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ChapterForty

Ashleigh

Adull pain drives through my head, causing it to ache and throb. I thought I was done with this. The agony of last night replays through my mind, causing a bit of bile to rise in my throat.

But the dean saved me. Right? Between Thatcher screaming and the dean holding me, a lot of details feel a bit fuzzy around the edges. As I turn my head, the ache blossoms a bit into a sharper discomfort, drawing a ragged whimper from my lips.

All I can hope is that I’m safe. Part of me wants to open my eyes to see if it’s true, but the other part of me dreads finding out the truth. If I’m lucky, I’ll be back in my dorm room like nothing ever happened.

As I force an eye open, my gut plummets. Sun streams through curtains I don’t recognize. They look so cheerful somehow, as if the world is a good and perfect place. But I know it’s not. I learned that lesson last night. Maybe I’m still learning it.

“I can hear your breathing, sweetie,” the dean’s voice washes over me. “I need you to calm down for me. Can you do that? Can you be my good girl and take in a nice, slow, deep breath?”

At his soothing command, my body obeys him, slowing down so I can think. If he’s here, then that means I’m okay. But where exactly is here?

“You’re in my house,” he murmurs, running his fingers over my forehead.

I look up at him, my brows dipping into a frown. “Did I say that out loud?”

He tips his head back and chuckles, sending goosebumps down my body. “You didn’t have to, sweet girl. If I woke up somewhere I’d never been before, that would be my first question. I figured it would be yours as well.”

“Smart man,” I groan, closing my eyes. “Tell me, am I dead?”

“No. But the water after you showered sure looked like it.”

“I showered?” But even as I ask that, my mind fills in the blanks, reminding me of the tender way he held me under the spray. No inch of me went untouched to his gentle fingers. “We showered. I remember now.”

“Good. Do you remember Doctor Bradley?”

“Mild concussion. Light homework slash reading for the next few weeks. Break if I get tired. But the Lantern-“

“Will be there when you feel better. I’m sure it can stand not going out for a week or two.”

“Easy for you to say,” I grumble as I cross my arms.

Instantly, I regret the action. The joints protest so fast, I let them flop back by my side.

“See, it’s not good for you to brat so soon after all this. Is it? Seriously. How are you? Do you need Doctor Andrew to help you process? He said he’d make himself available at any point.”

My breath slips through my lips in a shaky shudder. “If it’s all the same, I’d rather not. The man gives me the creeps.”

“Same. Honestly. But don’t tell him that. He’ll wear it like a fucking badge of honor.”

For a moment, we slip into a comfortable silence as he crawls into bed with me and envelops me with his warmth. “I was terrified for you. I was worried I would lose you. What the hell were you thinking, just taking off and saying nothing?”

Turning my head as best as I can, I do my best to glare up at the man looking down at me with such raw tenderness. “I suppose I can launch a similar query your way with why you didn’t have Todd put the app on my phone?”

“You first.”

A weary sigh hovers in my chest as I snuggle in closer. “I really don’t have an excuse other than I was just following orders. You said to handle the Caldwell situation. That’s what I thought I was doing.”

“And going to the so-called Devil’s Playground didn’t strike you as odd?”

“I mean, it did, but come on. It was a place we played at as kids. More than that, it was Caldwell. Or rather, Piss Boy as Sergei puts it. I didn’t really see him as a threat.”

For a moment, we just lie there tangled up together as our bodies shake with unrestrained laughter. But honestly, at this point, it feels more like a laughing so we don’t cry situation. At least on my end.

Eventually, we both sober and descend into silence. “And Thatcher? I did everything I could, the wrong things of course, but I did what I thought I had to so you could be safe. How the hell did he find out?” I wince and move to pull away, but his arms wrap around me even tighter. “Whatever it is, we can work this out. I’m in this for the long haul. But I need you to talk to me.”