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“Please let me stay with him,” I begged.

“I’m practically dying here,” Noah added. “You’re really not going to let my girlfriend come to the hospital with us?”

The woman looked ready to argue, but she probably realized it was only wasting time. She huffed and closed the back door of the ambulance, shutting us in.

Noah winked at me, but then his expression fell, and he grimaced in pain as he glanced down at the wound on his side.

“I still can’t believe you took a bullet for me,” I whispered.

“When are you going to get it, Crash? I’d do anything for you.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT

The doctor kept saying how unbelievably lucky Noah was, and I had to agree. By some miracle, he’d only suffered a surface wound from the bullet grazing his ribs. He had a ton of stitches, and he was going to have to take it easy while he recovered, but he was going to be okay. I didn’t know how either of us had walked away from William Hastings relatively unscathed, but I couldn’t have been more grateful.

My father arrived at the hospital just before Noah was discharged. He’d flown straight from Rapid Bay and had almost had to sedate my mom to get her to remain behind. She was in no state to be flying, and it was only when he set Norma on her that Mom finally conceded.

When Matthew saw me in the hospital waiting room, he ran toward me and gathered me in his arms. Having my father hug me, having him wrap his arms around me and pull me close, set my tears off again. It felt like I’d been crying all night, and I was wondering if my well of tears was finally close to running dry.

“You’re okay,” Matthew said. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”

I hugged him tighter.

“I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.” His voice was husky with emotion, and I swallowed down another sob. “This is all my fault. I should have kept better track of William. I should have kept you with us until this was all resolved. I thought posting a security team outside the school would be enough. But, I—”

“You couldn’t know what he was going to do,” I said, cutting him off as I pulled back to look at him. He was struggling to contain his own tears. “This is no one’s fault except William’s.”

I wasn’t sure if he agreed with me, and from the torn look in his eyes, I could tell he was still blaming himself. “I’m just relieved you weren’t hurt,” he said. “I love you so much, Isobel.”

“I love you too.” The words were out of my mouth before I’d had a chance to think them over, and I was surprised to find I actually meant them. I wasn’t sure when I’d begun to love my father, but the feeling had snuck up on me, and there was no denying that he had a place in my heart right beside my mom.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I added.

“I’m glad I’m here too.” I’d thought Matthew might be uncomfortable with the way we were pouring out our feelings, but as he hugged me to his chest once more, I could tell how deeply he was experiencing every emotion we shared.

I stayed in his arms until my tears stopped running down my face. I never would have guessed my father was much of a hugger, but his embrace was comforting and filled with the love we’d only just expressed to each other.

I didn’t feel awkward when I stepped from his grasp. If anything, I felt a little surer of myself. A little stronger. And I felt like perhaps now everything would be okay.

Once Noah was discharged, Matthew drove us from the hospital. He insisted Noah and I stay at his home in Weybridge that night. He didn’t want to take us back to school so late, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to return there just yet either. The thought of going back to the place where William had shot Noah wasn’t something I could fathom right now. I was going to struggle to walk through the school courtyard without remembering what happened there for the rest of the year.

Despite my exhaustion, I struggled to sleep, and I sat on my bedroom balcony, snuggled under a blanket on the couch out there as I looked over the gardens. It was dark, but soft lights highlighted the trees that were dotted throughout the grounds, and the rest of the property was bathed in moonlight.

It was strange to sit here, feeling so at home, when just a few months ago I’d wanted nothing more than to escape the confines of this room in Matthew’s mansion. My life had changed so much in such a short amount of time, but of all the things I’d gained, there was only one that really mattered to me: my family and my friends. I felt so lucky to have them. To have a father I loved, friends I couldn’t do without, and a boyfriend who cared about me so much he would take a bullet for me.

I’d come here with a broken, fractured heart, but now it felt so big and full it might just burst at those repaired seams.

There was a light knock at my bedroom door, and I glanced up. “Come in,” I called out.

The door creaked open to reveal Noah. He was dressed in a set of gray sweats. I had no idea how Matthew owned anything large enough to fit him, and I wondered if perhaps he had a stockpile of clothing on hand for whenever he had guests.

“You’re supposed to be in bed resting,” I said.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

Noah shut the door behind him and came to join me on the balcony. His skin was still pale, and there were bags under his eyes. He looked like he’d been through hell, and yet somehow, he still managed a smile for me. He sat on the couch beside me, pulling my feet onto his lap.