LOGINNESSA’S POVAfter three days in the hospital, I was finally discharged, and the first place I went was the football house. I wanted to get my things and leave before I gave myself another reason to put it off. My head felt better, and I could walk without worrying that the ground might tilt beneath me, but I was still tired. Three days of lying in a hospital bed had given me plenty of time to think about leaving. Somehow, none of that thinking had made returning to the house feel any easier.Anna and Debbie had offered to come with me after their classes. They had insisted that waiting a few hours would not hurt, and Anna had sounded ready to skip class entirely if that was what it took to stop me from going alone. I had spent far too long convincing them that I could collect a suitcase without someone holding my hand. Their concern meant more than I could explain, but I did not want the boys seeing them walk beside me and deciding I was too frightened to come back without protection.
NESSA’S POVAnna and Debbie sat right beside my bed, staring at me like they were afraid I would vanish if they blinked. Anna had pulled her chair so close that her knees touched the bed, and Debbie had not stopped watching my face since she arrived. I had already told them I was feeling better, but apparently, that was not enough. Every time I moved, one of them leaned forward. Under different circumstances, I would have teased them about it. Right now, having two people look at me with concern instead of suspicion felt too good to complain about.“I can't believe those jerks had the audacity to hurt you and then fire you,” Debbie blurted out. Her fists were clenched in her lap, and she looked furious enough to get up and find them herself. “After what they did, that's what they decided to do?”“They didn't fire me,” I corrected, shifting against the pillows. “I quit.” It mattered to me that she understood the difference. I had made that decision while looking all three of them in th
NESSA’S POVI had fallen asleep about an hour after the boys left, still angry enough that I thought I would spend the whole night staring at the ceiling. Apparently, being tired had won that argument, because when I opened my eyes again, daylight was pouring through the window. For a few seconds, I lay still and watched the bright patch on the wall, trying to understand how so much time had passed without me noticing. The room looked different in the sunlight, less cold than it had yesterday, but it was still a hospital room, and I was still stuck in it.I turned toward the window, wondering what time it was. There was no way to tell from the sky alone, so I looked around until I spotted the wall clock. Almost noon. I blinked at it, certain I had read the hands wrong, then looked again. No, it was almost noon, and somehow I had slept through the night and most of the morning. I could not remember the last time I slept that long. Usually, there was a class to attend or something to pr
THIRD-PERSON POVNessa had told them to get out, and this time none of them had argued. Lucian walked away from her hospital room first, followed by Damien and Adrian, leaving the door closed behind them. They moved down the hallway without speaking, passing nurses and visitors who barely spared them a glance. Damien wanted to look back, but he kept walking. She had made herself clear. She was quitting, and once she recovered, she would leave their house. There was nothing uncertain about her words, nothing that suggested she was waiting for them to convince her otherwise.The silence followed them into the elevator and through the hospital entrance. Outside, Adrian shoved his hands into his pockets while Lucian took out his keys. Damien stayed between them, his thoughts still on Nessa's face when she accused him of almost killing her. No one asked where they were going next. They simply crossed the parking lot and stopped beside Lucian's car. Lucian slid into the driver's seat, Damie
THIRD-PERSON POVDamien stood beside the hospital bed without saying a word. Nessa's question had hit him harder than he expected, and for a moment he could only stare at her. She was looking straight at him, her fingers gripping the blanket, and there was nothing uncertain about the anger in her eyes. She really believed he had almost killed her because she called him lazy, and hearing it put so plainly made him feel sick. He had wanted to frighten her, not leave her lying in a hospital bed, convinced that someone she lived with had tried to end her life.He wanted to explain everything. The bad throw, the accident, and the stupid decision he made afterward to let her think he was responsible. There was no version of that explanation that would make him sound decent, but he needed her to know the truth. He had not told anyone to hurt her. He had never wanted that. His hand moved slightly against the mattress as he searched for the right words, aware that every second he stayed quiet
NESSA’S POVMy eyes opened slowly, and even that small effort felt harder than it should have. My eyelids were heavy, my mouth was dry, and for a few seconds I could not focus on anything above me. I blinked until the ceiling became clear, then frowned. It was too bright and too plain, with a square light that did not belong in my bedroom. I knew the ceiling in that room. I had stared at it while trying to sleep, and this was definitely different. For a moment, I wondered whether I had somehow ended up upstairs again.I turned my head carefully and saw pale curtains, a chair near the wall, and equipment beside the bed. A faint smell reached me, sharp and clean in a way that made my stomach tighten before I understood why. This was a hospital room. I looked down at the blanket covering me, then at my hand resting beside it, trying to remember how I had gotten here. The last thing I remembered was locking my bedroom door and holding my aching head. I had wanted to rest. I certainly did







