“That’s enough,” I cry, tears running down my face. “Nobody gets a say in this but me and Roman. Walker, I’m sorry we lied to you, but this is not for you to interfere with. Now, can you please send Roman back in here?”
Jessie looks down at the ground. “Um, I saw him walking out of the hospital earlier.”
“He left?” I whisper, not sure what to make of that.
“Fucking bastard,” Walker mumbles next to me.
My stomach drops. It doesn’t make any sense. He wouldn’t just leave because of Walker’s stupid outburst.
The sterile walls of the room begin to feel like they are closing in on me. He left?
Her words repeat in my head like some kind of cruel joke.“I saw him walking out of the hospital earlier.”
Just … gone?
After everything he said to me earlier, declaring his love for me, he just disappears? No goodbye, no explanation. No fight.
Walker’s words come rushing back.
“I want to be alone,” I choke out, anger, betrayal, loneliness all waging a war inside.
“Eva,” Walker replies, “I’m not leaving you alone.”
“I said … get … out,” I cry as I motion toward the door.
Jessie swallows, looking more nervous than I’ve ever seen her. “Come on, Walker. Just give her some space.” She looks at me. “We’ll give you time to rest, but we aren’t leaving. We’ll be in the cafeteria.”
I nod my head. She walks over to my brother and grabs his arm, pulling him to a standing position. I can’t meet his eyes. Instead, I lay my head back on the bed and close my eyes.
I don’t understand how my life got to be such a soap opera.
My eyes sting, but there are no more tears left to cry. I’m too drained to fight what feels like the inevitable. Does anybody get a happily ever after when they start out the way we did?
Still, my mind clings to a small, desperate amount of hope—the kind that hurts more than it helps.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Roman
Ipace back and forth outside as I wait for her. The only person I know who can help in this moment. The one woman who has always been there for me through every bump along the way.
My heart races with anticipation. All I want to do is get back upstairs to Eva, but I don’t want to cause any more stress to her and the baby.
It feels like nothing I can do in this moment is right. I can’t tell her that I love her because she just thinks I’m doing it under duress. I’m sure as hell not leaving. But my presence means that she can’t have the one person who’s been in her corner her entire life—her brother.
I know how much she relies on him.
I’m caught in the middle of this impossible situation. Doubt clouds my mind, keeping me from going all in after Walker spoke words that I always thought to be true.
My actions have proven I’m just like my father.
“Roman.” Ma’s voice comes from behind me.
I turn around, and my body instantly feels safer. She’s always been that calming force in my life.
“Ma,” I say on an exhale.
“What’s happening? Is everybody okay?” she asks in a shaky voice.