-Elias Grayson:
I don't know what I was thinking.
I don't know when the thought even formed, or if it ever did. It was like everything inside me collapsed at once—fear, relief, gratitude, terror, an emotion that didn't yet have a name—and my body acted before my mind could catch up.
Sebastian saved my dad.
Or at least, he gave him time. Precious, impossible time I had already mourned. This man I met less than two weeks ago stood between death and my family and didn't hesitate. He lay himself down like an offering, like it was nothing, like my happiness was worth the cost.
For me.
For my father.
I couldn't breathe when that thought hit me. My chest felt too tight, my vision blurring as emotion swelled until it hurt. I didn't know how to carry it, didn't know where to put it, didn't know how to survive it.
So I threw myself at him.
