Chapter 182

The soft sound from the living room faded again, like Emma had only shifted in her sleep and settled back down. The three of them stayed still for a second, listening, until the house went quiet once more.

Ashley let out a breath and looked back at Abigail. The edge she usually carried was gone, replaced by something steadier, more sincere.

“Hey,” she said, stepping a little closer. “I understand how you’re feeling. Seeing her pass out had me scared too.”

Abigail looked at her, surprised by how direct she was being.

Ashley shrugged slightly, glancing away for a second before looking back. “For real. I know I joke a lot, but that had me shook.”

Megan nodded beside her. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I was worried too when Ashley told me.”

Her eyes settled on Abigail warmly.

“But I knew she had you in her corner,” Megan continued. “And I knew you were going to make sure she was okay.”

That landed deeper than Abigail expected.

She looked down for a second, swallowing quietly.

“I was trying,” she said, voice low.

“You did more than try,” Megan replied immediately. “You got her help. You stayed calm. You got her home.”

Ashley pointed lightly at her. “Exactly.”

Then her expression shifted into something more practical, more serious.

“But listen to me,” Ashley said. “If you want somebody with her twenty-four seven, I don’t mind.”

Abigail blinked. “What?”

“I’m serious,” Ashley said. “I usually just stay home and paint while Megan is in class and stuff. If you need me to be there with her, I can.”

Megan nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Ashley kept going. “If you need me to sit in classes with her, I can do that too. If you need somebody to drive her somewhere, bring her food, make sure she resting—whatever.”

Abigail stared at her for a second, caught off guard by how genuine it was.

“You don’t have to—”

“Yes I do,” Ashley cut in. “Because that’s family now.”

The room went quiet again.

Megan smiled softly. “She means that.”

Ashley folded her arms. “I do.”

Then she uncrossed them just as quickly. “My point is—you just gotta let us know what you need. Whatever is going to make you comfortable. Whatever is going to make her comfortable.”

Abigail looked between them, emotion rising again in a way she hadn’t prepared for.

All day she had been holding everything alone.

The fear.

The pressure.

The need to stay steady.

And now these two were standing in front of her, offering to carry some of it without being asked.

Her throat tightened.

“…Thank you,” she said quietly.

Ashley waved it off immediately. “Don’t make it weird.”

That pulled the smallest laugh from Abigail.

Megan stepped closer and squeezed her arm gently. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself.”

Abigail let that sit for a second.

Because if she was honest—

That was exactly what she had been trying to do.

A soft voice drifted faintly from the living room.

“…Abigail?”

All three heads turned toward the door instantly.

Ashley pointed toward the hallway. “Your patient is awake.”

Megan smiled.

The second Emma’s voice carried down the hallway, Abigail was already moving.

She opened the bathroom door and stepped out first, still barefoot, hair damp, dressed now in a loose T-shirt and shorts she had thrown on quickly while Megan and Ashley talked. Ashley and Megan followed behind her, their footsteps lighter, slower, giving her space to reach Emma first.

By the time Abigail entered the living room, Emma was pushing herself up slightly on the couch, one hand braced near her side, the blanket slipping down into her lap. Her hair was a little messy from sleep, her eyes still heavy, blinking slowly as she tried to orient herself.

The moment she saw Abigail, some of the confusion in her face eased.

“There you are,” Emma murmured, her voice rough with sleep.

Abigail crossed the room quickly and knelt in front of her. “Yeah,” she said softly. “I’m here.”

Her hands moved immediately—one adjusting the blanket back over Emma’s legs, the other brushing gently along her arm as she studied her face.

“How you feeling?”

Emma let out a small breath. “Like I got hit by a truck.”

Ashley snorted from behind them. “That’s dramatic.”

Emma’s gaze lifted past Abigail, finally noticing the other two fully.

“Oh,” she said, blinking again. “Hey.”

Megan smiled warmly. “Hey, sleeping beauty.”

Ashley lifted a hand. “Welcome back.”

Emma looked between them, then back to Abigail. “Did y’all have a meeting in the bathroom or something?”

That pulled a quiet laugh out of Megan.

Abigail shook her head slightly, though the corner of her mouth moved for the first time in a while. “Something like that.”

Emma’s eyes lingered on Abigail’s face a second longer, noticing the redness around them, the damp hair, the look she knew meant more than was being said.

“You okay?” Emma asked softly.

The question made Ashley and Megan exchange a quick glance.

Abigail gave the automatic answer first. “I’m fine.”

Emma just looked at her.

Long enough that everyone in the room knew she didn’t believe it.

Ashley cleared her throat. “Anyway,” she said, stepping forward. “We came to check on you.”

Megan nodded. “And make sure you weren’t trying to get up doing too much.”

Emma leaned back into the couch. “Wow. Love the faith everyone has in me.”

“None,” Abigail said immediately.

That got an actual laugh from Emma, quiet but real.

The sound loosened something in the room.

Ashley folded her arms. “You scared us today.”

Emma’s expression softened. “I know.”

“For real,” Ashley continued. “I’m not joking this time. When you dropped like that, I was panicking.”

Emma looked genuinely surprised. “You?”

“Yes, me,” Ashley said. “Relax.”

Megan sat down in the chair across from the couch. “We were all worried.”

Emma’s eyes moved back to Abigail again.

That part didn’t need to be said.

She could see it.

Abigail was still kneeling in front of her, still close enough to catch her if she moved wrong, still watching every breath like she didn’t trust anything yet.

Emma reached out slowly, touching her wrist.

“I’m okay,” she said quietly.

Abigail’s jaw shifted slightly. “You better be.”

Emma’s thumb brushed lightly against her skin. “I mean it.”

“I know what you mean,” Abigail replied. “I also know you passed out twice.”

Ashley pointed toward Abigail. “Exactly. Thank you.”

Emma sighed dramatically and sank deeper into the couch. “I see how this is about to go.”

Megan smiled. “With supervision.”

“Constant supervision,” Ashley added.

Emma looked at all three of them and shook her head. “This feels excessive.”

“No,” Abigail said calmly. “This feels necessary.”

Emma opened her mouth like she was about to argue, then looked at the expression on Abigail’s face and thought better of it.

Instead, she held her hand out.

Abigail looked at it once, then placed her own in it without hesitation.

Emma squeezed lightly. “Can I at least get promoted from patient to person?”

Ashley laughed. “Nope.”

Megan shook her head, smiling.

Abigail finally stood, but stayed close enough that her knee brushed the couch.

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said.

Emma looked up at her, tired but amused.

“Bossy,” she murmured.

Abigail raised a brow. “And alive.”

That ended the argument immediately.

The room fell into a softer quiet after that, everyone settling into place around Emma, checking on her without hovering too obviously.

For the first time all day, it felt less like surviving something—

and more like recovering from it.