My heart sank. Permanent nerve damage. I knew exactly what that would mean for him. If he couldn’t do his work, if he couldn’t type, he’d be devastated.
“Any questions?” Willow asked.
Ciel shook his head. “I just want to lie down.”
“I’ll help you to your room,” Leona said, supporting his arm. He leaned against her.
“Wynn,” Willow said. “Let me talk to you alone for a moment.”
Obi nodded, cleaning up the supplies and blood drips on the floor. “Go.”
I took my phone to my room and shut the door. “What is it?”
“He’s going to be okay.” She looked me in the eye. “Slow your breathing.”
I did as she said, suddenly aware of how close I was to a panic attack. I hadn’t had one in years. “I know. I just…”
“You care about him,” she said softly.
“Of course, I do.” I sat on the edge of my bed. “It’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention, so he pushed me out of the way and got stabbed. We were taking out Max’s hacker.”
“That’s good you got him.”
“Her. Lucia Greco. We only found her because of the information Fallon gave to Ciel.”
She nodded. “I’ll tell Fallon.”
“Thanks,” I murmured as I rubbed the back of my neck. My sister was the only other person I could trust, besides Leonaand my brothers. The words started spilling, the explanation I couldn’t give her earlier. “I don’t know how I’m going to make it up to him if he can’t work. I should never have let my guard down.”
Her mouth pulled into a sad smile. “He’s not mad at you, so don’t be mad at yourself, okay?”
I nodded half-heartedly.
“Let him rest, and then go talk to him,” she urged. “He clearly cares about you, too.”
I scoffed. “How do you know that?”
“He watched you the entire time.”
I blinked. Did he? He was just in pain. It didn’t mean anything more than that. Did Iwantit to mean more than that?
My head spun. “I don’t…”
She held up her free hand. “Just talk to him. You’ve got a good group there.” She smiled. “I’m jealous sometimes.”
I huffed a breath. “It’s still you and me, Willow. Always.”
After everything we’d been through, we were each other’s rocks. I had just found a few more rocks to rely on. But one day, Willow would find hers. If she opened her eyes, she’d see Colin right in front of her.
“I know,” she said, sitting straight. Back to business. “Don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Willow. I mean it.”
“Text me updates.”
We said our goodbyes, and I flopped back on my bed, covering my eyes with my forearm. She was right. I did need to talk to him. I just needed to work up the courage to face him first.
An hour later,I peeked my head into Ciel’s room. He laid on his bed on top of the comforter, head lolled to the side, eyes closed. Sleeping. I’d come back later.
