Marcus's POV
"She's awake."
The nurse's words hit me like a physical blow. I'd been in the hospital cafeteria, forcing down coffee that tasted like ash, when my phone rang.
"What?" I couldn't process it. "She's what?"
"Awake. She is conscious and asking for you."
I was already running through the cafeteria. I pushed past startled visitors and sprinted up the stairs because the elevator was too slow.
Four floors. My lungs burned, but I didn't care.
I burst through the ICU doors. The nurse at the station pointed toward Aria's room.
Room 412.
I stopped outside the door. What if she told me to leave? What if three days of thinking made her realize I wasn't worth dying for?
I opened the door.
Aria lay in the bed. The ventilator was gone. She was breathing on her own, and her eyes were open.
Those eyes looked at me.
"You look like shit," she said. Her voice was rough. Damaged from the breathing tube.
