"I don't care. I'm not some girl he hooked up with and forgot. I'm the mother of his child. I deserve to see him. And he deserves to know."
Lexi meets my gaze, something soft in her eyes. "Then go. But be ready, Lucy. He's not the same."
I nod, turning on my heel, heart racing.
Though I pause in the hallway, making sure the sweatshirt I'm wearing covers my belly. I don't want him to find out like this. Taking a deep breath, I keep walking.
The door is cracked open. Enough to see him.
He's in a hospital bed, the kind with buttons and rails and wires trailing out of it. His hair's longer. There's a beard starting on his jaw. He's staring out the window, like he's trying to pretend the world beyond the glass is real, and this one isn't.
My heart cracks. I push the door open softly.
His head snaps around.
For a second, just a breath, something flickers in his eyes. Like he's glad. Like he remembers everything we were.
Then it's gone.
"Lucy. You shouldn't be here."
I step inside anyway. "I just wanted to see you. To make sure you're okay."
He looks away. "I'm not. And you being here doesn't help."
That hurts more than I expected.
"Caden…"
He cuts me off, his voice sharp. "I said go."
But I don't move. I study the rigid line of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand clenches the blanket.
"You don't get to shut me out."
He turns back, finally looking at me. His eyes are darker than I remember, shadowed with pain. "I don't want you to see me like this."
"Like what? Alive?"
"Like less."
I take a step closer. "You're not less, Caden. Not to me. Not ever."
His jaw clenches. "You're just saying that because you feel sorry for me."
"Don't you dare. I've loved you since before all this. I didn't fall for your leg, or your arm, or anything that can be broken. I fell foryou."
He flinches like I hit him.
"You need to go."
"You can't push me away forever."
"Watch me."
I swallow hard. My voice cracks. "I'll be back. Whether you like it or not."
He doesn't respond. Just turns away again.
