Somewhere Between the Depths

Chapter Twenty-Five

Silas

Three Years Ago

The soft beeping of machines is the first sound I hear when I wake, followed closely by hushed whispers of voices I barely recognize in the moment. 

"He's waking up!" 

"Yo! Get Cash from the parking lot, Si is waking up!" 

Their voices are muffled, as if I'm hearing them from underwater. There's a flurry of activity, a curtain swinging, door opening and closing and then it's silent. With my eyes still closed, I shift my body and suck in a gasp as pain ricochets through my chest, tiny stabs of white-hot agony that steals my breath. The door opens again a few moments later and I slowly open my eyes against the harsh sunlight streaming through the open curtains. 

"Welcome back, son." Cash's voice is thick, his hand trembling as he cups the side of my face. "I thought we lost you for good this time." 

A lump forms in my throat at the anguish on his features, and I cover his hand with my own. I offer him a weak smile. 

"Can't get rid of me that easily, old man."

We share watery chuckles as my brain clears further and the rest of the room and visitors come into focus. Enzo and Matty stand off to one side, while Knox leans near the wall. I raise a brow and Matty explains. 

"The rest of the guys are either in the waiting room or out in the parking lot since they wouldn't let us all in here. They didn't even want US in here, but Cash pitched a bitch about it." 

Cash just shrugs and I nod. I crane my neck around him, peering around the room but coming up empty. Where's Nora? I look up to Cash with furrowed brows, but he won't meet my gaze. When I turn to look at Enzo and then Matty, they give me saddened eyes before they drop their gazes to the floor. Panic surges through my chest.

"Where's my girl?" I ask, voice shaking with nerves. 

No one answers, and the fear inside me spikes to alarming levels as the heart monitor next to me starts beeping loudly, giving away my distress. She would be here. She would be. Where the fuck is she? 

"Cash? Where the hell is Nora?" 

"Calm down, Si." Cash reaches for my arm, but I slap his hand away. 

I sit up further, swinging my gaze to Knox who unfolds himself from the wall as he nears my bed. 

"Where the fuck is my girl?" I roar, barely feeling the pain that yell caused me over the feeling of my heart thrashing wildly inside my chest. 

"Give us the room, guys." Knox asks, and everyone nods before filing out of the room.

The soft click of the door sounds like a bullet firing from a gun as I wait for whatever Knox is about to tell me. Sweat beads along my brow, my hands shaking as he perches on the end of my bed. 

"Is... Is she dead?" I whisper, squeezing my eyes shut at the possibility. 

I can't do it. I can't exist in a world that she's not in. I can't survive the loss of her. 

"No. She's alive, but she's gone." 

I jerk back, hissing at the sharp stab that goes through my chest and glare at Knox. 

"What the fuck do you mean she's gone?"

"She left Variety, Si. She... She left you." Knox shakes his head, holding my cell out for me.