First and Only

HAZEL

Cade's words echo in my head like a gunshot in an empty room. I stare at him, frozen. The hospital monitors beep steadily beside us, but everything else feels muffled.

My chest tightens so hard it hurts.

"You... what?" I whisper, my voice cracking.

Cade's pale blue eyes, hazy with fever and painkillers, stay locked on mine.

"You heard me," he rasps. His throat bobs as he swallows. "You