Chapter 146
Asher’s POV
The ringing of my phone dragged me out of sleep. My eyes cracked open, blurry from exhaustion as I reached for it on the nightstand. The screen read Unknown Number, My stomach twisted..
I answered immediately. “Hello?”
“Mr. Sterling?” The voice was calm, too calm.
“Yeah, this is Asher.” I sat up, suddenly wide awake.
“This is Dr. Reynolds from Ridgeview Hospital. We need you to come in immediately. It’s urgent.”
I was already throwing the blankets off. “What’s wrong? Is it Marcus?”
The doctor hesitated. That hesitation told me everything.
“Asher, please just come as soon as you can.”
I didn’t wait to hear anything else. I hung up and jumped out of bed, my hands shaking as I pulled on the first pair of jeans I could find. Ivy stirred beside
- me.
“Asher?” Her voice was groggy with sleep. “What’s going on?”
“I have to go to the hospital,” I said, yanking a hoodie over my head.
She sat up instantly, her expression alert now. “What? Why? What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I muttered, grabbing my keys. “I just have to go.”
She reached for me. “Do you want me to come”
“No, stay here. I’ll call you.” My voice was tight, barely holding itself together. I couldn’t let myself think the worst. I just had to get there.
I rushed out the door, my heart slamming against my ribs. The drive to the hospital was a blur. I don’t remember the streets, the traffic, or even parking. I only remember walking through the doors and being directed to the doctor’s office. My hands were cold.
Dr. Reynolds sat behind his desk, his face heavy with something I didn’t want to name.
I shut the door behind me. “What happened?”
The doctor exhaled slowly. “Asher…” He folded his hands on the desk. “I’m so sorry. Marcus didn’t make it.”
I stared at him, my ears ringing.
That… that didn’t make sense.
“What?” The word barely left my mouth.
Dr. Reynolds sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “We truly believed he was getting better. After he moved his finger, we were optimistic. But his condition declined overnight. His body… it just couldn’t hold on any longer.”
I shook my head. “No. No, he was fine yesterday.”
The doctor’s expression didn’t change.
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“He was fine,” I said again, louder this time. “He was recovering! You said he was- My voice caught in my throat.
“I know,” Dr. Reynolds said quietly. “I know how much hope that gave all of you. But sometimes, the body fails when we least expect it. There was nothing we could do.”
My hands curled into fists. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. I saw him yesterday. Janine saw him move. We were supposed to be past the worst of it
Dr. Reynolds said something else, something about how they tried, how they did everything they could, but I couldn’t hear him anymore. There was a sharp ringing in my ears, drowning everything out.
I shoved my chair back and stormed out of the office, barely hearing the doctor calling after me. My feet carried me down the hall, past the nurses, past the beeping machines, until I reached the door to Marcus’s room.
1 pushed it open.
And there he was..
Lying still. Too still. The monitors were silent. There was no movement, no sound, nothing. Just… him.
I took slow steps forward, my breath coming in short, uneven gasps. His face looked peaceful, like he was just sleeping. Any second now, he’d wake up, roll his eyes, and tell me I was being dramatic. Any second now
A choked sound broke from my throat.
I gripped the bedrail, my legs suddenly weak.
“Marcus,” I whispered.
He didn’t move.
I sank to my knees beside the bed, pressing my forehead against the mattress. My chest felt like it was caving in, like something was clawing at my ribs
from the inside out.
“Please,” I breathed. “Please wake up.”
Nothing.
A strangled sob escaped me. My fingers dug into the sheets, my entire body shaking.
“You were supposed to come back,” I choked out. “You were supposed to be okay.”
Tears burned my eyes, spilling down my face.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered. “I don’t” My voice cracked. “I don’t know how to do this without you.”
I stayed there, crying into the mattress like a damn kid, my body trembling from the force of it.
After what felt like forever, I pulled out my phone with/shaking hands. I didn’t even think about it, I just hit Dad’s contact.
He picked up after the second ring. “Asher? What’s wrong?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s Marcus.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
A pause. “What about Marcus?”
I swallowed, my throat raw. “He’s gone.”
Silence.
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Chapter 146
Then a sharp inhale. “We’re coming.”
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone, my mind barely registering anything. Then I shoved it back into my pocket and wiped at my face, even though it was useless
Minutes later, I heard the hurried footsteps. The door swung open, and my parents, Janine, Ivy, and Luca rushed in.
Mom gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. Dad took one look at Marcus and closed his eyes, his entire body going rigid.
Janine froze.
“No,” she whispered.
I turned away. I couldn’t watch this.
I stepped out of the room, leaving them to grieve. I didn’t know where I was going, but I kept walking, my feet dragging beneath me. Eventually, I found myself outside in the hospital’s garden. The air was crisp, the sky painted in soft hues of pink and gold.
I sat on the stone bench, staring blankly ahead. My hands curled into fists on my lap.
He was gone.
Marcus was really gone.
Something twisted in my chest, sharp and suffocating. My emotions were spiraling, the grief pressing down on me like a crushing weight.
“Asher.”
I turned at the sound of Ivy’s voice. She was standing a few feet away, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
She didn’t say anything else. She just walked over and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me against her.
And that was it. That was all it took.
I broke.
A deep, shuddering sob tore through me as I gripped the back of her shirt, burying my face into her shoulder. “Why did he leave me?” My voice cracked, raw and broken. “I was trying to be strong for everyone. I was trying to hold everything together until he was fine, but now he-”
I couldn’t finish. My entire body shook, the pain unbearable.
Ivy stroked the back of my head, her fingers threading through my hair. “Shh,” she murmured. “I’ve got you.”
+clung to her, my tears soaking into her shirt.
“We’ll figure something out,” she whispered. “You’re not alone, Asher.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, my fingers gripping her like she was the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.
“He wouldn’t want this,” she continued softly. “Marcus wouldn’t want us to break down. He’d want us to be strong. To keep going
I let out a ragged breath.
But how the hell was I supposed to keep going without him?
Chapter 147
