Chapter 142

“I’ll go to the pharmacy for some toiletries and bits and pieces while Bryan sleeps. You head off home for now, and I’ll see you this evening.” My mom is up and tidying Bryan’s new private room after we settled him in here, and now I am getting the strong vibes she wants me to leave. I know it’s because Dane is coming. I overheard Mom and Bryan earlier saying Dane would come around eleven after he was on a ward, and it’s almost that time. My mom thinks she’s being sly about the hints that I should go home for lunch but I am not leaving until I at least see him once. I want that face-to-face, that moment of closure.

To see the person who vanished from my life so I can put a lid on what we were. I guess a part of me wants to see for myself if he has suffered, too. Because I will know by looking at him, I will be able to tell with one encounter whether he even missed me a little bit. I need it to quieten to anger in my head and the ache in my heart.

Just once. Even if we say no