Cold As Stone

Chapter 27

Beep, beep, beep.

I wake to an annoying sound and a pounding in my head. My eyes crack open, and I wince from the glaring lights. I turn my head and groan.

"She's awake!" Someone sits on the bed next to me. I look up at them, squinting to try to get my vision to clear up.

Calum slowly comes into focus, a worried look on his face. More people appear in my line of vision, gathering around my bed.

"Myra!" Charlotte throws herself onto the bed and I wince in pain as she squeezes me tight.

"Watch it, doofus! She's hurt!" Ryder chastises her. She untangles one arm from around me to hold her middle finger back at him. He scowls at the back of her head, arms crossed. I pat her on the back as she cries into my neck.

"You stupid, stupid fool. You didn't have to do all this alone. You should have just talked to us," she mumbles through her cries. Tears start gathering in my eyes and my arms wind around her in a hug. I bury my face against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't stand it if any of you were killed over me. They already had Nathan and Red. I couldn't be responsible for anyone else I cared about getting hurt like that." We lay there crying for another minute as she just mumbled about how stupid and reckless I was. Then a thought occurs to me. "Oh my God!" I pull my face away from her shoulder to look at the guys. "Nathan and Red, are they..."

"Alive and being nursed back to health," Jett says. Relief floods through me and more tears pour down my face.

"Jackson. He was with me. He distracted them so I could find Nathan and Red. Did he get out okay?" They all avoid eye contact with me. Calum runs a hand over my head. "No. God, please, no." I sob into Charlotte's shoulder.

I tried so hard to prevent anyone from dying because of me, but I failed. He's dead because of me. He just wanted to help me.

Charlotte is whispering comforting words to me, but I can't focus on what she's saying. She holds me close to her as I sob.

"It's my fault. I got him killed," I blubber, gasping for breath.

"No, no, no. Sweetie, it's not your fault. None of this is your fault. Shh, shh." Charlotte shifts, so she's lying next to me in the bed, cradling me to her chest.

"You aren't responsible for other people's actions, Myra. You did everything you could, more than you should have had to. He knew what the risk of helping you was. He knew what could happen if he bought you time to run in. To put this on yourself is to discredit his sacrifice. Don't do that to him." Jett's words are a small comfort, but they don't erase my guilt.

Kace holds a cup of water out to me. I take it and shift so I can take a sip without spilling it on Charlotte and me. The cool liquid soothes my aching throat. I thank him and hand it back.

"What happened? How did I get here?" I ask. The last thing I remember is my fight with Amelia. Blood and viscera paint a horrible image in my mind as I remember the events that played out in that basement.

"Jackson called me. Gave a quick rundown of what was happening and where you were. We rushed over, but by the time we got there, you'd already...they were already dead," Calum says. I'd already killed them. That's what he was going to say.

"I had to," I whisper.

"We know," Hunter says.

"Did Jackson tell you that I'm..."

They're quiet for a moment, then Jett speaks up. "Charlotte, I know you want to make sure Myra is okay and I appreciate that, but I'd like you to step out for a moment. We need to discuss something with her."