Page 139 of Heart of The Night

We passed through the sliding doors, the sterile scent of the hospital washing over us, doing little to calm my frayed nerves. As we navigated the labyrinth of corridors, I kept glancing at Jason, checking he was okay. Each time, he gave me a tight nod, as if we were silently agreeing to maintain our composure.

Finally, we arrived at William’s room. I paused just outside, taking a deep breath to steady myself before Jason swung the door open. The sight of William, still pale but looking more alive than the last time I’d seen him, brought a wave of relief crashing over me, pushing back the lingering anger.

He looked up, a small, weary smile tugging at his lips. ‘Brilliant. The cavalry’s arrived,’ he said, his voice weak but warm. ‘Does this mean I’m finally sprung?’

Jason let out a breath he’d been holding, the last of his tension finally easing away as he stepped forward. ‘Something like that,’ he said, his tone softer now.

I followed him in, my hand resting lightly on his back, a gesture of reassurance as much for myself as for him.

‘Thank God,’ William said on a loud breath, rising from the bed. ‘I was beginning to think you’d left me to become part of the furniture here.’

I approached William slowly, noting the faint traces of apprehension flickering across his features despite the smile he wore. It didn’t take much to guess what – or rather who – had put that look on his face.

His eyes darted between Jason and me, as if trying to gauge the mood.

‘We saw Francesca on our way in,’ I said, observing his reaction.

William’s smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, hard look that I’d never seen on his face before. The apprehension in his eyes turned to something darker – resentment, laced with a deep revulsion. He nodded, a resigned sort of acceptance in the gesture. ‘Yeah. She was just here.’

I exchanged a glance with Jason, who was now leaning against the wall, his fists no longer clenched but still held tensely at his sides. I took a step closer to William, searching his face. ‘What did she want?’

‘She wanted to apologise.’ William spat out the words as if they tasted foul. Jason’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing, letting William continue. ‘I didn’t expect it,’ he admitted, his voice quieter now, more reflective. ‘But she was… She seemed genuinely sorry. Not that it changes anything.’ He looked away, staring at some distant point on the wall. ‘It doesn’t undo what she’s done. But I think she needed to say it.’

My mind raced with a thousand things I wanted to ask – why now? What did she think an apology would do? – but I bit my tongue, knowing it wouldn’t help. The last thing William needed was more anger, more hurt.

I reached up, gently stroking his cheek. ‘Are you okay?’

He met my gaze, and the vulnerability in his eyes nearly broke me. ‘I will be,’ he said, leaning into my hand as if drawing strength from the contact. ‘It’s just… It’s a lot.’

Jason stepped closer, his anger visibly resurfacing as he saw the exhaustion on William’s face. ‘We’re here, Will. We’ve got you.’

‘She nearly got me killed,’ William said, his voice shaking now. ‘I’ve been lying in that bed because of her. And she thinks an apology is going to make it better? Like it can just erase everything she’s done?’

‘Why the hell did you let her in?’ Jason asked, his voice low and filled with the same blazing fury that had carried him through the confrontation outside.

William’s eyes met Jason’s. ‘I let her in so that I could tell her I don’t ever want to see her again, and that I won’t ever forgive her,’ he said, each word enunciated with icy clarity. ‘Not for what she did to me. Not for what she did to Cara. To all of us.’

The room fell silent, the weight of William’s words pressing down on us. My throat tightened, a mixture of anger and sorrow permeating my chest.

Carefully, I put my hand on William’s chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm. ‘Good. She doesn’t deserve your forgiveness.’

William looked at me, and the hardness in his eyes softened just a fraction, enough to reveal the exhaustion, the pain that still lingered beneath his anger. ‘I just want to move on. I want to forget she ever existed.’

‘And we will,’ I assured him, stretching up to kiss him.

Jason stepped forward, his voice firm but supportive. ‘Let’s get you home, Will.’

William nodded, his expression still grim but resolute. ‘Yeah, let’s get out of here.’

With that, Jason and I helped him gather his things and change out of his hospital gown into comfortable, grey joggers and a loose, blue jumper. As we walked out of the hospital together, we exchanged a look, one that spoke volumes about everything we’d just gone through, and everything we still had to face. But for now, we were here, together, and that was enough.

§ § §

The sound of frantic button-mashing and bursts of laughter filled William’s recreation room as we battled it out on the screen. The past few days, Mario Kart had been our pick for a bit of friendly competition, but today it felt different – lighter, almost cathartic. Jason let out a triumphant yell as his character sped past mine, narrowly avoiding a red shell.

‘You’re not getting away with that!’ I exclaimed, my thumb jamming down on the controller.

Beside me, William chuckled softly, his eyes glued to the screen. His right arm, still encased in a cast now covered in a chaotic mix of signatures and doodles, moved with surprising dexterity on the controller. I couldn’t help but smile at how determined he was to play, even with the limited movement. His bruised eye, once a deep shade of purple, was finally fading back to normal, a small but welcome sign that he was healing – at least physically.

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