Aeris
I stared at them. All three of them.
They didn't look smug or amused. Not like usual. There were no smirks, no mocking glances passed between them. Just silence—and something I didn't recognize written across their faces.
Guilt?
No. Too simple.
This was deeper. Raw. Like they were the ones unraveling now.
"I…" My throat burned. "I need water."
Silas moved first. Not fast—carefully. Like he thought I might shatter again.
He handed me a glass, already filled, condensation on the sides. My hand trembled when I took it, but I held on, lips barely parting as I sipped. The water was cool, clean. Too clean.
Too not-my-life.
Ronan sat on the edge of a chair nearby, forearms braced on his knees.
"You're still dehydrated," he said. "You need the IV."
I flinched.
He noticed.
"It's just fluids. That's all."
"You could've put anything in it," I murmured.
Kade scoffed from across the room, but Ronan shot him a look that silenced him before he even opened his mouth.
"You think we dragged you to a hidden house in the middle of nowhere just to poison you?" Ronan asked, voice sharper than before.
"I think," I said quietly, "I don't know what the hell to think."
More silence.
Then Silas knelt beside the bed. His cocky mask was gone. Stripped away, like mine had been.
"Aeris," he said, soft but clear. "You don't have to trust us. But trust this: your body's failing. You need help. Just let us do this one thing. If you want to scream at us after, throw shit, whatever—you can. Just not now."
His eyes weren't taunting.
They were begging.
I swallowed.
My body ached so deep I wasn't sure I could keep holding myself up. My head throbbed, like every nerve had short-circuited. And the water wasn't enough. I could feel it.
Slowly, I nodded.
"Fine."
Silas let out a breath like he'd been holding it for hours.
Ronan moved to the drawer beside the bed, pulling out a sealed IV kit. He didn't hesitate, didn't tremble. His hands were steady, practiced.
"How do you know how to do that?" I asked, voice tight.
His eyes met mine.
"I've seen a lot worse than this," he said, and something flickered in his gaze—dark and full of memory. "You're not the only one who's bled."
That… I didn't know what to do with.
The needle slipped in smooth. A small sting, then coolness rushing into my arm.
Silas adjusted the pillow behind me. Kade brought a fresh blanket but didn't say a word.
None of them touched me unless I let them.
And I noticed that.
I noticed everything.
My body softened slowly into the mattress, the weight of exhaustion dragging me under like a tide I didn't have the strength to fight anymore.
The last thing I saw before my eyes slipped shut was Ronan, sitting by the door, elbows on his knees, head down like he couldn't bear to look at me.
And for the first time…
I didn't hate that.