Page 56 of Stay With Me (Griffin’s Den #2)

FIFTY-FIVE

Luna

After what seems like forever, I’m finally left alone in the hospital room with just Jess. Noah knew I wanted to talk to her and made an excuse to go talk to Special Agent Hunt.

I look over at her, and my heart breaks. Gone is the confident little girl she was becoming. Hunched over with her head down, she’s fiddling with her fingers. She carried so much on her shoulders.

I wish I could have done more.

“Are you okay?” I ask softly.

She just shrugs.

“Jess, look at me.”

She lifts her head slowly, and tears are streaming down her face.

“It’s okay to not be okay,” I tell her. It was hard when I had to be okay for so long, but having people to finally lean on has taught me a lot.

“I promise I’ll never keep a secret ever again,” she says, her voice shaking.

Making sure to keep our eyes locked so she knows I’m serious, I lean forward. “You were given a task no child should have been given, and you did the best you could. Of course, you could have told any of us, but I understand why you didn’t.”

Shock flashes across her face. “You do? But you could have gotten hurt.”

I shrug. “Yeah, I could have, but I didn’t. You forget I know how convincing they can be. They will either tell you what you want to hear to feel special, or they know exactly what to say to make you feel like you’re nothing but dirt on the bottom of their shoes.”

“They made me feel like I was cursed because you left after I was born,” she whispers.

“Come here.” I pat the bed and scoot.

She climbs into bed with me, and I put my arms around her shoulders. “You are not cursed. My choices are my own, and I’m sorry those choices hurt you when you had nothing to do with it. I’m so sorry I left you behind because I didn’t know what else to do. But I’m not mad at you.”

Neither of us says anything for a while, and soon I realize she’s fallen asleep. I hear a soft knock at the door, and Noah and the girls are standing in the doorway.

When I give them a small smile, they walk in, and as soon as Noah gets close enough, he leans down and kisses my forehead.

“Everything okay?” Am asks.

“It will be. It’s just so fresh that I think it will take some time for her to come to terms with what happened. But she knows I’m not mad and that I don’t blame her.” I stroke her hair and sigh. “Did you talk to the doctor? I’m ready to go home and sleep.”

“Yeah, you’re good to go. Your boo over here tried to convince them you should stay overnight for observation, but I looked over your chart, and everything is fine,” Pam says.

I look over at Noah, and he shrugs. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, a little sore and itchy from the bug bites, but I want to sleep in your bed, not the hospital’s,” I tell him.

He gives me a look of admonishment. “ Our bed, and I’ll go get the doctor to finish up your paperwork. You’ll need to meet with Hunt and his team tomorrow.”

I relax back against the bed. “Okay.”

He kisses me softly and walks out the door.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Am asks softly.

“Yeah. Idiots left me in a room by myself like I was going to just sit there and let whatever they planned happen.” I roll my eyes.

“Now that you don’t have to run anymore, you and Jess are going to stay, right?” Abby asks.

I look down at Jess. “Yeah, even if I don’t stay with Noah, Griffin’s Den is our home. I want Jess to grow up here. Maybe the FBI will be able to get me some documentation saying that I’m a person and I can get custody of her.”

Pam snorts. “If you don’t stay with Noah. I’d like to see you try and move out of his house. But if you really wanted to move out, we would help you.”

A smile takes over my face. “Yeah, I don’t think he would want me to, and I know you guys would. Thank you for helping Jess when Noah needed you guys.”

The girls move to sit on the edge of the bed, and I lean my head back and close my eyes.

Within the next hour, I’m released from the hospital with a form on how to care for the bug bites.

I hug the girls as we get to the exit. “Thank you for everything today. Give me a day, and we’ll figure out a time to get together.”

“Call if you need anything,” Am says, and they walk toward Pam’s truck.

Noah is carrying Jess, and he leads us to his truck. “Didn’t you ride in the ambulance with me? Or did I imagine it?” I ask as I open the door.

He sets Jess in the back and buckles her in before shutting the door and pulling me into a hug. “Sam brought my truck and rode back to the firehouse with Luke.”

We just stand there, holding each other, for a few minutes.

“Noah?”

“Yeah?”

“As much as I love your hugs. I’m tired and want to go home,” I say into his chest.

“Say it again.”

“I’m tired and want to go home?” I repeat and look up at him, confused.

He shakes his head. “The other part.”

I smile softly. “I love you and your hugs.”

“I love you too, my Lunabella. Now, let’s go home.” He opens my door and helps me into the truck.

As soon as he pulls onto the main road, exhaustion pulls me under.