Chapter 60

Chapter 60
KAT’S POV

The first thing I feel is pain.

My mouth is dry. My throat is scratchy. My body feels heavy, like I’m buried under wet sand. I groan softly and blink against the blinding white lights above me. Everything looks too bright, too sterile, too empty.

The strong antiseptic smell burns at the back of my nose. For a second, I don’t even remember where I am or what happened.

Where the hell am I?

Then I shift my head slightly to the side, and my breath catches in my throat. Percy is here. Sitting in a chair right beside the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His hands are clasped so tightly his knuckles are white. His eyes look bloodshot, like he hasn’t slept all night. There is anger on his face. But beneath it, there’s something else. It looks like relief.

I try to push myself up on instinct, but a wave of pain shoots up my ribs like a knife. I wince and gasp in shock. Percy shoots upright instantly. His hands reach out to steady me before I fall back. His voice is tight, almost shaking.

“Don’t. Just… stay still. Please.” His fingers hover over my arm like he’s afraid to hurt me, but also like he can’t stand not holding me.

My voice comes out cracked and weak. “What… what are you doing here?”

He stares at me like he can’t believe I even asked. “Kat, you were in an accident,” he says “You were drunk. You crashed. You could’ve—” He cuts himself off “You’re lucky to be alive.”

As soon as he says it, the memories hit me like a wave. I remember things in messy, broken pieces. The taste of alcohol. The way my hands shook. The headlights. The thunder and the rain. The sound of metal against metal. My own voice crying. The fear. The spinning. I wince hard, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing a hand to my forehead.

“God,” I whisper. “I… I remember. Not everything but… some of it.”

Percy immediately moves closer. He had one hand hovering near my forehead as if he wants to touch me but doesn’t know if he should.

“Does it hurt? Your head? Ribs?”  he asks.

“Everything hurts,” I admit, hating the weakness in my voice.

I swallow, and I feel ashamed of myself. I hate this feeling. I hate being seen like this—vulnerable, fragile, messy.

“I’m sorry you had to… see me like this,” I mutter.

“Like what?” Percy asks “Human?”

I look away. I can’t handle the softness in his voice, not when I feel so small.

“I didn’t even call anyone,” I mumble, confused. My brows furrow as I try to remember. “I don’t remember calling anyone.”

Percy exhales like he’s been waiting for that. “You called me,” he says quietly. “At two a.m.” I snap my eyes back to his.

“What?”

“Your voice was slurred. You were crying. You kept saying you were ‘about to die.’” His jaw clenches again, and his voice cracks slightly at the last word. “I tracked your phone. Followed the emergency signal. I found you minutes after the crash.”

My mouth parts. I was stunned. . Even drunk, even half-conscious, even when I thought I was dying… the first name my mind reached for was Percy’s. The realization hits hard. Too hard. Before I can say anything, the door opens and a doctor walks in. He gives me a relieved smile.

“Ah, Miss Ford. Good to see you awake.” He steps closer, flipping through the chart at the end of my bed. “Let’s take a look at you, alright?”

Percy goes stiff beside me. The doctor checks my vitals, examines my pupils, presses gently on my ribs, making me wince, then asks me to follow his finger with my eyes.

“Mild concussion,” he murmurs as he notes something down. “Some strained ribs. You’re dehydrated. And you had mild alcohol toxicity when you came in.”

Percy instantly snaps, “Mild? Are you sure?”

The doctor nods. “Yes. She’s lucky. Very lucky. Another angle of collision or ten more minutes without help and it could’ve been worse.”

Percy swallows hard. I avoid his stare completely. I don’t want to see whatever is in his eyes. The doctor continues. “For the next forty-eight hours, she needs rest, hydration, absolutely no alcohol, and close monitoring. If she experiences dizziness, vomiting, memory lapses, or increased pain, bring her in immediately.”

“I will,” Percy says before I can even speak. He sounds like he’s already taken full responsibility.

When I’m discharged, Percy practically snatches the papers out of the nurse’s hand. He supports me as I walk. He places his arm around my waist like he’s afraid I’ll collapse. Outside, the air is cold against my face. I try to pull away from his support. “I’m fine. I can call someone—”

“Don’t even start,” Percy cuts in, opening the car door “You’re with me.”

Something about his tone - deep, controlled, almost dominant - sends a strange heat through my stomach, but I say nothing. I’m too tired. Too embarrassed. Too overwhelmed.

The drive is silent, but not empty. Percy keeps glancing at me every few seconds like he’s terrified I’ll disappear or stop breathing. I stare out the window, feeling smaller than I ever have. When we reach my apartment, it feels colder than usual.

Percy helps me inside, one hand at my back. I try to act strong, but when I bend to take off my shoes, pain shoots through my side and my knees buckle. Before I hit the floor, Percy catches me, arms strong around me.

Without asking, without giving me a chance to protest, he scoops me up in his arms like it’s nothing.

“Percy— put me down,” I say immediately, feeling embarrassed, breathless. “I can walk.”

“You nearly passed out putting on shoes,” he snaps. “You’re not walking anywhere.”

He carries me to the couch and sets me down gently, brushing my hair away from my face. I feel exposed and weak. And I hate it. The anger rises fast inside me because it feels easier than shame.

“You can leave now,” I say, staring at the floor. “I’m home. I’m fine. Go.”

Percy freezes. “No.”

“Percy.”

“No,” he repeats, firmer. “I’m not leaving you alone after what happened.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap. “I didn’t ask for you to come. I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“You called me,” he shoots back. “You asked.”

I glare at him. I feel my anger building only because I can feel tears threatening to form and I don’t want him to see them. “I said leave.”

“I said no.”

Something inside me snaps. “Why do you keep forcing yourself into my life?” I shout. “Why do you act like you have to save me? I don’t need saving!”

Percy steps closer. “You nearly died last night!”

“I didn’t—”

“You DID, Kat!” His voice cracks. He sounds raw and terrified. “Do you have any idea what it was like finding you? Seeing the car… seeing you slumped over the wheel, blood on your face” His voice breaks completely, and he shuts his eyes as if the memory physically hurts him. “Do you know what that did to me?”

My breath stops. I stare at him, stunned. He breathes hard, trying to steady himself.

“What you did was stupid. It was reckless. You could’ve killed someone else. You could’ve killed yourself.” His voice drops, softer “And I don’t know what I would have done if I lost you.”

I try to speak, but the words get stuck. The shame rushes in again.

“I… I know,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t fix it,” he says, quieter. “But… God, Kat, I’m glad you’re alive.”

The last part breaks me completely. I feel the tears rise too fast to control. My voice trembles. “I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. I just… I just felt so overwhelmed. Everything was too loud. I couldn’t think. I just needed to get away-” My voice cracks, and the tears spill over. I cover my face, breaking apart right in front of him.

Percy doesn’t hesitate. He pulls me into his arms, wrapping me in the warmest, strongest embrace I’ve ever felt. I cry into his chest, shaking. My fists clutch his shirt because I can’t hold myself together. He strokes the back of my head.

“It’s okay. I’ve got you. I’m right here. You’re safe. I’m not going anywhere.”

I cry harder, letting all the fear, confusion, humiliation, and exhaustion pour out of me until I can barely breathe.

Percy holds me through every second, anchoring me, steadying me, refusing to let me fall apart alone..