Chapter 276
Derek was still caught in the liminal space between dreaming and reality.
During that long, heavy stretch of unconsciousness, he had been trapped in a relentless loop of something bordering between a dream and a nightmare.
Everywhere he looked, there was Suzy. He dreamed of the day they first met, and of every quiet step that had brought them closer together.
He remembered her silent, unassuming care before the apocalypse—the countless ways she had looked after him without ever asking for anything in return—and the fierce concern she had shown him after the world collapsed.
Every memory was a physical ache, proof of how much she mattered to him.
Then, she disappeared.
Without warning, the Suzy in his dream vanished.
Derek searched for her desperately through a void that stretched on for what felt like years, yet no trace of her remained.
It was as though she had left the world entirely. No—it was worse than that. It felt as though she had never existed at all, erased by the universe itself.
Nobody remembered her. Nobody knew her name. She existed only as a ghost inside his own mind.
The terror of that erasure was so profoundly real that even now, it sent a chill through his veins. But just as the despair threatened to swallow him whole, a warm light reached into the dark, pulling him backward.
Derek’s eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
There she was. Right in front of him. She existed.
"Suzy...?" His voice came out rough, a hoarse scrape against the silence.
He stared blankly at the young woman leaning against the edge of his bed.
He had never seen her look like this.
Her face was entirely drained of color, save for the dark shadows bruising the skin beneath her eyes. A few loose strands of hair clung to her pale cheeks. She looked utterly hollowed out, as though she hadn’t slept in days, her eyes webbed with red veins. Yet, she was forcing herself to stay awake.
The moment he spoke, a brilliant, sudden light burst into her gaze.
"Derek! You’re awake! Thank God!"
Her voice cracked from disuse, the words trembling uncontrollably. She grabbed his hand so fast it startled him, clutching his fingers with a desperate, crushing grip, as if she feared he would dissolve if she let go. Tears surged into her eyes, blurring her vision, and she blinked frantically to force them back.
Derek could only stare at her—at the moisture pooling in her eyes, at the exhaustion carved into every line of her face.
Something twisted painfully inside his chest. Part of him felt a ridiculous, selfish surge of happiness that she cared this much, that she had worried herself sick over him. But guilt immediately followed, heavy and suffocating. He was the reason for this. He had made her suffer.
"I’m sorry..." he whispered, the sound barely carrying. "I’m sorry for making you worry, Suzy."
She shook her head fiercely, her voice quivering. "As long as you’re okay. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters."
Slowly, she released his hand and braced herself against the mattress. "You wait here. I’m going to tell Uncle Leonard and the others."
Leonard had only stepped out ten minutes prior, and Suzy couldn’t wait a second longer. She wanted them to know immediately that Derek had finally returned to them.
But the instant she stood, the room spun violently. Darkness crashed over her vision like a wave. The last thing she heard before consciousness slipped away was Derek’s panicked shout.
"Suzy!"
The commotion brought Leonard running; the door burst open almost instantly. The moment he saw Suzy collapsing toward the floor, his heart nearly stopped.
"Suzy!"
He rushed forward, catching her in his arms before she hit the ground. At that moment, the miracle of Derek being awake didn’t even register. All of Leonard’s attention was anchored to the unconscious girl cradled against him.
"What happened?"
Derek ignored the raw fire in his throat to force the words out. "She... she suddenly passed out."
Leonard glanced up, his expression tense.
"Lie back down. Don’t move, and don’t start worrying yourself sick. I’ll take her to rest."
Without waiting for a response, he hoisted Suzy up and carried her out, the door clicking shut behind them.
Derek sat frozen, his thoughts sluggish and clouded by residual sleep. But no matter how weak his body felt, he couldn’t stop the panic clawing at his chest. Ignoring the lethargy in his limbs, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, intent on following them.
The door swung open again.
Thomas stepped inside, carrying a steaming bowl of medicine. Worry was etched deeply into his features; it was obvious he had already crossed paths with Leonard and heard about Suzy.
He clearly wanted to be by her side, yet he had forced himself to come here first.
Seeing Derek trying to stand, Thomas crossed the room in a few swift strides and pushed him gently but firmly back onto the mattress.
"You shouldn’t be moving around yet," Thomas said, pressing the bowl into Derek’s hands. "Drink this and get some rest."
Derek opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Thomas’s hard expression told him it was useless.
Silently, he accepted the bowl and downed the bitter liquid in one long swallow. It burned a path down his throat, and Derek grimaced, sitting in tense silence for several seconds as he fought the awful taste.
Just as Thomas turned to leave with the empty bowl, Derek lunged forward and grabbed his wrist.
"Suzy," Derek urged, his grip tight. "How is she? Is she going to be okay?"
Thomas stopped. Slowly, he turned his head back.
The look in his eyes made Derek freeze.
There was resentment simmering there. Frustration.
Something dark, sharp, and tightly restrained. It was the first time Derek had ever seen Thomas look at him with anything less than warmth, and for a moment, the words died in his throat.