I stand there, looking at the girl I broke.
Not knowing how the hell I’m supposed to fix it.
I check into a hotel five minutes from the hospital. It’s nothing fancy, just somewhere close in case she needs me urgently.
The next morning, Lucy is by the reception desk talking to a nurse. She looks me up and down, like I’m something she’s scraped off her shoe.
“Back again,” she mutters. “She told you she didn’t want to see you again. So, you really don’t need to bother.”
“I do.”
“But for how long?” she asks, arching a brow.
I ignore her and head down the corridor. I stop outside Wynter’s room and look through the small circular window again. She’s awake, sitting up with one hand resting over her stomach, the other picking absentmindedly at the edge of the blanket.
She looks even smaller today. Or maybe I’m just noticing more.
Her head lifts and she sees me. And instead of panicking this time, she just rolls onto her side, turning her back. Like I’m not even worth the reaction.
I open the door anyway. Lucy doesn’t say anything, but I feel her watching me as I walk in. I keep my movements slow. Quiet. Like I might scare her off if I move too fast.
“I brought you some things,” I say, placing a couple magazines on the bedside table. I don’t know what she likes anymore. I don’t know anything anymore, but Holly told me what to get.
I refill her water jug, giving myself something to do with my hands. Something normal, something useful.
“Sebastian asked about you,” I add after a moment.
She doesn’t respond.
I pull my phone out, stepping a little closer. “He wanted me to show you this.” I hold the screen where she can see it—a picture of him grinning, with both thumbs up, clearly proud of himself. “He misses you.”
Still nothing. Not even a glance.
I lower the phone slowly. “He’s doing well,” I say, softer now. “He talks about you a lot.” I sit in the chair beside her bed, careful not to get too close. “Dale sends his love too,” I add, because silence feels unbearable otherwise. “And Holly.”
She shifts slightly, just enough to turn farther away from me, pulling the blanket over her head to shut me out completely.
Suddenly, the room feels smaller, like the rejection is swallowing me whole. My worst fears are surrounding me, yet still I stay, because fighting it feels like a win, even if she does eventually reject me completely.
An hour passes with nothing but the quiet hum of the building and her steady breathing. I don’t try to fill it anymore. I just stay, because leaving feels worse.
Eventually, I stand, stretching because my legs feel stiff. My chest feels even heavier.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I say quietly.
There’s a pause, but she shifts, and I hold my breath, waiting for her to speak.
“Don’t bother,” she mutters, crushing me.
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “But I will,” I say, because I deserve the rejection.
Lucy is waiting outside with her arms folded and a smug smile. “Ready to give up yet?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“I told you,” she says, “she hates you.”
I glance back at the door, at Wynter on the other side of it, now sitting up and reaching for the jewellery box.