Chapter 10

On the day of my discharge, Jason showed up.

I knew he had been hanging around the hospital the entire time, hoping to see me. But Ryan had kicked him out, so he’d been spending his time setting Chloe up with a place to live—again, trying to use my card for it.

I sat in a wheelchair, with Ryan standing behind me, ready to intervene if Jason pushed too far.

Jason looked nervous, his eyes filled with regret and fear. “Claire, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were hurt that badly. I messed up...”

“I was trying to get Chloe out of the way so I could save you, but the guy kept targeting her. I couldn’t do anything about it.”

“I figured you were my girlfriend, and Chloe didn’t have anyone else. So yeah, I took care of her. But I swear, I didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

I looked down at him, lightly touching the bandages covering my stab wounds.

“I was stabbed three times, Jason. I almost didn’t wake up. You couldn’t help me because you were too busy protecting Chloe, and yet you watched while I was held hostage and stabbed.”

“What did I do to deserve being your girlfriend? Do you have any shame?”

Jason mumbled under his breath, “I didn’t mean to... I’m sorry...”

“Can you ever forgive me?”