Heart of Thorns (Shadow Valley U Book 2)
Heart of Thorns: Chapter 41

Everything hurts. My heart pounds so loud, it’s the only thing I can hear. Then, faintly, crying. Like a bubble popping, sound rushes back in, and I force my eyes open.

Hospital. It’s easily identifiable from the smell alone, but the quiet beeping of a distant monitor and the hum of machines confirms it. Plus the fluorescent overhead lighting, currently off. Sunlight comes in through a window to my left.

“Oh my God,” a familiar voice cries. “He could’ve died.”

I blink. My thoughts are sluggish, and it takes a moment to register who’s gripping my hand so tightly. My skin crawls, and I yank away.

Instinct.

“Baby,” she sobs. “You’re okay. You’re going to be fine. Your parents are on their way and they asked me to keep you company.”

Her face is familiar, but I can’t for the life of me remember her name. I stare at her. The blonde hair, the pert, ski-slope nose, the obvious lip filler. It’s so unlike the one person I want to see.

“Where’s Briar?” My voice is hoarse and rasping, and it hurts. Pain like never before radiates through my throat. Did I swallow glass?

“Shh.” She reaches for my hand again.

I bump the remote in an effort to avoid her and fumble for it, hitting the big red call button. My gaze goes to the ceiling, and I try to swallow.

More pain.

My eyes water.

“It’ll be okay,” the girl repeats.

Her name doesn’t fucking matter. She’s not Briar.

Eventually, a nurse comes in. She asks the girl to move back and steps in close, checking my vitals. She hits a button on the bed and slowly raises me into a more inclined position.

“Briar?” I whisper.

The nurse shakes her head and grabs a cup of water. She puts the straw to my lips, and the cold water simultaneously hurts and soothes.

“How—”

“I cannot release information about another patient unless you’re related.” Her gaze softens. “I’m sorry. How are you feeling?”

“Like I was run over by a truck.”

“You’re due for another dose of pain meds. The doctor will be in shortly. And this is your significant other?” She motions to the girl. “She said you were engaged.”

My heart stops, and I shake my head hard. A wave of dizziness crashes over me.

“She’s definitely not. I don’t even know her name.”

The nurse pauses. “Do you know where you are?”

“Hospital. Assuming in Shadow Valley still.”

She dips her chin. “Name?”

“Cassius Remington Thorne. The Third.”

“And the date?”

I tell her.

“You were intubated for two days. It’s now Friday. But, yes, you’re correct on everything else.” She faces the crying girl. “Miss, I’m sorry, but you’re not authorized to be here. Please come with me.”

She shepherds her out, ignoring her pleas and cries. My gaze floats to the ceiling, and I focus on my breathing for a long few minutes.

The last thing I remember is the fire. The heat. It hurt to breathe, it was like the very air was on fire. And the fear of dying alone with Ben fucking Patterson.

But then Rhys was there, shaking me awake. He cut me loose and half carried, half dragged me away from the burning ring, to a patch of floor that hadn’t been soaked in gas.

Then he went back for Ben.

Rhys better be okay.

And Briar⁠—

A tear slips down my cheek. Why wouldn’t Briar be here? She would’ve kicked out that girl, easy. No questions asked. She would’ve been holding my hand if she was okay, and I would’ve felt relief.

That seems far away now. My chest tightens, and it gets more difficult to inhale. It’s like a mountain has landed on me, the pressure intensifying. There’s a distant beeping, and my hearing goes out with a whoosh.

Then everything else fades, too.

“…it’s the immune system’s response. Inflammation is severe, yes, but it’s also expected. The intubation tube keeps his airway open…”

My chest rises and falls at a steady pace, the power of inhaling and exhaling no longer belonging to me. Helplessness and worry twist through me, and I panic.

Something cool spreads through my arm, and the darkness in my mind reaches up and pulls me back into its depths.

“Cassius.”

I reach out blindly.

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

My mind is fuzzy. I open my eyes and focus on the ceiling tiles, blinking a few times until my vision clears. My head doesn’t hurt like it did before. Everything kind of feels a bit removed, but it’s familiar.

I felt this way on pain meds after my knee…

A shudder rolls up my spine. That didn’t happen this time, right? I look down at my body. There’s a light on behind my head, and it casts strange shadows across the bed. But my body seems to be intact. There’s no extra padding or bandages on my legs, just blankets.

I wiggle my toes to prove that I can.

Someone takes a breath, and my attention moves toward the darkened window. Then lower, to the couch under it.

Briar is asleep, her arm folded under her head, a blanket draped over her legs.

My heart squeezes.

She’s okay.

She wouldn’t be on a shitty hospital room couch if she wasn’t.

I gaze at her silently, absorbing her hair piled in a messy bun, strands loose and sticking out at all angles. She’s in one of my sweatshirts, the black material swamping her frame. My throat dries when I find the butterfly bandage on her head, over her right eyebrow.

How did she get hurt?

“Bri—” My voice scratches. I clear my throat and try again. “Kitten.”

Her eyes flutter open, and she slowly sits up.

I’m rewarded with a brilliant smile, the likes of which I haven’t seen in a while. I could bottle that smile and drink it on my darkest days, knowing it would make everything better.

“You’re awake.” She shifts to the edge of the couch, her fingers digging into her thighs. “How do you feel?”

I don’t reply—not verbally anyway. I just hold my hand out to her.

She hesitates, then gets up and crosses the room. When her palm slides against mine, a knot in my chest loosens. I exhale, long and slow.

“Better now,” I finally say.

“You had me worried.”

“I’m okay.” I hope. I don’t actually know if that’s true. “Come here.”

Shifting to the side reveals just how sore my body is, but I try to mask it. I create a space for her and lift the blankets, and she just stares at me for a long moment.

“Kitten, get in this bed.”

She shakes her head, a smile pulling at the corners of her lips, and kicks off her shoes. She climbs in and helps me fix the blankets over both of us. On her side, curled into me, she shares my pillow and watches the side of my face.

“I’ve never been so scared,” she admits in a low voice.

My throat works. “Me neither.”

“I’m so glad you’re alive.”

I choke on a laugh. “Same.”

I shift again so I can put my arm around her. She wiggles closer, her cheek now on my chest. I absently stroke her arm, her side. Anything I can reach. Her body heat is very real, and I use it to anchor me in the present.

We’re safe.

The nurses do their best to not wake Briar when they take my vitals at the crack of dawn. One whispers that Briar has been worried sick, and this is the first time she’s truly slept. Judging by the dark circles under my girl’s eyes, I believe it.

I, on the other hand, didn’t sleep much. I relished the feel of her against me, but every time I closed my eyes, flames licked at my skin.

“How long have I been out?” I ask quietly.

“They had you sedated for two days, then put you back under for another four.”

Six days. In the blink of an eye.

“Is Rhys Anderson still a patient?”

She slowly shakes her head. No. “He was discharged a few days ago. But you didn’t hear that from me, you understand?”

“Of course. Thank you.”

I hope he wasn’t hurt. And I spare a thought for Ben, who Stephen framed, except I don’t have that in me right now. I hope he’s okay—and that’s the end of it.

I’ll ask Briar about it when she wakes up, but she looks peaceful. Her palm is splayed across my chest, right over my heart, like she was trying to make sure it was still beating.

“The doctor will be in shortly.”

She heads out, and I sigh. Six days—no wonder Briar was so worried. I try to zone back out, but I keep replaying the moments with Ben and Stephen. The dread and certainty of knowing I was going to die still lingers.

The next person to come in through the door, however, isn’t the doctor.

It’s my mother. My father follows close behind, but Mom’s face is a mask of worry. She stops short when she registers that Briar is sleeping in my bed, and her nose wrinkles. It’s an expression that would never be let loose in public.

“I was expecting Cynthia to be keeping you company,” she says.

Cynthia. Right. The crying girl.

“Why?”

Briar stirs at my sharp tone, and I wince. I rub her arm, but the action is also meant to keep her from scrambling away from me.

“Because she⁠—”

“She’s not the one I’m going to marry, Mother.” I stare at her. “And she told the nurse we were engaged. That’s not true. I’m dating Briar.”

“Of course you are, honey.” She steps up and pats my foot through the blanket. “And you’re playing football. But neither of those things are going to last forever. Cynthia comes from a lovely family. You know this. She said you two really hit it off on your date, so we’ve been making arrangements.”

Dread sucks the air from my lungs.

With sudden, vicious clarity, I realize that everything I’ve done to bend over backward for my parents has gone unappreciated. It hasn’t been viewed as a sacrifice—it’s been expected. The dates, me joining the family company…

But now it’s not just dates.

They’re trying to arrange my marriage, too.

Forget dating these women my parents handpick. They just want to choose one and set me at the front of the altar for the wedding of this girl’s dreams. The duty of it stabs at me, hot as embers.

Briar shifts and sits up slightly, touching the bandage on her head. She looks from me to my parents, taking stock of the situation, and tries to escape.

“Stay,” I tell her. I focus on my parents again. “I am not going to marry Cynthia. I’m not going on any more dates. I would’ve died in that building, and the only reason I’m still here⁠—”

My throat closes.

I know it’s because of Briar. I don’t remember getting out, but I do remember Rhys’s panicked face in front of me, his voice hoarse as he explained that he didn’t think he could get me and Ben up through the window. There was nothing to climb up on from the inside. The front door wouldn’t open.

Panic crawls along my throat, the smell of smoke in my nose.

“Cassius,” Briar whispers. “You’re okay, baby. Look at me.”

Her hand on my cheek directs my face toward hers. Her gaze crashes into mine, and she puts my hand on her chest.

“Breathe like me.”

I mimic her until it’s not as forced.

My father clears his throat. “We’re going to transfer you to a private hospital. They wouldn’t do it while you were intubated.”

There is no private hospital in Shadow Valley.

“Where?”

“Back home, of course,” Mom says. She circles around, opposite Briar, and reaches out. She smooths my hair back from my forehead.

I hold still. Pulling away always offends her, and I don’t want that to be just another thing. Briar, however, glares at her for me.

Then her words register.

“Home?” I echo.

“You can finish out the school year online. We already talked to the school. Everything is settled.” She smiles, still touching my hair. “We’ll give you two some time to say goodbye. The helicopter is going to be here soon.”

She finally draws away, and they exit.

Shock radiates through me.

“Helicopter?” Briar scoffs. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I grimace, then sit up. I fiddle with the railing and get it lowered, then swing my legs over the edge of the bed.

“Where are you going?” Alarm colors Briar’s tone. She gets up and races around, grabbing my arm just as I stand. With her there, I wobble but don’t land on my ass.

I’m in a gown that gapes open at the back, which is not my best look.

“I don’t suppose you can hunt down some clothes for me, kitten?”

She pauses and stares at me. “Why do you need clothes?”

“Because I’m sure as fuck not transferring. I’m not leaving Shadow Valley. And I’m not leaving you.” I catch her chin in my fingers. “I should’ve told you this a while ago. Our fake relationship became so fucking real for me. And I fell in love with you hard.”

“You…”

“I’m so in love with you, you were my first thought when I woke up. And you’re always my last thought before I fall asleep.” I reel her in closer. “I’d give up everything. My trust fund. My relationship with my parents. The cushy job waiting for me.” Pause. “Football, even.”

Her lips pop open.

“Don’t say anything.” I shake my head and rub the back of my neck. “I, uh, haven’t admitted love to anyone before and I don’t think I can stomach a rejection right now. Let’s just focus on getting out of here.”

She seems dazed, then visibly snaps out of it. “Right. Okay. Clothes and escape route. Coming right up.” She hurries to the door, then immediately doubles back. “Just so you know? I love the shit out of you, Cassius.”