-Zade Collins:
I didn't think I'd ever forget the way Blake's eyes looked when his chest tightened and he couldn't breathe. There was panic there, raw and naked, but beneath it something that gutted me even more—fear that he was a burden, fear of being seen that fragile. It ripped me in half. I had never been so terrified in my life, fumbling with his inhaler, holding his trembling hands steady against mine, whispering his name like if I said it enough times, it would anchor him here with me. When he finally pulled that shaky breath into his lungs, relief crashed over me like a wave so strong it nearly knocked me down. I found myself cupping his face without even realizing I was doing it, my thumb brushing away the tears clinging to his skin. He was warm beneath my palms, alive, breathing, soft and all I could think was how close I had come to losing him before I ever got the chance to—
The door of Blake's room suddenly burst open.
