41. Russ
Russ
I’ve watched it change every minute for the last hour.
The ICU room stays dim except for the pale glow from the monitors beside Olivia’s bed. Green lines crawl steadily across the screen.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
I sit beside her with one hand wrapped around hers, staring at every tiny movement like it matters.
Because it does.
Her fingers twitch suddenly against mine.
My breath catches.
I lean forward instantly.
“Olivia?”
Nothing.
The movement disappears as quickly as it came.
Hope crashes hard against my ribs anyway.
“Come on, sweetheart,” I murmur. “Just give me something.”
The door opens softly behind me.
I already know who it is before he speaks.
“Russ.”
Clay.
I don’t look away from Olivia. “What.”
Bootsteps cross the room slowly.
“We’re heading back in.”
There it is.
The words settle heavy in the air between us.
“For the rest of the kids,” he adds quietly.
I nod once.
Of course they are.
There was never going to be another option.
“You coming?”
That finally pulls my eyes away from Olivia.
Clay’s watching me carefully, already knowing the answer before I say it.
I look back at her.
At the bruising along her throat.
The bandages.
The machines breathing life into the room around her.
Every instinct in me refuses to move.
“No.”
Clay nods once like he expected nothing else.
“Figured.”
A long silence stretches between us.
Then he steps closer and rests a hand briefly against my shoulder.
“We’ll bring them home.”
I believe him.
Because I have to.
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “Do that.”
Clay lingers another second before turning toward the door.
The room falls silent again after he leaves.
Just me.
Just Olivia.
Just the machines.
I tighten my hold on her hand and lean closer.
“You hear that?” I murmur. “They’re going back for the others.”
My thumb brushes slowly over her knuckles.
“You’d be happy about that.”
Nothing.
No movement.
No squeeze of my hand.
Fear slides cold beneath my ribs.
I lean closer until my forehead rests lightly against the back of her hand.
“You don’t get to miss this,” I whisper. “Not after everything you fought for.”
The monitor continues its steady rhythm.
Unchanging.
And somehow that scares me more.
“Olivia…”
My voice cracks around her name.
I close my eyes for one brief second.
Then whisper the truth I’ve been trying not to say out loud.
“Please come back to me.”
Olivia
The darkness shifts again.
Not much.
Just enough to feel it.
Like water moving somewhere beneath the surface.
Then his voice reaches me.
Closer now.
Warm.
“…don’t get to miss this…”
The sound pulls at something deep inside me.
A thread tightening.
Anchoring me.
I try to follow it.
The heaviness fights back.
Pain flickers suddenly through the dark.
Sharp.
Bright.
Then memories crash after it.
Russ kicking the door open.
Gunfire.
His hands catching me before I hit the floor.
The way he said my name.
Like losing me would destroy him.
Russ.
The name echoes louder now.
Closer.
I reach for it with everything I have—
and somewhere far away—
I feel warmth against my hand.