I blinked. Then I laughed. God… I laughed again. It hurt. It actually hurt to laugh, like cracks forming inside my chest, letting all the pain leak out. Shannon wasn’t even a waitress. So what kind of punishment was that? Like telling a bird it could never be a fish again. So stupid. So meaningless.
Felix saw me smiling and relaxed a little, like everything was fine again. After that, he stayed by my side, attentive, careful, perfect. He checked my IV himself, adjusted it like it mattered. He treated my wounds personally, his hands gentle, focused.
He peeled a lychee and held it to my lips. “Eat,” he said softly.
I did.
Then he held out his hand without a word, waiting for me to spit the seed into his palm like he always used to.
The nurses walking past looked at me with envy. Like I was lucky. If only they knew.
Then my phone rang. That same ringtone.
He froze for half a second. Then he stood up like nothing was wrong. “Danica, I’ve got something at the company,” he said calmly. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t wait up, alright?”
I nodded. Of course I did.
Only after he was gone… completely gone… did I turn on the receiver in the ring. And then I understood.
Shannon was in the hospital too. But not like me. He wasn’t checking her IV. Wasn’t treating her wounds. Because she didn’t have any. Just a minor scratch. Already healed.
Instead…
“Stay still,” his voice came through, lower, rougher. “You’re gonna make a mess.”
I froze. I didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to understand. But I couldn’t stop listening.
“Honey… if you keep me locked up like that, I’m gonna lose it,” Shannon’s voice trembled, soft and broken. “I can’t breathe in that place anymore. I feel like I’m dying slowly. Please, don’t send me back there. I want to go out. I want to be seen. I want to stand next to you even if it’s in front of her…”
My fingers tightened around the ring.
“I even want to be close to you like that… even if she’s there…”
I shut my eyes. I couldn’t listen anymore.
“Careful what you ask for,” Felix murmured, voice low and dangerous.
The sounds that followed, I didn’t need to understand them. I turned the switch off.
My hand was shaking. My chest felt hollow. Like there was nothing left inside me at all.
After everything settled down, Felix said that word again.
“Okay.”
Three days later, I was discharged.