Liam cupped my cheek, his face ravaged. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
My breaths came in quick pants, stinging my throat. “Garrett. Is he?”
Liam’s expression turned to stone. “He’s gone. You saved yourself.” Liam bent closer. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
Hot tears stung my eyes. “I killed him?”
Liam closed his eyes as if pained. When he opened them, the sage green in them seemed to be full of fire. “You did what you had to do. But I’m so sorry you had to do it. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
There was so much pain in those eyes. So much guilt. I hated it. “No.”
Liam pulled back, his brows drawing together. “No?”
My voice shook, but I had to tell him. “I’m alive because you showed me what to do. Garrett, he zip-tied my hands, but I got out of them like you showed me.” The fire in Liam’s gaze blazed hotter. I rushed on. “And then I thought about what you told me about how almost anything can be a weapon. So, I broke off a leg of the chair…” I let my words trail off. I didn’t need to tell him what I’d done with that.
Liam bent and brushed his lips against my temple on the side of my head that wasn’t throbbing. “You’re so strong.”
I soaked up the warmth of his touch. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Always,” he whispered against my skin.
I tried to remember what exactly had happened after my fight with Garrett, but I couldn’t seem to grasp it. “What happened?”
Liam straightened, studying my face. “What do you mean?”
I swallowed, fisting the blanket. “After…I don’t remember.”
Liam lifted a cup with a straw to my lips. “Here, have a little of this. It’s apple juice.” I took a small sip, it tasted like heaven. “The doctor said it’s normal if you don’t remember for a while. You were in shock when the police found you. You wouldn’t let anyone get close.”
I hated the blank space in my mind, loathed the thought that anything could have happened in that time and I wouldn’t know it, as if my memory, my brain, were betraying me. “Will you tell me what happened?”
Liam brushed the hair out of my face. “Are you sure you want to talk about all of this right now?”
I clutched the blanket tighter. “I need to know.”
Liam’s expression shuttered slightly. “You didn’t recognize Walker or Tuck, so they called me in to see if you would let me get close.” Tears gathered in Liam’s eyes. “Tessa, when I got there, you were covered in blood. We had no idea how badly you’d been hurt. I’ve never been so terrified in my life.”
I reached out, touching Liam’s stubbled cheek. He pressed his face into my palm. “I made everyone leave. I just kept talking to you. Telling you all the times I fell more and more in love with you. Eventually, you came back to me.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Thank you for bringing me back.” My gaze caught on a guitar leaning against the bed. “Were you singing to me?”
Liam turned his head so that he could kiss my palm and then placed my hand on his chest. His heartbeat was steady and strong, just like Liam himself. “You were unconscious longer than the doctor expected. He said talking to you, playing music, might help. Taylor picked up my guitar, and I’ve just been playing nonstop since she brought it.” His gaze met mine and held. “I finished your song.”
“You wrote me a song?”
Liam squeezed my hand. “It turns out, you were the key to finding my voice again.”
My chest warmed. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
He eyed the door to the hospital room. “That might have to wait for a bit.”
My forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
Liam chuckled. “There’s a whole lot of people who are anxiously waiting to see you.”
My chest warmed. “Really?”
“Of course. The entire Cole family, Taylor, Tuck.”
