#Chapter 191: Time

Kayla Light filtered through my eyelids, hazy and blurred. Everything felt heavy. Sore. But alive. The first thing I saw was Nicholas hunched over me, clutching me so tightly I could barely breathe. “Kayla,” he murmured against my throat. “Kayla, please come back…” My shaky hand came up, my fingers finding his hair and tangling weakly in the dark strands. Nicholas froze, his entire body going rigid against me. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at my face. The expression I saw there nearly broke my heart. His eyes were wild, his face pale and drawn with grief. For a moment, he just stared at me, disbelief written across his features. Then his hands were cradling my face. “Kayla?” he whispered. “Are you—” “I’m here,” I managed to croak. “I’m okay.” A sound tore from his throat, somewhere between a sob and a laugh. He pulled me against him, burying his face in my hair, his entire body shaking. “You were gone,” he said. “You were gon