Page 94 of Raise Me Up

“You’re so sweet, you know that?” I say, kissing the top of her head.

She sniffles. “You both keep saying that.”

“No tears, baby.” I squeeze her tighter, the burning sensation behind my eyes growing. As much as I want to curse some higher being for this situation, I made the mistake of coming to Texas. I brought this sickness into their lives.

Choked up, I ask, “Is Liam here?”

“He’s taking a walk through the hospital. He’s upset, Beau. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to reach him.”

Something like a rock sinks in my gut. Liam’s terror was the first thing I saw when I regained consciousness on the dining room floor. He clearly blames himself, but had we not collided, I would have gone on longer not knowing what was going on in my head.

I get the sense Liam wants to cast himself as a villain, even though he’s done nothing to earn the poisonous crown. For anyone brave enough to stare into the dark pits of his eyes, they would see the truth of his nature. The tender soul he hides away.

“Beau. Do they know why you had a seizure?” Stasi asks.

The door opens once more, saving me from having to lie. My stomach turns over as Liam hesitantly approaches my bed, a duffle bag clutched in one hand, his shoulders hanging low.

He looks miserable. Like a metal god who fell off his throne.

I can’t put them through this, even if I’m scared of battling a tumor on my own.

“This is not your fault,” I tell him.

His eyes skim over the machines I’m hooked up to. “Looks a hell of a lot like it to me.”

“I’ve been having head issues for weeks. Youknowthat. The seizure was probably inevitable. People have them, Liam.”

A muscle in his jaw ticks. His chin drops, loose tendrils of inky hair hiding his face.

“Please don’t be stubborn about this.Fuck, will you come here?”

He doesn’t move, and all the worry I’d been fending off comes rushing over me. Why would he want me like this? Why would anyone want to take care of me after I have my head cut open? No one is gonnasign up for all the appointments and whatever shitstorm of symptoms “treatment” might bring.

Liam has a business to run. Stasi has real patients to tend to.

And then there’s the possibility that I won’t get better. What if one surgery isn’t enough? What if this becomes an uphill battle for the rest of my life?

Will it even be a long life?

Ugh. I wish I could get high. Even if I could sneak it into the hospital, I’m not sure I could trust my mouth under the influence. Look at how my conversation with Noah turned out. I ruined that friendship.

Liam drags a chair across the tile floor and parks it on the other side of my bed. He collapses into it.

When I hold out my hand to him, he brings it to his mouth and presses a quick kiss to my knuckles.

“I’m shit at this,” he says, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Hey, I get to be the moody one right now,” I tease softly.

He sighs and reaches a hand up to comb it through my hair. “Still a handful, even when you’re laid out in a fucking hospital bed. I bought you some things. A change of clothes. Toiletries. An extra blanket.”

I shut my eyes to keep tears from spilling. Iwantto regret coming here. I really do. But I’ve enjoyed my time with them more than I could ever put into words. I got to see a new side of Liam, the man I’ve been in love with for years.

I got the opportunity to fall in love with Stasi, too.

For that, I have to be grateful.

Now I just need to find a way to kick them out with kindness and summon up the courage to call my dad.