Page 1 of Holding Onto You (Burnt Ashes #2)

Prologue

Logan

A feeling creeps over me, cold and paralyzing.

The room tilts.

“You…you do know who I am, right? Angel?”

Her expression shifts, nervous now.

“You’re a doctor.” She says slowly, securing the blanket around her.

I shake my head, barely breathing. The world tilts violently beneath me, like the floor has been ripped away, leaving nothing but the black abyss below. My pulse thunders in my ears, drowning out every rational thought.

No. No, no, no.

This can’t be happening.

My hands tremble as I reach for the bed, needing something—anything—to steady myself.

My Angel.

She’s staring at me like I’m a stranger, just another face in the room. My stomach knots so tight it’s physically painful.

“Mac,” I whisper, forcing the word out through the suffocating pressure in my chest. “It’s me. Logan.”

Her brow furrows, her lips parting slightly, but there’s no recognition in her eyes. Just confusion. Wary, guarded, confusion.

“I—I’m sorry,” she stammers. “Should I know you?”

Something shatters inside me. It’s not pain—it’s devastation, raw and unforgiving. I feel it crack through my ribs, splintering into something jagged, something unbearable.

I spent weeks by her side. Held her hand. Sang to her. Begged her to come back to me. And now she’s awake, and I’ve lost her anyway.

My angel is gone.

She doesn’t even know who I am.

And just like that, every wall, every ounce of strength I’ve been clinging to for weeks, shatters.

They usher me out like I’m the one breaking.

My legs barely hold me. The hallway spins as the door clicks shut behind me, sealing me out—sealing her in.

It’s like the air’s been sucked from the world, ripped straight from my lungs, leaving me hollow.

My gut twists, sharp and violent. I brace a hand on the wall, half expecting to puke right here on the sterile, too-white floor.

None of this feels real.

It can’t be.

She’s just confused. Disoriented. Tired.

She’ll remember me.

She has to.

But the silence that follows me is deafening—until the memories crash in. Ruthless. Unforgiving.

Mac at five, twirling in that ridiculous pink party dress, blonde curls bouncing, one front tooth missing and that damn smile—God, that smile. The one that stole my breath long before I understood what love even was.

She’s in a hundred snapshots in my mind—laughing until she hiccups, crying until she can’t breathe, curling into me like I’m the only safe place she knows. Every kiss. Every fight. Every whispered promise under moonlight and stars.

How the hell does that just disappear?

How do I disappear?

No. No, fuck that. I won’t let her forget me.

I can’t.

A nurse touches my arm. Gentle. Guiding. Before I know it, I’m sinking into a chair. My whole body locks up, hands gripping the armrests like I’m bracing for a crash that’s already happened.

I want to scream. Punch a wall. Tear this whole place apart until the universe remembers she’s mine and I’m hers.

But I just sit there.

Drowning.

Because the girl I love more than life—the girl who knows me, who sees me—looked right through me like I’m nothing. Like I’m a stranger.

The world blurs. Voices. Machines. Footsteps. Static. All of it fades beneath the bone-deep thud of my heart splitting open.

Then the silence shatters.

“Nooooo…!”

Her scream rips through the hallway like a blade to the chest. My body jolts before my brain can catch up.

“brADEN!”

His name hits like a gunshot.

Hope detonates inside me—messy, desperate. If she remembers him, then maybe—maybe—she remembers me.

My feet slam the floor. Heart racing. Breath burning. As I sprint for her door. Through the small window, I see her—Mac—wild and unraveling. Her arms flail, knocking over a tray, water and flowers shattering on the floor. Her screams tear through the air like thunder.

I freeze. Every muscle screams at me to move, but I don’t. Not when she’s like this. Not if she doesn’t want me near her.

Then she screams again.

It’s all it takes.

I lunge for the handle. My hands are slick, shaking, but I yank like I can tear down the barrier between us with sheer will.

A nurse steps in my path.

“Sir, you can’t—”

“I have to see her.”

My voice is low. Firm. I don’t blink. I don’t back down.

She hesitates—a single beat.

It’s all I need.

I slip past her.

Into chaos.

Nurses are everywhere, trying to hold Mac down. She’s thrashing, face streaked with tears, voice cracking from screaming. My heart fractures with every sound she makes.

“Mac!” I shout, stepping closer. “Angel… I’m here.” My voice barely cuts through the storm, but I know she hears me. Feels me. “Angel,” I say again, softer now. She stills.

Her eyes snap to mine. Wide. Wild. Haunted. But there’s something there. A flicker. Recognition? Memory? God, please let it be.

I reach for her, hand outstretched. Just to touch her. To anchor her. To bring her back.

But just before our hands connect—she goes limp. They sedated her. My heart stops.

“No. No, no, no.” A hand grips my shoulder. Gentle. Firm.

“Come on, hon,” a nurse murmurs. “Let us help her. She needs to rest.”

But I can’t move. Can’t breathe.

She’s in bed with her demons.

And I’m stood here with mine.

We’re both alone.

But somehow, her silence screams louder than mine ever could.

“I’m here for you, angel,” I whisper, even though she can’t hear me. I press my hand to hers, steady even as everything inside me shakes. She’s unconscious now, lashes still wet, breath shallow—but I won’t stop talking to her. Not now. Not ever.

Another nurse steps closer, sharper this time. “Sir, if you don’t step back, we’ll have to remove you.”

I don’t budge. Don’t even look at her.

All I see is Mac. The curve of her cheek. The way her fingers twitch like maybe—just maybe—she still feels me.

Then a shadow falls over me.

I turn slowly.

A man. Stern eyes. Crossed arms. The doctor.

“You can’t be in here,” he says. “Family and next of kin only.”

“I am her next of kin,” I grind out, my voice steel. “She has no one else.” My fists clench at my sides. My jaw aches from holding everything in. Because it’s true. There’s no one else left. No parents. No brother. No bloodline to claim her.

Just me.

I’ve loved her for more years than I can count. Carried her pain like it was mine. She’s in every lyric I’ve ever written, every note I’ve ever sung.

And now she’s lying here—lost, broken.

And they want me to walk away?

Not a fucking chance.

She owns me.

Heart. Body. Soul.

And I will not leave her.

Not now.

Not ever.