Chapter 61 Sebastian
SEBASTIAN
Red and blue lights slash through the windows, bouncing off the walls in sharp, disorienting bursts.
Doors slam. Voices shout. Boots hit concrete as help pours into the rental.
And then the sounds start to blur—like they’re being dragged underwater.
My ears are ringing. My hands won’t stop shaking.
But Ivy is in my arms. That’s the only thing keeping me upright.
She’s wrapped around me like she’s afraid I’ll disappear if she lets go. Her fingers are twisted in the back of my shirt. Her face is pressed against my neck, breath uneven but warm.
Drew stands beside us, shoulders hunched, arms wrapped around himself like he’s cold. He’s shaking harder now than he was when he held the gun. Adrenaline has burned itself out, leaving nothing but the weight of what he did behind.
An officer approaches, his tone calm and careful. “Sir, we’re going to need to ask you a few questions.”
I nod once, because if I open my mouth, I’m not sure what will come out.
They don’t separate us at first. Ivy refuses to let go, and no one is stupid enough to try. A female officer approaches, speaks softly, and explains what’s going to happen next.
Hospital. Evaluation. Statements.
Ivy shakes her head against my shoulder. “I’m not letting go of him.”
I tighten my arms reflexively. “She’s not going anywhere without me.”
The officer pauses, then nods. “That’s fine. We can do this together.”
Questions come in fragments. Name. Address. How did you find the location? Did you know the assailant? Did he have a weapon?
I answer automatically, trying to keep it together.
Across the room, Drew is being spoken to by two other officers. He keeps shaking his head, hands clenched at his sides. His words filter over to me.
“I didn’t aim,” he says. “I just—he had his arm raised. He was going to hit my brother. When I heard him say, ‘At least she’ll see me end your pathetic existence,’ I didn’t think, I just—”
“You fired to protect your brother and the victim,” one of them says evenly. “Is that correct?”
Drew swallows hard. “Yes.”
They go over the details of what happened, interrupting with questions. Drew is doing a hell of a job staying calm.
I’m proud of him.
“If you hadn’t fired,” the other officer says quietly, not accusatory, just factual, “someone would have died.”
The words land like a dropped weight.
If you hadn’t fired.
I feel it then—really feel it—the narrowness of the line we were standing on. How close everything came to breaking beyond repair.
My knees threaten to buckle.
Ivy grips me tighter, her panicked eyes meeting mine. The grief in them… Fuck. I squeeze her against me, cupping the back of her head. I never want to see her look like that again.
Paramedics push through next, efficient and insistent. They want Ivy on a stretcher. They want me checked.
Ivy refuses to go.
“She needs an evaluation,” one of them tells me.
“I’ll go with her,” I say immediately.
They don’t argue.
I meet Drew’s eyes, sending a silent message. He nods and waves me off.
As we step outside into the cold, for the first time since this nightmare began, I really think we’re going to be okay.
At the hospital, everything blurs into white light and antiseptic. Ivy finally allows them to sedate her lightly when her hands start trembling too badly to stop. I stay until her eyes slide shut and her breathing evens out.
I don’t let go until a nurse gently tells me I have to.
She’s asleep when they wheel her away to run some tests. Standard procedure, they say.
I stand in the hallway afterward, staring at nothing.
A nurse approaches me and explains they need to check me over as well. It takes some convincing, but I finally agree, provided I get to be with her.
I’m lying in a hospital bed when I finally notice Drew in the plastic chair against the wall, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. When I speak, he flinches like he forgot I was there. “Have you heard any updates?”
He shakes his head.
“You okay?” I ask, staring at him.
He lets out a broken laugh. “No.” He runs a hand through his hair. “But you have a concussion. You shouldn’t be worrying about me. Or Ivy.”
Fair. But of course, I’m going to worry about them. They’re my family.
“You saved us,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I shot someone.”
“You stopped him,” I correct. “There’s a difference.”
He looks up at me then, eyes glassy. “I thought I lost you. I thought—”
His voice breaks.
I hold my arms out, and he comes over, hugging me the way he used to when we were kids, and the world was unraveling. “You didn’t,” I say. “I’m here.”
But the truth settles heavily in my chest. I almost wasn’t.
“Feels like old times,” he says when he pulls back. “And yet, everything’s changed.”
Memories swirl. I nod. “For the better.”
He meets my eyes, and we exchange a knowing look. “You think Mom ever regrets it? Blaming dad for everything. Getting married and abandoning us?”
I debate for a moment before deciding the truth is what he needs. “No, I don’t think she regrets it. I don’t think she’s capable of caring about anyone but herself.”
“Narcissistic bitch,” Drew mutters.
“Yeah, she is.”
“At least you found someone different. Better.” He smiles as they bring Ivy in.
I threw enough money at them to be sure we wouldn’t be separated.
He looks at her peacefully sleeping face, then at me. “She has a heart of gold.”
My voice is soft. “Yes, she does. She’s… incredible.”
Drew fist bumps me and then takes his seat.
A few minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. I look up to see a police officer. Right behind him is the lawyer Marcus sent over for Drew. I’m not letting Drew answer any more questions without a lawyer present. No way is he going to pay for what Silas did.
I lie there long after Drew is taken to give his formal statement, waiting for the doctor to come back to discharge me. Not that I’m going anywhere. But I’d like to get out of this gown and sit at Ivy’s beside.
Finally, I’m “discharged.” I dress, then slide into the chair at her bedside. They insisted I wear this damn sling. I hate it already. It’s only temporary until my shoulder heals.
I stare at her face. The noise of the night has finally died down, and my thoughts are on what happened. I replay every decision. Every moment I hesitated. Every time I told myself I was in control.
I wasn’t.
I came within inches of losing everything. The people I’ve been too scared to open my heart to. The ones I can’t live without.
And for the first time, the thought of opening myself fully doesn’t terrify me.
What terrifies me more is dying without telling them how much they mean to me.