“Yeah.” My eyes had become used to the dark, and I could see her twisting the bottom of her shirt in her hands. She was supposed to be with Felix while I slept, and my heart sank, fearing the worst, but hoping for good news. “Is Brynn back?” I held my breathing, waiting for the blow. “Is Felix okay?”

“No Brynn yet. I don’t know where the hell she is. And Felix is sleeping. Theo is with him.” She sighed. “I just…I had to get out of there, you know? I felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

“I know.” Felix’s room was physically suffocating with no window to open while he burned from the fever within. It was also emotionally stifling as well. You sat there doing very little, knowing you were doing fuck all, basically waiting for Felix to take a turn for the worse. It was killer on your psyche to know we were all helpless. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Savannah padded over to my bed, sitting on the edge and curling against my chest. She fit so damn perfectly, like her curves were molded specifically to the lines of my body. I held her tight, wanting to take away all her pain and fear. I wanted to carry her burdens, the weight she bore, and let her live her life without a care in the world. She turned her face into my chest, muffling her words as she spoke. “Tell me it’s going to be okay.”

I pressed my lips together. Would it be thought a lie if I considered “being okay” outside of Felix’s sickness? Because that was a yes. In the end, I walked the line of reassurance and truth. “It’s going to be okay, no matter what. I promise you that with my whole heart.”

It didn’t feel like a lie, and when she lay down next to me, clinging to my neck, I knew I had chosen the right words. They were a comfort to her, like she was to me. My chest grew wet. She was crying, sobbing silently against me. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it and make her uncomfortable, so I just held her close until the shaking stopped. She sniffled once or twice, pulling back from me to dry her eyes on the back of her hand. “I love you, Luther.”

I smiled, stroking her hair. “I love you more. We’ll get through this. I promise.”

Savannah sat up on the edge of the bed. “I hope you’re right. I’m not sure any of us can take another tragedy. We’ve already lost so much.”