“What’s wrong with Tally?” Flame asks stopping Gina.
“Her father is here, in the hospital. She punched him. Shit. Maybe I should get back out there. I thought maybe Dante could help.” I explain.
He nods. “Good call. Please, go check on her. Axel, you go, too.”
“But I’m supposed to guard you.” Axel complains, but I can see his worried eyes trained on the door. He wants to help their queen.
“You go. I’ll stay with Flame.” I tell him. “You’ll be more helpful than I could be until Dante gets here. He’s on his way, right?”
Axel nods. “Yeah, he’ll be here in ten minutes. Ok, I’m going, I’ll be back as soon as Dante gets here.”
“We’ll be in room 220.” Gina tells him. “We’re moving him upstairs.”
Axel nods as he bolts out of the room.
“I’ll take him.” I tell Gina, who nods.
“Are you sure?” She asks me and I nod. “Good, now I can go meet Curt for dinner. You know, MY boyfriend?” She says the last to Flame, and I realize my secret is out.
“Why did you lie to me?” He asks as I wheel him to the elevator.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Curt is Gina’s boyfriend. That’s who I saw coming out of your apartment that morning. Why didn’t you just tell me you weren’t with him?”
“Why did you think I was?” I retort. I’m trying to act cool, to convince him I’m still angry at him for accusing me of cheating on him. But honestly, I was never angry with him. I understood why he jumped to the conclusion he did when he saw Curt. I could have easily smoothed things over, but I used his accusation as a chance to end things. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Flame deserves so much better than me.
“Because I’m an idiot who never believed I deserved someone like you. I knew I was aiming above my pay grade, but I wanted you. I kept expecting you to end it.”
In the elevator, I move so I can look at him.
“You think I’m better than you?” I huff out a laugh. “No, I’m not better than you. I never was. You’re too good for me. You’re the one who deserves someone better. Someone stronger.”
I don’t give him a chance to respond as I hand him off to the technician. I consider leaving and letting another nurse take him to his new room, but I guess I’m a glutton for more pain. Because I stay.
He says nothing until I have him in his room and hooked back up to the monitors.
“Brooke, love, there is no one better than you. How could you ever think that you’re not good enough for me? You’re the best person for me. Please tell me you forgive me and that you’re willing to give us another chance?” The look on his face shows so much hope, it breaks my heart.
I say nothing until he’s done
I stare at him, tears falling freely, but I don’t know what to say. I want to fall on him and say yes as I kiss every inch of skin I can reach, but nothing has changed. Not really. I’m not good enough for him. And I’m too ashamed to tell him why. “I can’t.” I sob and my heart breaks at the look on his face. Pain, followed by confusion and finally anger.
“I understand.” He says, turning away from me.
I bolt into the nearest bathroom. Sitting in a stall, I use the toilet paper to wipe the tears away. I don’t know what to do. I want to be with Flame, but if he knew the truth about me, would he still feel the same way about me? As much as it hurts to not be with him, to have him look at me with disgust. The same look that I have on my face whenever I look in the mirror. That would kill me. Having him mad at me is hard enough.
I hear someone enter the bathroom, so I finish drying my tears and use the toilet before exiting to wash my hands. Standing at the sink, I see the gorgeous woman who was in Deion’s room earlier.
“Nurse Wagstaffe, right?” She asks, holding her hand out to me after we both finished drying our hands.
“Yes. You can call me Brooke.” I tell her.
“My name is Tanya. Tanya Webster.” We shake and walk out of the restroom together.
“Are you dating Deion?” I ask her, and she nods.
“We’ve been together for only a couple of weeks. At first, I wasn’t certain about being involved with someone in a gang. But Deion treats me great.”