That ICU stay had been the closest I had ever come to death.
I had only found out through a nurse’s casual conversation that Mom had rushed over to sign my critical condition paperwork and then left just as quickly.
The nurses had pitied me. “That poor woman. Not a single family member came to see her while she was in the ICU.”
“The doctor asked her mom to stay, but she said she had another daughter at home who had broken her leg and needed her more. So, she told the hospital to hire a nurse for this one. Can you believe that? A broken leg versus being in the ICU?”
“And from what I heard, her sister has some rich boyfriend taking care of her. She doesn’t even need her mom’s help.”
Lying there, hooked up to an oxygen mask with my eyes closed, I had felt the weight of their words crush me. Silent tears slipped down my face.
It felt like a piece of my heart had been carved out, leaving behind nothing but suffocating pain.
I had been confused back then, wondering when Trinity had started dating someone.
Two days after I had been transferred out of the ICU, Nathan had finally shown up.
He had waltzed in like nothing had happened and upgraded me to a VIP hospital suite. He had then told me he had been on a business trip overseas and couldn’t make it back in time.
I had believed him.
The moment I had fallen into his arms, all the pain and resentment I had bottled up disappeared.
“Nate, I thought I was going to die without seeing you one last time. If I’d left this world without saying goodbye, I wouldn’t have been able to rest, even in the afterlife.”
Nathan had held me tightly, kissed my forehead, and whispered, “Tegan, don’t say things like that. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll always be here for you.”
Now, staring at the bloodstain on the bed, I let out a bitter laugh.
“Nathan, you promised you would always be by my side. But I’m dying now. Where are you?”
