Page 120 of Hide From Me

I glance toward the door, where the people I trust most in the world just walked out. Where the girl, I would give anything to see again,mightstill be waiting for me somewhere out there.

I exhale slowly.

"I'm not sure," I admit, and the words taste bitter in my mouth. They feel like defeat, like I am acknowledging something I have tried to ignore since the moment I opened my eyes in this room. I sink back against the pillow, swallowing hard against the tightness in my throat. "Raylen looked at me like she didn’t know me. Like she was waiting for me to snap. And maybe she was right.”

I see it like it’s happening all over again—the way her eyes went wide, that flicker of terror she tried to hide, the step back that felt like a mile. It guts me worse than any bullet ever could. Because this is what I was always afraid of: thatthe moment she saw all of me—reallysaw me—she’d realize I wasn’t worth the risk.

Jonathan shakes his head slowly, as if trying to shake the thought from my mind. His voice is steady and calm, but there’s a rough edge to it—like he knows exactly what it’s like to carry that weight. “She looked at a man who walked through fire for her. That’s not fear, Moe. That’s shock; that’s someone realizing just how much you sacrificed for her. Give her time.”

Time.

As if I haven’t spentmonthsdrowning in it. As if I haven’t felt every second as an anchor tied around my ribs.

“I don’t want time,” I say, my voice low and tight. The truth spills out before I can stop it, raw and ugly. “I wanther.I want her to look at me and not flinch. I want her to believe I’m not something she needs to survive.”

There’s a long pause as Jon just watches me. I can see the thoughts turning behind his eyes, the way he’s trying to figure out how to connect with me without pushing too hard.

“You can’t control how she processes the truth,” he finally says. His tone is gentle, but there’s a firmness underneath it. “You can only continue being the man she fell for. The rest... that’s for her to work through. She’s carried a lot on her own, from what I hear, and it seems like she handles it best when she processes things by herself.”

I take a slow, deep breath, feeling the sting at the back of my eyes and the weight in my chest that no amount of morphine can ease. I manage to nod once, because he’s right, and I hate that he is.

What a fucked up bonding moment.

The room falls quiet again, broken only by the soft beeping of the monitors and the subtle drip of the IV. It’s that kind of silence that allows too many thoughts to surface—thoughts I would rather avoid.

Then Jon clears his throat, his voice low but resolute. “You’re not alone anymore, you know. No matter how this situation with her turns out… you’ve got me now.”

I exhale softly—part laugh, part sigh. My fingers absentmindedly pick at the edge of the blanket, fraying it further. “I was never alone. I’ve always had a family. My mom—the one who raised me—loved me more than the moon. My father was just as devoted. Caspian has always been there for me. And yes, we’ve picked up some strays along the way…”

A small grin escapes me despite myself, as my mind drifts to Cordelia’s ridiculous sense of humor, Sam’s fierce loyalty, and Jasmine’s quiet strength. Our twisted, patchwork little unit somehow fits together, jagged edges and all.

“They may not be blood, but I’ve never been alone—just…lost,” I whisper. The admission feels like laying down a weapon I didn’t realize I had been gripping so tightly.

Jon hums low in his throat, and I wince, realizing how that probably sounded to the man sitting in front of me—the man who didn’t know I existed until he saw me bleeding out. He is trying to bridge a lifetime’s worth of distance in just a few words. I should have kept quiet, but the drugs in my system loosen my tongue, making it too easy to spill the things I usually keep locked away.

Fucking morphine.I thought the high was supposed to be fun, not all emotional and shit.

“Is there an application for this twisted little family?” he asks.

I blink, caught off guard, and my head turns toward him before I can stop myself. He’s grinning, and it’s so damn human—sonormal—that it steals the breath from my lungs. It’s the kind of smile that reaches his eyes, crinkling at the corners, chasing away a bit of the exhaustion clinging to his face.

It’s me.

“I guess we can find some space,” I say, my voice hoarse but warm.

Jon swallows hard, and I can see him working to keep his composure. He nods once, slow and deliberate, as if he’s trying to commit this moment to memory, afraid it will vanish if he moves too quickly.

“I’ll try to play the part right, even if I'm miles away.”

I can't help but let my eyes shut as his words wash over me. Logically I know there's no medium here where I can keep him, Raylen, and my family by my side at all times but that's okay. It'll all work. It has to, because I think he and I both know I’m not leaving my home.

“I’m glad you made it back,” he says quietly.

“Me too,” I whisper, and I truly mean it. I really do.

Twenty-Eight

Moe