Austin’s POV

The steady drip of the IV was the only sound in the room, a soft rhythm that somehow matched the uneven pace of Ruby’s breathing. She was sprawled across the bed, cheeks flushed, strands of hair sticking to her damp forehead.

She was still talking nonsense, half-formed words tumbling out of her lips in a fevered haze. Some of it made no sense, but my name slipped through every so often. Each time I heard it, my chest clenched.

Half an hour passed, and the fever finally eased, ...