollen eyelids flutter open, and I can’t help the tears streaming down my face. Jackson’s crying too.
“You’re in the hospital,” Jackson says. “You ever scare us like that again, I’m kicking your ass.”
Carter starts fighting against an invisible force, probably unbearable pain, so I hit the nurse call button and gently stroke his wrist some more.
“Carter,” I whisper. His eyes drift to me.
“Victoria. My name is Victoria.”
He tries to say something, but all that comes out is a hoarse breath. I shake my head and place the most featherlight and careful of kisses to his bandaged nose.
“My name is Victoria, and I love you too, Carter Westwood.”
Chapter 28 | Vulcan
Pain is all I know how to feel anymore. It’s the first thing I felt when I woke up, and no amount of morphine makes it go away. A slow, aching throb wraps around my chest, threads through my ribs, and sinks deep into the bone marrow of my limbs. I can’t move without pain. I can’t blink without pain. I can’t breathe without pain.
My name is Victoria, and I love you too, Carter Westwood.
I thought I had imagined her saying those words at first. Pain-induced delirium or some shit, but it was real. She was real. And she hasn’t left my side once.
And Jackson is there too, giving me shit about almost dying and scaring him. He’s still in his turnout pants, still streaked in ash and soot like he hasn’t moved in days. He looks wrecked. Red around the eyes, every muscle stretched tight with worry and grief.
The weight of everything comes rushing back to me. Heavy and uncomfortably familiar. I give Jackson a look, and he gives me one right back.
My voice is a thin whisper. “Trevor?” I croak out.
Silence.
Jacks says nothing. His eyes drop, and I feel that dread in my chest before he opens his mouth.
“Jacks,” I croak again. “Where is Trevor?”
His jaw clenched, and his eyes meet mine, even redder than before and brimming with tears.
“He didn’t make it.”
I don’t feel the bed underneath me anymore, just an elephant in my chest, a knot in my stomach, and the sharp slice of unimaginable grief stabbing my chest.
