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Odie came into view, and her hazel eyes were rimmed in dark circles. How long had I been out?

Her smile was a surprise, but I didn’t want it to go away anytime soon. My heart thumped again, and a frown marred my lips. In turn, her smile disappeared, and I groaned unintentionally as the thump turned into an ache.

My throat was dry, and no amount of swallowing was doing the trick. I cleared my throat and tried to sit up and ask for some water, but I nearly toppled over as I did so.

I knew I would regret opening my eyes, and I was right.

I blinked again and again, hoping what I saw was some mistake, an illusion or hallucination due to losing so much blood, but my shaky left hand lifted and landed on my right shoulder, feeling all that was left of my arm.

Gripping and ungripping, I felt all around the nub, hoping the rest would magically appear again. Maybe this was a dream, a sick possibility that wouldn’t happen in my real life.

It healing from a dislocation was hard enough. I had to relearn how to do things with my left arm and hand, and communicating was slow and painful for a couple of days.

But this… this was forever.

I looked up at Odie with tears in my eyes and a silent sob in my throat. What was I going to do? All the scenarios of life in prison changed. I was mute and armless, and I was completely screwed.

Panic took over, stealing my breath away. I gasped for air that wasn’t enough, and the snot buildup nearly gagged me.

“Mine?” If she said anything else, I didn’t hear it.

It felt like someone was compressing my chest, and the tears came faster, blocking my vision. Then I was sitting in Odie’s lap, and my head rested against her broad shoulder again. She made sure my wound was facing out so it wasn’t irritated, and a part of me wished it had been bumped so the pain would tell me this was real.

Odie wrapped one arm around me, holding me close to her body, and the other rubbed soothing lines up and down my back. She didn’t say anything as we sat there. I slowly calmed down, accepting that something had happened and my life was forever changed again. The limit should be one life altering moment in a lifetime. Hell, I’d accept once every decade since that seemed to be the theme anyway.

“When you’re ready, I’ll explain.” I didn’t think I’d ever be fully ready, and that was infuriating. I was broken before, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t strong. Now I was a sopping mess and disgusted with myself. “We will get through this.”

We? We didn’t have to do shit. What the fuck was she talking about?

I shoved away, and thankfully, the sign for we only involved one arm. It took me a second to reverse it, but I got it across, signing, We? What we?

Odie’s face turned red, and she looked surprised that I caught that little slip.

“I didn’t mean it like that. We will help you get through this. Whatever you need, we are here.” I wanted to punch her and curl up in her lap at the same time. What the fuck was with these thoughts flying through my head?

If I could, I’d tell her to fuck off and remind her that prison was my future not this comfy cabin with a little family. Apparently, my face spoke volumes, so I didn’t have to try and get any of it across with extra effort.

“Do you want the good news first?” I glared at her. “Gerard canceled the trial and removed the charges. You’re free.”

I gaped at her, my mouth falling open and eyelids blinking in disbelief.

“Bad news is your arm.” I huffed, and she cringed a bit. Cy was the one who made dark jokes.

This wasn’t normal. “Vaila did what she could, but there was no saving your arm.”

I started signing on instinct, but it was jumbled in my haste and lack of a second hand.

“We couldn’t go to a hospital. There’s more we have to go over, but for now, your job is to rest and heal and learn how to live with one arm. Can you do that without being too much of a pain?” I shook my head. I was going to be the biggest pain.

They dragged me into this shit with a spot in prison with my name on it, and now there’s no prison, and I lost an arm. The trade-off wasn’t great.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that easy.” Odie’s shoulders slumped. “Cy and Ellie will want to know you’re awake. I’ll keep them out if you want, and you can do whatever you need to to deal with this for the moment, but they need to know.”

I collapsed back into her. I wasn’t usually a physical kind of person, but her comfort was helping keep away the rampage I knew was coming.

“Or they can wait.” I laughed, and soon, I fell asleep just like that.

No dreams greeted me, and the sleep was light. I was in and out for a while even though it was oddly comfortable.