His for a year. - Chapter 41: Chapter 41

The next morning came soft and warm, but something in me still felt cold. I was sipping tea on the balcony when Ray’s message came in.
“Heading out to get some things. Mind if I stop by?”
I hesitated, my thumbs hovering above the screen. Then I replied.
“Sure. Just text when you’re close.”
A few minutes later, he texted that he was outside.
I slipped into jeans and a black hoodie, told Aliyah I was just going for a quick walk, and stepped out the gate like I wasn’t hiding my entire heart in my chest. Ray’s car was parked a little ahead, engine off. I walked up quickly and got into the front seat.
He glanced at me, his mouth tugging up in a soft smile. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied, buckling in. It felt oddly like breathing better, being here. With Ray. It was quieter.
“I was going to pick up some items,” he said, turning toward me. “But I figured I’d stop by. Check on you. How’re you holding up?”
I looked down at my fingers. “Trying. Every day feels like it’s three weeks long.”
He nodded. “It’s been a week plus. Have you decided anything? About… staying or leaving?”
I shook my head slowly. “No. Not really. I thought I wanted distance, then I wanted silence. Now I’m not even sure what I want.”
Ray opened his mouth, and for a second, his eyes held mine like they had something to say. Something big. But then he looked away, jaw twitching. Whatever it was, he swallowed it down.
He gave a small exhale and tapped the wheel. “Wanna come with me to the place? Just a short drive. I’ll drop you back right after.”
I blinked. “Yeah. I could use that.”
He smiled. “Good. The glass is tinted, so your little sister won’t even know you vanished.” He smiled, “or paparazzi.”
I laughed under my breath and reached for my seatbelt.
As I clicked it in, Ray turned on the engine and pointed to a black sedan parked a little ways down. “That car… it was here the other time I came. And it hasn’t moved since I arrived. Looks suspicious.”
I frowned. “You think someone’s watching?”
“I don’t know,” he said, eyes narrowing. “Could be a coincidence. But—”
He didn’t finish the sentence. Because just as he began to pull into a slow turn, everything shattered.
A black G-Wagon slammed into us.
I felt the world spinning.
Metal screamed.
Airbags burst open with explosive force.
I tasted blood. My ears rang. My head jerked sideways, and for a moment I couldn’t move. Everything hurt—my shoulder, my forehead, my chest. A sickening warmth oozed down my arm.
“Olive—hey—hey, are you okay?” Ray’s voice was distant, frantic.
I tried to answer but the pain was everywhere, and the edges of my vision pulsed in and out like a dying lightbulb.
He reached across, blood trailing from his own temple. “Don’t pass out, okay? Don’t—”
His voice faded.
Then I saw a figure stepping out of the G-Wagon. Not stumbling. Running. Like this was planned.
The metallic taste of blood thickened in my mouth, and every breath felt like dragging broken glass through my lungs. I was barely hanging on, the world continued spinning, cracked glass glinting in the corners of my eyes.
Ray was still trying to get his seatbelt off, his voice distant, his hand reaching over, trembling. “Olive. Stay with me. Hey—stay with me—”
But I couldn’t answer.
My vision swam, and just as I felt myself slipping, movement caught my eye.
Not from the G-Wagon again.
From the black car Ray had been suspicious of.
A figure bolted out of it, running towards us. Straight to my side of the car.
My head fell to the side as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.
Broad shoulders. Familiar stride. The way he called my name—“Olive! OLIVE!”—like his entire soul cracked in two.
It couldn’t be.
Couldn’t.
He was at my window in seconds, pounding on the glass, trying to yank the door open with raw desperation. “Open the door—damn it, Olive, can you hear me? Stay with me! Don’t you dare close your eyes!”
That voice.
That fury.
That panic.
That face.
Zade?
My heart twisted painfully in my chest. Was I hallucinating now? Of all the people I could imagine in my final moments, why was it him?
Why did my dying mind think of him?
Why did his voice sound like a plea?
Why did it hurt to see him—even if he wasn’t real?
I hated this. Hated that even as death knocked, my brain reached for the man who broke me. Who doesn't care.
My lids fluttered.
His voice came louder, more frantic. “Don’t do this, Olive, don’t you dare. Look at me. Please—”
But the pounding in my ears swallowed his words.
And this time, when the darkness came, I let it take me.
Because if that was Zade…
I didn’t want to see him when I died.
The darkness lifted slowly, like a heavy curtain being drawn from my eyes.
Where… where am I?
A sharp pain shot through the side of my head when I tried to lift it. I winced, the weight of my skull suddenly felt too much. The lights above me were bright, too bright—sterile white that buzzed faintly like a tired fly. There was that smell—antiseptic, disinfectant, bleach… hospital.
I tried to blink, but my eyes were dry and sticky. My mouth tasted like metal, and there was a tight bandage wrapped around part of my head. Machines beeped in a soft, steady rhythm near me. My chest rose and fell under the thin hospital blanket, and something pricked at the back of my hand—a needle, an IV line.
I tried to turn but everything ached. Everything.
Then I heard it.
A soft, wet sniffle. Then a choked sob.
“Aaliyah?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.
Her head shot up from where it had been resting near the bed. Her eyes were red, face puffy and streaked with tears. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
“Oh my God, Olive…” Her voice broke as her trembling hand covered her mouth. “You’re awake. You’re awake!”
I flinched at the volume of her cry, and she immediately reached for me, then pulled back as if she might hurt me more.
“I—I didn’t know if you’d wake up,” she said between sobs. “You’ve been out for two days, Olive. Two whole days.”
Two days?
Her sobs came louder now, her body trembling. She clutched my hand so gently, like it might break.
“I thought I lost you,” she whispered. “I thought I lost you…”
I blinked slowly, my throat tightening.
“Ray?” I croaked, the name dragging out of me like a plea. “Where’s Ray?”
Her hand tightened gently around mine.
“Ray’s alive,” she said quickly, as if she knew that was the only thing tethering me to sanity right now. “He’s okay, Olive. Banged up real bad, but no internal bleeding or anything serious. He’s resting.”
A shaky breath escaped me. The tight knot in my chest loosened, and tears welled up in my eyes. Thank God.
But then the relief twisted into something heavier.
Then everything that happened came rushing to me.
Could that accident have been because of me?
The black G-Wagon. The car that hadn’t moved. The crash. The figure that came towards me. The voice that sounded like—
My lips parted, but no words came out. I stared at the ceiling, my heart racing.
Who would want me dead?
Who knew I was there? Who was following us? Who—
“Hey,” Aliyah’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. She tucked my hair back gently. “Don’t do that. Don’t go to that dark place.”
I blinked at her, eyes stinging.
“You need to rest, okay?” she continued. “Ray wanted to come see you. He practically dragged himself out of his own bed, but the doctor said no visitors yet, and I didn’t let anyone in. You needed peace.”
I nodded slowly, trying to swallow past the knot in my throat.
Aliyah hesitated, her thumb rubbing the back of my hand.
“And… Zade’s outside too.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
“He’s been here since the ambulance brought you in. Two days now. Barely sleeps, barely talks. Just sitting out there like a statue. I tried telling him to go home but…” she trailed off. “He said he’ll leave when you open your eyes.”
My breath caught.
He stayed?
All this time?
Tears slipped down my cheeks as the weight of it settled over me again. Everything was a mess. A confusing, painful mess.
I stared at the ceiling again, my throat dry, my thoughts louder than the beeping machines around me.
Zade was outside.
Two days.
He waited two days.
Why?
Why now, after everything? After he told me I was desperate… that I had forced my way into his life, like I was something to be discarded.
The words still echoed in my mind, burning worse than the pain in my ribs.
But he stayed.
Two days.
Did that mean something? Or was it just guilt? Maybe he felt responsible. Maybe he just didn’t want my death on his conscience.
I hated that my heart still reacted to his name. That it skipped a beat just knowing he hadn’t left. That even in this weak, bruised state, some foolish part of me wondered if he still cared. Still wanted him to care.
I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath.
No. Not now. I wasn’t ready to see him. Not like this—vulnerable, bandaged, broken.
He’d see it as weakness. He always did.
“What do you want to do?” Aliyah asked softly, like she could see the storm raging in my head.
I looked at her, tears still sitting stubbornly in the corners of my eyes.
“I want to see Ray,” I whispered.
She didn’t ask questions. She just nodded and stood.
“I’ll go tell the nurse. He’ll be happy to see you, Liv.”
As she walked out, I turned my face to the window, the light spilling through the blinds catching on my skin.
I didn’t know if I could face Zade. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But Ray…
Ray felt safe.
Even if he was hurting too.
Ray stepped in slowly, supported by a nurse and walking with a slight limp. His head was bandaged, and his arm was in a sling. But somehow, his tired smile still reached his eyes when he saw me.
“Ray…” My voice cracked. “You’re okay.”
I tried to sit up, but the pain laced through my side, sharp and angry. I winced.
He rushed to me—well, as much as his injuries would let him—and gently sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for my hand.
I stared at the cuts on his face, the bruising near his temple. The sight made my heart twist in guilt.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice trembling. “Ray, I’m so sorry. If I hadn’t—if I didn’t agree to go with you, if I didn’t—”
“Olive.” His tone was soft, but firm enough to stop my spiraling.
His fingers squeezed mine.
“This isn’t your fault,” he said. “None of this is. Don’t do that to yourself.”
“But I dragged you into it,” I whispered. Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could hold them back. “You could’ve died, Ray.”
He exhaled, eyes growing glassy, jaw clenching. “But I didn’t,” he said. “And if I had to do it again, I’d still pick the same road if it meant being there for you.”
That broke me.
I covered my face with my hands, sobbing harder than I meant to, harder than I could control. My whole chest ached, not from the injuries, but from the guilt, the fear, and the overwhelming relief that he was still here.
He leaned forward, despite the pain I knew he was in, and gently wiped the tears from my face with his thumb.
“Don’t cry, please,” he whispered. “I’m okay. You just get better. That’s all I want. I’ll be waiting for you, alright? No matter how long it takes.”
I nodded, still sniffing. “Promise me you’ll complete your treatment. No heroic nonsense. You have to heal too.”
He gave me a one-sided grin. “Bossy. I like that. But yeah, I promise.”
A light knock on the door startled us both.
Aliyah peeked in first, followed by Jake holding a bouquet of tiny sunflowers.
“Oh my God, you’re crying,” Aliyah gasped, rushing to my side. “Is everything okay? What did he say?”
“I’m fine,” I croaked out.
Jake nodded at Ray with a brotherly kind of worry. “Glad you made it, man. You scared the hell out of us.”
Ray gave a tired smile. “Same to you, bro.”
I looked past them—and froze.
Zade was there.
Standing by the door.
Not entering. Not speaking.
Just watching.
His expression unreadable. Maybe even torn.
My breath caught in my throat. The storm inside me, the confusion, the ache… all of it rushed back in waves.
He was here. But what did that mean?
I didn’t know.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out yet.
Later that night, the hospital room grew quiet again.
The taste of mashed potatoes still lingered unpleasantly in my mouth. Aliyah had practically threatened me to eat, and Jake offered a dramatic imitation of a starving puppy until I took a few spoonfuls. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I wasn’t hungry. Not when their concern weighed heavier than the food itself.
They left soon after to freshen up and grab a change of clothes from home.
I thought I’d finally get some rest.
But a knock came.
Soft. Hesitant.
And then the door creaked open.
Zade.
My heart skipped, then raced.
He stepped in slowly, like he was afraid his presence alone might hurt me.
My breath caught. What was he doing here? What did he want to say? Did he come to accuse me? Apologize? Take me back? Or walk away for good?
The light from the hallway cast a faint glow behind him, making his face look more shadowed, more tired… more human than I’d ever seen.
When his eyes met mine, it felt like time paused.
His face was pale. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days. His shirt was wrinkled. His hair disheveled. But it wasn’t just exhaustion etched into his face.
It was fear. Pain. And something that looked a lot like… relief.