CHAPTER 66

ZAYN CARTER

Sunlight streamed in through the hospital blinds, painting soft golden lines across the white sheets.

I blinked awake, my body stiff from the cramped position I was in.

And then I realized—

I wasn't in the chair anymore.

I was in the bed.

With Ari.

Her small form was curled against me, her head resting just below my chin, breathing softly. One of her hands was loosely gripping my hoodie, like she had fallen asleep holding onto me.

Shit.

I exhaled slowly, careful not to move too much. I didn't even remember getting in the bed with her. But sometime during the night, I must've shifted from the chair onto the tiny space beside her—the side where she didn't have a broken rib.

Before I could even process how screwed I was, low murmuring voices made me look up.

Across the room, Cole and Fay were standing near the door, staring at us.

More like gawking.

Fay nudged Cole, whispering something under her breath.

Cole, being Cole, just smirked and loudly announced, "So, should we talk about the fact that they had their first kiss?"

Ari stirred.

I glared at him. "Shut the hell up, Cole."

Too late.

Ari made a small noise, her brows furrowing as her lashes fluttered open.

She blinked sleepily, her eyes still heavy with exhaustion. Then she shifted slightly, her cheek brushing against my chest before her entire body suddenly froze.

Yeah.

Now she realized it.

Her dimpled cheeks tinted pink as she slowly lifted her head to look at me.

I watched as a dozen emotions flashed across her face in just a few seconds—confusion, realization, and then absolute panic.

I sighed. "Relax, Calloway. You weren't exactly complaining last night."

Her eyes widened like I had just exposed some deep dark secret.

Cole snickered. "Ohhh, I'm loving this."

Fay smacked his arm. "Wait—what?! First kiss?! When?! How?! Why was I not told?!"

Ari groaned, burying her face into the pillow. "I hate you all."

I took that as my cue to move before Michelle and Blair got here and made this even worse.

Carefully, I slid out of the bed, making sure not to jostle her broken rib. Ari exhaled sharply when the warmth disappeared, but she didn't say anything.

The moment I stood up, I stretched, my muscles aching from the awkward position I had slept in.

Cole grinned. "Slept well?"

I shot him a look. "Shut it."

Fay crossed her arms. "So you did kiss her?"

Before I could answer, the door suddenly opened, and Michelle and Blair walked in.

I immediately moved to the chair like I had been sitting there the whole time.

Michelle, thankfully, didn't seem to notice anything. She just smiled when she saw Ari. "You look better."

Ari forced a small smile. "Painkillers are magic."

Blair, however, narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously. I ignored her.

The conversation shifted after that, mostly Michelle asking about how Ari had slept and Blair giving updates about what had been happening outside the hospital.

Ari still had a few more days before she could be discharged, but at least she was recovering.

I didn't say much.

Not because I wasn't thinking anything—because damn, my brain hadn't stopped replaying last night once.

But I kept my distance.

At least, as much as I could when my dumbass best friend had just exposed everything