The hours crawled by, but Stefan didn't leave her side. He didn't dare. How could he, when he was scared of not being there when she opened her eyes especially now that he knew it could be any time soon.
He remained by her side, watching her. Every twitch of her hand, every subtle shift of her breathing. He remained there and he clung to her hand like it was proof she was fighting her way back to him.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours but he didn't care. At some point, sleep tried to claim him, but he resisted. What if she opened her eyes and he didn't see it because he was sleeping? He couldn't let that happen.
Soon, what he was waiting for, happened.
It was faint at first — the smallest flutter of her eyelids, a fragile movement that made his chest seize. Stefan sat up straighter, leaning close, his hand tightening around hers.
"Ruby?" His voice was low, trembling, filled with equal parts of hope and fear.
