Cole’s POV

We leave the hospital long after the adrenaline has drained from my body, long after the doctors have assured us that Isabella is stable, that she will recover, that she is out of immediate danger, and even then I do not fully relax until Elena is seated beside me in the car, her seatbelt fastened, her hand finally resting in mine as if she needs to feel that I am real, alive, and still here. The drive home is quiet at first, words feel too small and fragile to carry everything ...