His palm cracked across my face.
The force of the blow made me stagger backward.Lennon shook out his stinging wrist and looked at me like I was a stranger.
"Meredith,have you lost your mind?Are you really that jealous?Winona is our guest.She’s blind.She’s done nothing but help you and this is how you treat her?"
The ambulance arrived swiftly.Lennon snapped at the paramedics to be careful as they moved Winona onto the stretcher.He threw one final look my way—filled with disgust—then climbed into the ambulance without another word.
I was left alone in the vast,empty villa.My cheek throbbed.My chest felt like it was caving in.
I had no idea how long I stood there in a daze before my phone rang.
It was Lennon.
"Winona took a bad fall,but the baby’s okay—thankfully.The doctor said she’ll need proper care or she could end up with long-term complications."
"Since this involved you,you should make her some soup and bring it to the hospital.Show some remorse.You see?She’s kind enough not to blame you."
At one in the morning,I stepped into her hospital room.
I had expected Lennon to be asleep—he was a creature of habit,always in bed by midnight.But the room was glowing with bright light.
Lennon stood behind Winona,gently massaging her temples,his hands slow and careful.
"She can’t sleep and I’m just helping her relax."
I did not say a word.
I remembered how I once told him I had terrible insomnia.Yet,when I told Lennon about it,he only turned over with a grunt and buried himself deeper under the blanket.
"Isn’t closing your eyes the same as resting?Don’t bother me.I have work in the morning."
The memory hit me like a punch to the gut.Bitterness rose in my throat.
I placed the soup quietly on the table and turned to leave,until suddenly…
"Edith."
His voice stopped me.
"It’s late.It’s not safe to go back now.Just stay the night."
That long-lost tone of concern made me hesitate.When I looked back and saw the worry etched on his face,something inside me wavered.
In the end,I bit my lip and gave a slight nod.But then,as if it were the most natural thing in the world,he gestured toward Winona’s legs.
"The doctor said her circulation’s poor.You’ve always been good with your hands—why don’t you massage her?"
I instinctively pulled back.