Page 90

She opened her eyes. Blinked hard. Shut them. Repeated the

process. She found it was getting easier. Maybe she could turn

over. She wanted to face the voice. The voice that was so

familiar that it made her brain ache with frustration at not

being able to place it. It took her a few moments of gathering

her willpower and what little strength she had left, or maybe

the strength that was returning, but she was slowly able to shift

onto her back, then she edged over, using her hips, which hurt

less than her upper body did.

At first, she thought she was hallucinating, or that she was

seeing someone who wasn’t there. Maybe she wasn’t awake at

all, and she was dreaming all of this. But then the softest

fingertips brushed over her right hand, the hand that wasn’t

hooked up to the IV and the other wires, and that gentle, warm

touch made everything real. It anchored Cassia to the bed, to

the pain in her sore body, to her surroundings.

“What…?” she croaked. She wanted to ask what Adalynn

was doing there, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Two bright pink spots appeared on Adalynn’s pale face. Her

eyes were wide and misty, her lips turned up in the softest,

watery smile. “I saw the article. There was a news article

about the accident. I called all the hospitals in Vegas until I

found which one you were in, then I booked a flight, and I

came. I’ve been here, on and off, whenever I’m allowed, since

then.”

Cassia grunted. She wanted words again, for the many

questions she had, but language was harder than it used to be.

Her tongue was thick and swollen, so dry that she wanted to

cough and gag every time she tried to open her mouth.

She had no idea what Adalynn was talking about. What