Never let her go

Chapter 49

Noah POV

I was staring through the window of the hospital room.

My brothers were asleep.

Liam and Ezra were sitting in the chairs, gripping Lucy’s hands in theirs, with their heads laid on the bed next to her legs. Theo was sitting on the bed next to her, leaning on the headboard with his head hanging on his chest. That position couldn’t have been very comfortable, but I didn’t want to wake him up. He needed sleep.

I needed it too, but I couldn’t force myself to close my eyes. I needed to be alert in case someone came in here and tried to hurt her. I would never let anyone hurt her again.

My stomach twisted painfully.

I made that promise already.

And I broke it.

And now she is laying on a hospital bed.

Fuck!

I need to be a better brother. I need to be more careful. I need to be more protective. I need to be more selective about people around her. I need to make sure she will never be in any kind of danger again.

A small whimper startled me. My eyes darted to Lucy. She turned her head into my direction and groaned.

“Lucy?” I whispered quietly, caressing her cheek.

She opened her eyes, and my heart started beating a mile a minute.

She was still confused and disoriented. She blinked a few times and looked at me, confused, through her half-opened eyes.

“Hey, love.” I smiled as a tear fell on my cheek.

“Noah?” I heard her say quietly.

“Yes, Lucy, it’s me.” I sobbed, cupping her face in my hands, and kissing her forehead. “It’s me, love. You are safe.”

She started shaking. Whimpers and sobs escaped her lips, and tears started falling down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, Lucy.” I sobbed with her. “It’s okay, Sunshine. We are here. You are safe.”

Our sobbing woke my brothers up.

Theo flinched, looking around confused until his eyes fell on Lucy.

“Lucy!” he gasped, taking her from me. “Oh, my God!”

She reached out for us, and we carefully pulled her in a hug. Hearing her sobs broke my heart.

“Hi, love.” Liam said, kissing the top of her head, his voice trembling. “You are safe now, baby.”

“Ezra?” she asked quietly, taking deep breaths between her sobs.

“I’m here, honey.” Ezra said, leaned over Theo so she could see him better and caressed her cheek softly. “I love you so much.”

“I’m going to get Nate.” Liam said and walked out of the room.

Theo lifted his head and looked at her. “Nothing and no one will hurt you ever again. I promise. I will never leave you alone again. I shouldn’t have let you leave. I should have fought them. I am so sorry, Lucy.”

He leaned his forehead on hers, his shoulders shaking.

“No, Theo.” Lucy said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t your fault. It was only theirs. They would have found another way to get me, Theo. You couldn’t have stopped that from happening.”

My heart was clenching painfully. She is wrong. They couldn’t have taken her if we were there.

Lucy gasped and looked at us, wide-eyed. “Is grandpa okay?”