“Liam, the doctor hasn’t signed off on your release paperwork yet.”
“I don’t care,” I say. “I need to get the fuck out of here, and he said I’d probably go home later today anyway.”
“I advise against?—”
“Thank you,” I say. “But please get my things.”
“Well, your shirt was cut when you?—”
“Fine. Get me what you can.Please.”
It must be that final plea, because she nods once and slips out of the room.
Twenty minutes later, I’m free of tubes and wires, wobbling on my feet as I pull on my jeans and lace my shoes. I’m still shirtless when a nurse comes in, blinking at the mess of bruises across my chest and shoulders.
She clears her throat and hands me a folded t-shirt. “I grabbed this from lost and found.”
“Thanks.”
The shirt’s snug across my chest, but it’ll do.
I grab my phone and call an Uber.
“It’s been real,” I mutter to the nurse as I head out, trying to sound casual, trying to look like I’m fine.
Like it doesn’t hurt at all.
Like Emma Reyes didn’t just walk back into my life and rip open a wound I’ve spent six years pretending had healed.
6
EMMA
It’s a bright,sunny Sunday, and Talia and I are walking lazy loops around the playground while Laddie chases a soccer ball with one of his school friends.
Every so often, his laughter cuts through the hum of the park.
We haven’t had much time to talk this week, not in any detail. We work opposite days, so Sundays are our one real chance to breathe.
“He asked why I left,” I say finally, eyes on Laddie instead of her. “And I just… left. Again.”
Talia glances at me, but doesn’t say anything right away. She’s always been good at letting silence do some of the talking.
I sigh. “I’ve been thinking about it all week. It doesn’t feel right, the way I walked out. I just— I don’t know how to bridge six years of silence.”
“I told you,” she says gently. “You don’t owe him anything, Em.”
“But I do,” I argue. “I broke his heart, Tal. I walked away without a word, and he deserves to know why.”
“But why reopen that can of worms?” Talia shoots back. “Liam was a lot back then, Em. Big, broody, always ready to throw a punch, and it sounds like that hasn’t changed. You don’t need that kind of chaos in your life, Em.”
“I know, it’s just…” I sigh, watching Laddie run across the grass. “He had it rough growing up. And it sounds like it never got better. He told me his dad killed himself last year.”
Talia’s lips press into a thin line. “That’s awful. But that’snot your problem,Em. You tried with him. You were always the one holding him together when his family blew up. But you’re not his savior, and you’re not his girlfriend anymore. You don’t have to be that for him.”
I nod slowly, even though her words sting. “He just… he seemed really sad,” I say softly. “Like he needs a friend.”
Talia lets out a short, sharp laugh. “Afriend?Come on. You two were never built for that. You were combustible, Em. There’s no fuckin’ way you’re keeping him in the friend zone.”
