I’d been discharged the previous evening and though I was glad to be out of the hospital, I was debating how much better off I was at home. At least the nurses hadn’t acted like I was going to die if I set a foot on the ground. To say Ryker’s mood hadn’t improved would be a massive understatement. He’d barely spoken since we’d arrived home, despite the fact that he hadn’t left my side. His gaze tracked my every movement, his jaw clenched. Sleep had been the only escape and so I’d fallen asleep early and slept late. I rose from bed, drawn to the noise downstairs. “Do I need to lock you down?” I heard Axel demand of his brother, as I hovered on the first step of the landing, unable to stop myself from eavesdropping. “You look like you’re losing your shit and that can’t happen, not now, bro. We gotta play this smart.” There was a pregnant pause before Ryker delivered a begrudging, “I know.”
