CHAPTER forty-nine #5
"Yeah," I say softly. "It's never easy, but... having you there helps."
She squeezes my hand, her thumb brushing the side of mine. "I'll be right there with you."
I smile faintly, then remember something that makes me chuckle. "Oh—by the way, my mom already knows about us."
"Really?"
"Yup, apparently Sam couldn't keep her mouth shut. Again."
Caroline laughs, shaking her head. "That sounds like Sam. How did your mom take the news?"
"Mom was actually pretty ecstatic about it. Said it was only a matter of time."
"She really said that?"
"Yeah," I nod. "She's always liked you. Probably even more now."
"She's always been so sweet to me," she says softly.
"Just wait till we get there—"
My words trail off when I hear shouting outside the room. Loud. Sharp.
Caroline freezes, her eyes flicking toward the door. The music from the party downstairs is still pounding through the walls, but even with all the noise, the yelling cuts through—angry, raw, and familiar.
I frown, pushing the blanket off and sitting up.
"What the hell..."
The voice rises again—furious this time—and it hits me who it belongs to.
"Elijah," I mutter, already reaching for my shirt. I yank it over my head, heart pounding, and head for the door. Caroline's right behind me, slipping off the bed without a word.
The moment I step into the hallway, I see him—Elijah, standing at the far end, towering over someone near his doorway. His face is red, his voice booming over the muffled bass from downstairs.
"What the hell were you doing in my room?!" he yells, his tone sharp enough to cut through the noise.
The girl pressed against the wall flinches, her head ducked, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to—I just—I must've fallen asleep, I didn't know—"
"Sam?" I call out, moving closer.
Her face turns toward me—eyes wide, guilt written all over her expression.
She looks small, cornered.
"And you expect me to believe that shit?!" Elijah bellows, his voice shaking with anger.
"Whoa, hey—what's going on?" I cut in, trying to keep my tone steady even though my pulse is spiking.
Every instinct in me is screaming to drag him away from her, but I force myself to stay calm. I need to know what the hell happened before I lose it.
Elijah's voice is tight, seething. "Your sister came into my room—when she knows damn well she's not supposed to. I've told her that from the very beginning."
I glance between the two of them—Elijah, jaw clenched, eyes blazing, and Sam, pale and small against the wall, her shoulders drawn in.
The whole scene feels off, wrong.
"Angel," I say slowly, "just tell me what happened. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true!" he snaps, his voice rising.
I throw him a sharp glare. "Man, can you please let her talk?" My patience is thinning fast.
Elijah exhales hard, dragging a hand through his hair. He takes a few steps back, jaw tight, still visibly worked up.
Sam, meanwhile, doesn't move. Her head's still down, eyes fixed on the floor.
When she finally speaks, her voice is small, trembling. "I—I wasn't feeling good earlier," she starts, stuttering. "My head was spinning, so I came upstairs to lie down for a bit... every room was occupied except Eli's."
She glances up at Elijah briefly, her face red with shame before looking back down.
"You could've gone to your brother's!" Elijah cuts in sharply.
"I... I know," she says quickly, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. There's a sheen of sweat there, and I notice how her fingers tremble. "But he was with Care, and I didn't want to bother them. I just needed to rest for a few minutes until I felt better."
She swallows hard, her voice shaking. "I didn't even realize I fell asleep."
Elijah scoffs, a harsh sound that makes Sam flinch. "Bullshit," he snaps.
"If you were sick, you could've gone back to your dorm and slept there. Don't feed me that crap. You went in there because you saw me earlier with someone else and couldn't stand it, right? You just had to ruin another night for me again."
Sam shakes her head fast, eyes wide. "No—no, Eli, that's not what happened," she says, reaching out toward him, her hand trembling as she tries to touch his arm.
Elijah jerks back instantly, swatting her hand away like the thought of her touching him sets him off even more.
"Don't," he snaps.
Sam flinches, her hand dropping to her side.
Her voice cracks as she tries again, desperate. "Please, believe me. I know I've done a lot of things you didn't like—crossed lines I shouldn't have—but I swear this isn't one of them."
Her voice breaks as she forces the words out. "You told me never to go inside your room, and I took that seriously. I really did. I never broke that rule. Not once." She swallows hard, tears welling in her eyes. "Until tonight."
Caroline moves instantly, stepping forward to Sam's side. She wraps an arm around her shoulders, murmuring something soft, trying to comfort her.
Sam looks like she can barely stand—color's gone from her face, her breathing's shaky, and her shoulders keep trembling no matter how hard she tries to pull herself together.
I stand there, watching, my chest tight. Sam can be a handful—hell, sometimes she pushes every button Eli has—but looking at her now, weak and shaking, I know she's telling the truth. She looks genuinely unwell. And terrified.
A part of me wants to punch Elijah for yelling at her like that, for cornering her until she's on the verge of tears—something she almost never lets anyone see.
But at the same time, I can't entirely blame him.
She's tested him more times than I can count, always toeing the line, always seeing how far she could go... except for one boundary.
She never stepped into his room. Not once.
Until tonight.
Elijah's breathing hard, glaring at her like he's still trying to convince himself not to believe a word.
"Yeah, right," he mutters, shaking his head. Then he turns, storms into his room, and slams the door behind him so hard the frame rattles.
Sam flinches at the sound.
For a second, she just stares at the closed door, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she whispers.
I walk over, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey," I say quietly. "Let's go to my room, okay? You can rest there for a bit."
She shakes her head weakly. "No, I... I think I just want to go back to my dorm." She glances at Caroline. "If that's okay."
My girlfriend meets her gaze and nods right away. "Of course. I'll take you back, Sam," she says softly, still rubbing her back. "I'll text you once we get there," she adds, looking at me.
I shake my head. "No. I'll drive you both. It's late."
Caroline opens her mouth to argue, but I give her a look that shuts it down fast.
"Alright," she says finally. "We'll go together."
Sam just nods quietly, wiping at her eyes.
As we head down the hall, the noise from the party downstairs is at its peak—music thumping through the floor, people shouting and laughing like it's the best night of their lives. None of it feels real to me right now.
My arm's around Sam's shoulders as we move through the crowd, keeping her close.
When we finally step outside, the cold air hits us. She leans into me a little, quiet, her steps small and unsteady.
"I'm really sorry, Zachy," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. It's so soft and tired it almost breaks me.
I shake my head. "No need to apologize, Angel. I believe you."
She stops walking, which makes me and Caroline both stop too. She tilts her head up just a little, her eyes searching mine.
"You do?"
"Of course," I say, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Her lips press together, trembling faintly. "Then... can you help me make Eli understand?" she asks quietly. "He's really mad at me this time, and I don't want him to hate me."
I nod, already opening my mouth to answer. "I will—"
But the words die in my throat.
My eyes catching the streak of red beneath her nose.
"Sam—hey," I say quickly, frowning as I tilt her chin up gently, "Shit, you're bleeding."
She blinks, confused for a second. Then she touches her fingers to her nose, and when she pulls them back, they're smeared with blood.
"Oh," she murmurs, almost dazed. "Nosebleed."
Caroline's already digging through her bag, panic flashing in her eyes. "Hold on—I think I have tissues—" She pulls out a handful and presses them into my hand.
I cup them under Sam's nose, telling her softly, "Tilt your head forward a bit, okay? Don't lean back."
She nods, trying to follow, but her breathing's gone shallow, her eyes unfocused.
"Hey," I whisper, feeling my pulse race. "You okay?"
She tries to answer, but her voice falters. Her knees buckle slightly, and before I can react, her body sags forward into me.
"Sam!" I catch her just as Caroline gasps beside me.
The tissues slip from my hand and scatter to the ground, streaked with red.
"Zach—she's not responding," Caroline says, her voice trembling.
My heart stops cold.
"Get the car," I say, my voice sharp and shaking all at once as I tighten my hold on Sam. "Now."
And for a second, all I can hear is the muffled music still blasting from the house—until it feels like the whole world has gone quiet.
CHAPTER forty-five
CAROLINE
Ifuss with Sam's blanket for what has to be the fifth time, tucking the corner just to have something to do with my hands. Her fever's still there, but low enough that the nurse in me—well, the Google-certified one—isn't panicking.
After last night, though, I'm not taking chances.
The second her nose started bleeding, Zach completely lost it.
He practically carried her to the ER while Sam kept insisting she was fine and just overworked. I'd never seen him that freaked out before—pacing nonstop, arguing with the nurse about wait times, demanding every test the hospital offered like the overprotective brother that he is.
Luckily, the results were all normal.