Page 103 of Love Not Qualified

“Ma… I couldn’t…” I started but stopped short when her hand squeezes on mine so hard my knuckles turned white. My eyes went wide and I let out a gasp. “She…” I began, glancing back at Merielle. Then I get out of my seat, wiping my tears as I burst out of the room. “She moved!” I screamed from the top of my lungs. “She moved!” I continued and when I entered the hallway I landed on a hard chest.

I took a harsh breath, preparing myself to take a step back, apologize, and run to a nurse. But I stopped short when myeyes met his. My body froze like an automatic response to his presence, the saliva in my mouth turning as dry as the desert.

What was he doing here?

I ignored the rapid fire of my heart and stepped aside, running past him and right to the reception. When my eyes landed on the nurse I came to know, I hurried to her, remembering why I came here in the first place and putting aside the fact that Tristan was here.

“Amy,” I said, out of breath.

She looked at me, interrupting whatever conversation she had with one of her co-workers.

“My mom moved.” When the words left my mouth, she watched me with big round eyes before she marched to my mother’s room. I followed her.

“Are you sure?” she urged.

“Yes!”

She stopped in front of the room, taking a quick glance at my mother who was still lying in her hospital bed. Amy put a hand on my shoulder. “Wait here, we’ll run a few tests.”

I didn’t get to say anything else before two other nurses rushed inside and closed the door.

THIRTY-EIGHT

TRISTAN

“You should leave,” Haelyn’s blonde friend urged, her teeth clinking against each other as her lips curled in annoyance. Merielle, I guessed. She crossed her arms to her chest and glanced at Haelyn who was standing frozen in front of the door. “This is not the right time to fix things,” she pushed when she noticed I wasn’t moving.

I stuck my hands into my pants pockets and leaned on my toes, my eyes fixed on Haelyn. She knew I was here, yet refused to acknowledge my presence. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t here to beg for her attention or forgiveness, I was here because I cared about her. I was here because I wanted to support her, and no matter how many times I tried to talk myself out of it, I still somehow made it to the hospital.

She needed someone on her side and even if I knew that’s why her friend was here, I couldn’t keep the distance between us going. I needed to be here in case she wanted me close.

“I’ll drag you out myself if you don’t leave.” Merielle came closer to me and talked through gritted teeth in my ear, then hit my shoulder with hers when she walked past me toward Haelyn.

She had quite the fire in her, that I could admit, but she could bring all the threats in the world and I was still going to beunmoved from my spot. I was already here and I wasn’t going to quit so easily.

Haelyn flinched when the blonde wrapped her arms around her. My fists clenched beside my body at the thought that I couldn’t comfort her like she did. If I wouldn’t have had fucked everything up, maybe I would be able to be there for her like a man should.

I wasn’t a man with many regrets—I always analyzed my choices thoughtfully before making a decision—but by all means, betraying her trust like that was my biggest regret.

The girl placed Haelyn on a chair two feet away from me and threw me a glance. “I swear to God, I’ll cut his balls, put them in a chopper, and have him eat it after,” she said in what was meant to be a whisper but made sure to be loud enough for me to hear.

If I wasn’t so focused on Haelyn, I would’ve laughed at her joke. She wasn’t the tallest girl I knew and it was difficult for me to imagine her pulling off something like that. But if there was something I learned, it was that underestimating someone is the weapon of a fool.

Haelyn’s head snapped to mine, her eyes burning red from unshed tears. “I told you to leave me alone.” She let her arms fall beside her body in defeat, a tired sigh rolling from her tongue. “Why can’t you leave me alone?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but then a voice traveled outside the room where her mother was. “Just like that. Perfect. One more time. How about your thumb?”

Her exhausted eyes doubled in size as her mouth fell agape. Her friend squeezed her with a small smile and Haelyn took a deep breath meant to suck all the air in the room inside her lungs. I could see the hope burning like a fire over her pupils.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, then brought her trembling hands to her mouth. “I didn’t imagine it, she moved.”

The blonde nodded. “She did.” Her arm ran up and down Haelyn’s back.

But then Haelyn took a step back, horror crossing her features. “I could’ve killed her,” she gasped, placing her fingers on top of her heart. “I was about to kill my own mother,” Haelyn croaked, her voice trembling along with her body.

Her friend opened her mouth to talk but had no idea what to say to comfort her. She moved her lips a couple of times, yet no words came out of them.

I stepped toward her, my heart racing as I waited for her to push me away as I got closer, but her limbs were frozen. I sucked in a deep breath and placed my hands over her shoulders. Immediately, her bloodshot eyes snapped to mine and her body turned rigid under my touch. I detested that was the effect I had on her. A small part of me hoped she was going to relax.

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