Page 42

Juliette

B eep. Beep. Beep.

I peeled my eyes open, bright light entering my vision and forcing me to close them right away.

My head was still pounding, though much less than after?—

My eyes popped open again. I looked around, noting that I was in a hospital room.

I’m alive.

My eyes settled on the lump of a person with her head in her arms on the edge of my bed.

Lux. Her shiny black hair was a mess around her head. Her clothes rumpled and stained. Maybe blood.

My blood?

I took a moment to look at her. To truly look at her.

I could just make out her face. The bags under her eyes. The paleness of her skin. She must have been by my side for a while.

How long have I been here?

She came for me.

I lay there for a moment, thinking through everything that had happened.

I never thought her mother would come after me like that. That she would try to kill me. That she would almost succeed, or how scared I’d been.

Suddenly, everything I had been worried about felt like nothing at all. It all fell away.

In that moment, all I could think about was how much I loved Lux and how I should've told her from the beginning instead of running away.

It didn't matter that she was my boss—to be honest, did it ever? Didn't matter how complicated things were with her mother and the death of my parents. Didn’t matter if people found out about the BDSM club. That brought me Lux. Let people think whatever the hell they wanted.

What mattered with us and Bella.

And in the moment when I was hanging off that bridge and my life was passing right before my eyes, all I could think about was them.

Being with them, living a life with them.

I will never leave them again.

I don't know how long I lay there just staring at Lux, but it must've been a while because a doctor peeked her head in the room. I motioned for her to be quiet as I reached out to touch Lux's hand, noticing for the first time my hand with all the IVs in it.

The doctor slowly shut the door behind her and walked to my side.

“Ms. Hayes, I'm happy to see you're awake,” she whispered.

Lux didn't even twitch.

“How long have I been out?” My throat ached as I spoke.

“Just a little over twenty-four hours.”

My eyes traveled to the covered windows. There was no telling what time it was. The hospital’s fluorescent light made it look like permanent daytime, and my body just felt exhausted, even after the long sleep.

“The police have been waiting for you,” she said, her eyes shifting to Lux. “They wanted me to let them know as soon as you woke up.”

I grimaced.

“Can I convince you to give us thirty minutes alone?”

She smiled and looked at her watch.

“Would you look at that? It's time for my lunch break,” she said, and without another word, turned and left the room.

Hesitantly, I turned back to Lux and ran my fingers through her hair.

Her eyes fluttered open and shot to me. It took her a moment to realize what was happening, but then she jerked up, eyes wide, tears already filling them.

“Thank God, Juliette. Do you feel okay? Does anything hurt? Let me go get the docto?—”

“She was just in,” I said with a smile before grabbing her hand. “Thank you for saving me. I feel fine now.”

Her expression changed.

“Juliette, I am so, so sor?—”

“I love you,” I said, cutting her off. “I'm the one who’s sorry for not saying it sooner. I loved you then, and I love you now. I was just too afraid to say it. I can’t believe it took me almost dying… Lux, I regret not saying it sooner?—”

She was up and pulling me into her arms in seconds.

I sank into her, a feeling of calm washing over me.

This is it. This is all that matters. It’s as simple as this.

“I love you too,” she said and hugged me tight before suddenly pulling away. “Shit, does that hurt? Am I hurting you?—”

“You’re not, but even if you were, I’d be fine with that.”

We stayed like that for a couple of minutes before she let go and sat back down, but she still reached for my hand.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

She flinched, the memory probably hitting her hard.

“I was following my mother,” she said, and I frowned.

“It’s not like that. Ever since we found out what she did, Laura advised me to get someone to do that, but my thoughts were plaguing me, so I asked Gina to keep an eye on Bella and went myself too.

I wasn’t going inside the bar—in fact, I was about to leave when she came out with… you .”

“So you saw everything… That must've been hard.”

“Juliette… You were the one who was hit over the head and thrown off a bridge. How are you worried about me ?” she replied, her eyes going watery again. “I’m so?—"

I cupped her face.

“Yeah, it hurt like a bitch,” I said with a smile. “But listen to me. None of it is your fault. You saved me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”

She moved to kiss my lips, just lightly, touching my cheek like she couldn’t believe I was there.

“Can you promise me something, though?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“Can you please change your clothes? I really don't want to continue looking at my blood.”

She looked down at herself before a smile pulled her lips.

“Anything for you, Angel. But can I do that when I’m sure you’re not just going to disappear on me somehow?”

“You can. But I’m not going anywhere.”

We sat there in silence for a moment, hands touching, just enjoying each other's company, but it wasn't long before there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I said, and as soon as I did, the door burst open, and a little blur was running to me.

Bella climbed up on the bed before Lux had the chance to warn her about it, her panic and tear-stained face filling my vision. I opened my arms for her and let her climb into them. She buried her face in my chest, still sniffling.

“It's okay, sweetheart. I'm okay.”

I brushed her hair with my fingers as she cried. It hurt a little bit with the IVs pulling on my arm, but I didn't care. She came first. I nodded at Lux so she knew it was okay.

A breathless Gina leaned against the doorframe.

“I'm so sorry,” she said, panting. “I tried to stop her, but she heard some of the nurses saying you were awake.”

I looked at Lux, who gave me a small smile.

“She's been here for a few hours,” she said. “I tried to keep her at home, but she wasn't having it.”

“I wanted to see you!” Bella said as she pulled away. “When Auntie Lux said you were in an accident, I was so scared.”

I frowned and wiped the tears off her face.

“I know how scary that must've been.” She was no doubt comparing it to the day when she’d lost her parents. “But I know you were brave for me, weren’t you?”

“Not even a little bit. I cried the entire time,” she answered with a pout.

I couldn't help but laugh and pull her back in for a hug.

“I'm okay, Bella. Don't worry. I'll be out of here soon.”

“Will you come back home with us?” she asked, her voice muffled.

Lux was staring at me as if she wanted to hear the answer to that question too. I reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Just try and stop me. Yeah, I'm coming home.”

The smile Lux gave me was blinding, and she stood up, pulling us both into a hug.

“Juliette, my God!”

With a sigh, we looked to the door, which now held Harmony, Erin, and April. All of them looking like I quite literally ruined their day.

They rushed to me, not caring that Bella was still in my arms.

“Are you okay? When I saw you bleeding out, I had no idea what to do! I thought you were going to di?—”

“Let's not talk about that when there's a child present,” Erin said, shoving Harmony out of the way.

April's hand made its way to my shoulder, and she squeezed.

“I'm okay, guys. Thanks for coming.”

Harmony jumped into her recount of the night while Bella cuddled into me, not ready to let go yet. I didn't mind; I enjoyed the cuddles.

Lux stayed by my side, listening to my ex-roommates, even smiling every now and then.

But just when I thought it couldn't get any more crowded in the hospital room, Lucas popped his head in.

“How… Was this you?” I asked Lux.

“I sent him a text. Sorry, I took your phone. I didn’t have Lucas’s number.”

Everyone made way for Lucas.

“Who's that?” Harmony asked in a hardly concealed whisper.

“The brother, I think,” April whispered back.

Bella turned to glare at Lucas.

“Juliette, are you okay? Does anything hurt?” He then paused to look at Lux. “Who sends a goddamn message saying my sister is in the hospital without?—”

Lucas stopped when he noticed us holding hands. When he looked at me, I just nodded. He nodded back and gave me a small smile, and I knew he got it.

Lux, Bella, and I were together, and he needed to get with the program.

A burst of warmth spread throughout my chest as I looked at the scene in front of me.

Bella still had her head on my chest and was hugging me as hard as I could possibly allow her. My roommates were talking off to the side about what types of food they were going to sneak into the hospital room for me.

My brother was in front of me, concern on his face, no doubt wanting to know what had happened. And I would tell him all about it. I wouldn’t leave anything out.

They were all here for me. Me. I couldn't believe it. All these people were here because they cared about me and worried about me. Something seventeen-year-old me would've never imagined.

But that wasn't the end of it.

Marci poked her head in through the door and smiled when she saw me, a tray of drinks in her hands.

“How many people did you text?” I asked, looking at Lux.

The cutest blush ran up her neck and spread across her face.

“I think that's all,” she replied, but then both Mia and Laura walked through the door.

“Oh my God,” I said with a laugh.

“Is this some type of party or something?” Mia asked just as Laura crossed her arms over her chest.

“Have the police come yet?” Laura asked more seriously, and just as she did, two uniformed officers showed up behind them.

“Ms. Hayes?”