When I'm With You (Little Hollow Series, #2)(59)

I must be dead, this isn’t real, so I hold on for as long I can until she finally pulls back and looks at me through tear filled eyes. “I was so worried about you, I thought I’d never see you again.”

I give her a weak smile. “I’ll miss you, I never did tell you how much I love you enough. I hope you know I do though.”

“I love you too, but what are you talking about?” She says looking confused.

Tears drip down my cheeks as I look into her eyes. “This will all be over soon so I want to tell you some home truths.” I try to sit up but it’s a huge strain.

This is my dream, my last moments, it shouldn’t hurt this much! I shake my head and look into her waiting, confused eyes. “I’m sorry I never told you about my past. I was scared you’d see me differently, just like everyone else did. They saw me for who I really am, but you, you looked through all of my bravado and took me in when I needed it the most. I’m so fucking thankful our paths crossed, you’ve made me a better person and I hope you found your happiness, you more than anyone deserves it. I-”

She puts a finger to my lips and chuckles. “Are you giving me a goodbye speech? Are the doctors telling you something they’re not telling me?”

She laughs again and I look around the room, realizing for the first time that I’m in a sterile looking room.

“W… where am I?”

“You’re not dead, Kee. You’re in the hospital. I’m here, I’m real.”

She smiles that dazzling smile at me and I take in her serious face, all humor dropped out of it now.

“Sam?” I struggle to reach for her hand so she helps and extends the rest of the way.

Tears fall down my face, I’m alive, I made it! But why can’t I remember what happened?

“It’s me, Kee. You’ve been through so much but they got the guys that did this to you, you don’t need to worry anymore,” she says weakly.

I squeeze my eyes shut. “Guys? What? It was… it was just the one, my Uncle.”

She frowns. “Kee, I think you’re having trouble remembering. There were three guys-”

She stops talking immediately as I get agitated and shake my head furiously, feeling the bandage at the back of my neck rubbing. “No, there was only one.”

She pats my hand. “Calm down, you’re safe here. Let me go find a doctor and tell them you’re awake, they can explain everything.”

She looks down at me with a worried look on her face as I cling to her hand.

“Sam, I know what happened to me and who was there.”

I shiver as his face lingers in my mind.

She pats my hand. “I believe you. I’ll go get a doctor, they want to talk to you about… your injuries.”

Her eyes widen at me as she says it and it confirms that I don’t even want to see myself in a mirror.

I nod my head as she walks out of the door and I start to feel a panic build up in me. Was there three people holding me captive? Why can’t I remember anything after he forced himself on me? Is my mind blocking everything else out to save me from it all?

I curl up on my side and let the tears fall.

A little shake on my shoulder wakes me up and I flinch until I look up into Sam’s smiling face. I try to sit up.

“Here, let me help,” a deep voice says from beside me and I jump at the sound.

I instantly relax when I look up and see who it is; Connor. I smile and watch Sam as she looks over at him, pure love in her eyes.

“Thank you,” I say sincerely, meaning more than for just helping me sit up.

He nods and smiles at me. “You’re welcome.”

“No, I really mean it. Thank you for looking after Sam.”

He smiles a sweet smile and looks over at Sam with the same look on his face that she had. It makes my frozen heart thaw a little.

She clears her throat, breaking their connection. “The Doctor came to see you earlier but you must’ve fell asleep when I left. He said he’d come back after five so I guess that’s around now.”

They both give me a weak smile and I can tell Sam wants to say something but she bites her lip to stop herself from saying it.

“Spit it out,” I say, making Sam and Connor look at each other.

He gives a slight shake of his head but she narrows her eyes at him before turning to me.

“You… you were talking in your sleep.” I dip my head in embarrassment, who knows what they heard. “You kept saying ‘Hunter’ over and over again.”

My brow pulls down in confusion and a pain in my chest starts to spread upward. Hunter.

And just like that, everything starts flooding back to me. The second time my uncle forced himself on me and I lay there, emotionless.

My mom.

He killed my mom.

The knife, the blood, the life draining from his eyes.

I killed him.

“I killed him,” I say out loud.

Sam sits on the bed beside me and grabs my hand. “What do you mean?”

Her voice is precise and careful, like she’s speaking to a child.

“My Uncle, I killed him,” I say impassively.

She looks at Connor again with wide eyes and he nods and walks out the room. “Keeley, is he the one that hurt you?”

I flinch, hurt me? He damn well nearly broke me, but he got sloppy and misjudged me. I look up as there’s a knock on the door and two uniformed cops come in.