Chapter 72 Aspen
Aspen
My hands won’t stop shaking.
I hate that.
I don’t shake.
I don’t lose control.
I don’t—
He almost didn’t make it back.
The thought slams into me again.
Harder this time.
“You’re not okay,” I say, even as I work.
“I’ve been better.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
I press harder on the bandage.
He sucks in a breath.
“Good,” I mutter.
“Stay with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says.
Something in me snaps.
“Don’t say that like you get to decide!” I fire back.
He goes still.
“I watched them bring you in covered in blood,” I continue, my voice breaking now. “I listened to you over the radio thinking—thinking—”
I stop.
Because I can’t finish it.
Because if I do—
I’ll fall apart. Silence stretches between us.
Heavy.
Raw.
“You don’t get to act like this doesn’t matter,” I say finally, quieter now. “Like you don’t matter.”
His eyes lock onto mine.
And something shifts.
Deep.