But we had. Our bodies had found each other in sleep, drawn together by a memory deeper than conscious thought. And that said more than any conversation could.
We got ready in awkward silence, taking turns in the bathroom, moving around each other like strangers. I packedmy bag. He packed his. Neither of us mentioned what had happened. Neither of us acknowledged what it meant.
At the hospital entrance, Cassian stopped.
"Calla."
I turned to face him.
"What you said last night.” He held my gaze, his green eyes steady despite the exhaustion. "I don’t know if I want you to heal either."
I didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to respond to words that felt like both a confession and a goodbye.
"We should get inside," I finally managed. "The patients need us."
He nodded, accepting my deflection. "Yeah. They do."
We walked through the doors together, and the hospital swallowed us back into its chaos.
But something had shifted between us. Something that couldn't be unshifted.
The morning passed in a blur of patient rounds and discharge paperwork. We worked separately, each of us assigned to different wings, but I felt Cassian's presence like a phantom limb. Knew when he entered a room before I saw him. Caught myself looking for him in crowded hallways.
Around noon, the Riverside chief cleared us to leave. Our patients were stable, transferred to their own staff, no longer our responsibility. Cassian arranged for a cab to take us back to Obsidian, and we sat in the backseat with careful distance between us.
The drive took forty minutes, and neither of us spoke. The cab driver had the radio on low, some talk show I couldn't focus on. I stared out the window at the passing city, replaying every word from the hotel room.
The things I'd said. The things he'd said. The way he'd pulled away when I tried to kiss him, gentle but firm.
I'd rather deny myself something real than take something stolen.
He was right. I knew he was right. But being right didn't make it hurt any less.
When we arrived at Obsidian, Cassian paid the driver before I could reach for my wallet. We climbed out and stood on the sidewalk, the hospital looming above us.
"I'll see you at the protocol meeting tomorrow," he said.
"Yeah. Tomorrow."
He nodded once and walked inside.
I stayed on the sidewalk for a moment longer, watching him disappear through the glass doors. Then I followed, keeping distance between us as we went our separate ways.
My phone chimed.
Mireya
Heard you're back. Coffee? I'm in the cafeteria.
Calla
On my way.
She was waiting at a table near the windows, two cups already in front of her. She pushed one toward me as I sat down.
"You look terrible," she said.
"Thanks."
