CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR
ALICE
It has been exactly three days since I've been stuck in this hospital,
missing my classes–the only thing I had worked my ass off for.
But color me surprised when Mr. King,showed up here the day before yesterday just to see me.
We had a long chat about Marcus.
He has officially expelled him from the university and requested that I keep the police out of it.
In exchange, he promised he would personally ensure that nothing stands in my way when it comes to getting into Oakhaven.
"How are you feeling, Alice?" Yana asks me softly.
She is Zade's mother, and she has barely left my side for the last two days.
His father, Ethan Hamilton... well, if I previously thought Zade was a jerk, I was being entirely unfair.
His father is the real mountain here...intimidating, cold, and massive.
"I am feeling fine, though I want to leave this place as soon as possible," I say.
The nurse steps away after finishing the dressing on my shoulder blade.
It hurts like absolute hell, but the pain serves as a permanent reminder never to trust someone so easily again.
Yana reaches over to help me with my shirt, but Ethan steps in closer, his heavy brow furrowing.
"Beautiful, you don't have to do that. There are nurses for that, and I am sure Alice wouldn't mind. Right, Alice?"
Ethan asks, his voice laced with a dark, protective sarcasm.
The man is a real son of a bitch... but watching them, I can't help but notice the way he looks at Yana.
It's like he's ready to tear the world apart if she so much as drops a single prick of blood.
To be honest, I feel a sudden wave of envy.
My parents never shared a bond like that.
Maybe I'll never have it, either.
"Yeah, I don't mind at all," I say quickly, trying to diffuse Ethan's intensity.
"Yana, you can leave it. The nurse will button it up."
"Nonsense. I can do it, and I am completely fine with it," Yana says with a sharp edge, throwing a pointed look back at her husband.
"Thank you," I whisper.
The heavy wood door swings open.
Mio strolls in first, followed closely by Zade, and then Nate, who is carefully wheeling Ellie in a wheelchair.
She looks much better now; the healthy color has finally returned to her skin, though she still needs to remain in the hospital for a few more days.
Yesterday, her parents had rushed here.
They were shocked and relieved all at once, but her dad had lost his mind when Nate broke the news about the pregnancy.
As Mio mentioned later, they knew Nate had proposed, but the pregnancy was a complete surprise.
Eventually, they calmed down and left.
Ellie's mother stayed near her bed most of the time, but they had stepped out today because Ellie's father literally carried his exhausted wife all the way to the car while she was asleep.
Yana finishes smoothing down my hospital clothes, leaning in.
"No need to thank me. You owe me for my entire life, Alice. You saved my Zade," she says softly.
I look over at the wheelchair. "How are you?" I ask Ellie.
Ellie smiles brightly, snapping her right hand up and down in an excited wave to show she's recovering.
"The question should be, how are you feeling, considering a literal nail was driven into your back?"
Nate asks, shuddering.
"Oh, come on, it was just a thin nail," I scoff, trying to downplay the horror of it.
"Was it?"
Zade's deep voice cuts through the room.
He steps toward my bed, and my heart does a violent flip against my ribs.
It is not supposed to react that way.
Ever since that night in the gym bathroom, I find myself utterly shy, blushing the second he enters a room.
I am Alice Miller. I don't blush.
Little stupid heart, stop that or I'll stop you, I warn myself internally.
"Yes, it was just a nail," I say, forcing a confidence I definitely don't possess.
"That it was," Zade murmurs, his dark eyes boring into mine.
"Yet I watched your eyes go vacant right in front of me. Tell me, Alice... do you know what it feels like to be the reason for someone's last breath?"
The entire room goes dead silent. The air turns freezing.
Yana breaks the suffocating tension, turning sharply to her husband.
"Ethan, why don't you take everyone out? I want to talk to Alice for a few minutes. Alone."
She places a heavy emphasis on the word alone, glaring directly at her son.
"You heard her, Zade. Come on, you punk," Ethan grunts, clapping a heavy hand on Zade's shoulder.
Zade holds my gaze for a fraction of a second longer before turning on his heel, leading the rest of the group out into the hallway.
Once the door clicks shut, Yana sits on the edge of the plastic chair, immediately taking my hands in hers.
"I am so sorry about what happened. He shouldn't have said that to you," she says, her voice trembling slightly.
She takes a deep breath, looking down at our joined hands.
"When Zade was seven years old, I was pregnant. It was a baby girl. He had been so incredibly excited to be a big brother. He saved his allowance, bought everything for her, and tried to decorate the nursery himself. It was a complete mess, but what decorations do you expect from a little boy?"
She lets out a breathless, watery laugh, her eyes clouding over with old memories.
"But then... we lost her. I had a miscarriage. Out of everyone, Zade was the one left most devastated. He used to sit by my bed and beg me to ask the angels to return his little sister."
My chest tightens fiercely, a thick lump forming in my throat until it physically hurts to breathe.
"Recovering from that trauma wasn't easy for him," Yana continues, a tear escaping her eye.
"He locked himself away entirely. He wouldn't talk to Ethan or me. But eventually, he started to heal after Lila moved into our neighborhood. She was a sunshine girl, so positive and bright. She made him human again.
I was so happy to see them together... and when he announced she was pregnant when they were seventeen, I was over the moon. I knew it wasn't an ideal situation, and Ethan was initially against it, but I knew how deeply Zade loved her. But then... the universe snatched that from him, too."
She is crying openly now. I feel a matching tear trickle down my own cheek.
"It wasn't until much later that we found out the baby was actually Marcus's," Yana whispers, her voice breaking.
"But we didn't know back then. And I know Zade... even if we had known, it wouldn't have changed anything. Because Zade already loved that baby with everything he had."
"I... I didn't know," I stammer, my voice cracking under the weight of his past.
"I didn't know he lost his sister. I am so sorry for your loss, Yana."
"Don't say that, Alice." Yana gently wipes her eyes, trying to force a reassuring smile despite her flushed, tear-stained face.
"I know it was wrong of him to say those dark things to you just now. But trust me... he has faced too many losses to face any more. He is terrified."
I open my mouth to reply, but my eyes drift past her shoulder.
Ethan is standing in the threshold of the doorway.
He must have slipped back in quietly.
As I catch his eye, he slowly shakes his head, signaling me not to say anything more about the past to Yana.
Ethan gives a soft, deliberate knock on the open door.
Yana quickly wipes her face, pulling up a bright, cheerful expression before turning around.
"You done, beautiful?" Ethan asks.
He steps up behind her, grabbing her waist and hugging her tightly against his chest.
"Yeah..." she says, leaning back into his strength.
"Let's go. I think we should let Alice rest up for now."
She turns to leave, and Ethan nods.
But before he walks out the door, he pauses.
He catches my eye, giving me a single, heavy nod of respect.