Page 103 of True Sight
“He’s in the hospital, he’s not going to know what?—”
“He’ll know,” she says matter-of-factly.
“No, you don’t understand. He’s unconscious, there’s no way he?—”
“He’ll know,” she repeats, this time firmer than the first.
“You think I should give it to him?” My voice is apprehensive as I ask, but her insistence that I give it to him gives me a small sense of hope.
“I think you should give it to him. He’ll know it’s you and knowing you’re there will make him stronger. He’ll come back for you, Conrad. Because you’re worth coming back for.” Her voice is soft but her words hit me hard.You’re worth coming back for.For the longest time I didn’t think I was worth sticking around for—that everyone in my life would eventually leave me like they had in the past. But Henry, he never makes me feel that way. He makes me want to be better, be braver, and he never makes me feel like I’m not enough for him. I love him because he loves me and I need to tell him how I feel about him.
I push to my feet quickly and she matches my movements. “I have to go.”
She simply smiles and gives me a knowing look. “I know you do. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“I will.” I nod back and move for the door. Before stepping out, I pause and turn around, quickly pulling her into a hug. She hesitates for a moment before gently resting her arms around my center.
“Thank you, for everything,” I mutter into her ear and she gives me a squeeze.
“Of course. I hope to see you soon.”
I pull away from her and hurry out of the office, headingfor my car. I know I need to get back to the hospital as quickly as I can but before I do, there’s one stop I have to make first.
My head is downas I walk down the hallway, flipping through my keychain to find the key to my apartment. I’m going to run inside, grab the flash drive I made for him and my computer, and then go back to the hospital to play it for him. Even if he isn’t awake, I’ll play it for him anyway so he can hear it. This is my way of giving him my heart, of telling him I love him, and I’m not going to wait any longer to do it.
Pushing open the front door, I’m met with three figures milling around that all stop and look at me once I walk in.
“Conrad, there you are.” Hank speaks first, walking towards me and placing a firm hand on my shoulder.
“You okay, brother?” Kolbi speaks next, looking me up and down like a concerned mother would.
“It’s about time you showed up, we’ve been waiting forever,” Malcolm chastises, rolling his head along the back of my couch where he’s sitting.
“What the hell are you guys doing here?” I look between the three of them, thoroughly confused by their appearances.
“We’re here to make sure you’re okay,” Hank explains, stepping out of the way so I can move into the living room.
“Margaret called Magnolia and told her what happened,” Kolbi says warily. The three of them exchange a nervous glance.
“What the fuck did Margaret tell you?” I bark, angry that she would call them and rat me out. I asked her to keepHenry and I to herself until I was ready to tell my friends. I can’t believe she told them about us.
“Something about a friend of yours being in an accident? She said she went to the hospital only for you to run out and disappear. Where’d you go?” Hank asks, continuing to slow me down in my attempt to get back to the hospital.
“I…I had to go and talk to Hanna about something,” I reply shortly.
“The therapist?” Malcolm jeers from his seat, raising a brow at me. “What’d you have to go and talk to her about?”
“Things that are none of your business. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.” I snatch my laptop from my desk and the flashdrive from the kitchen counter and beeline it for the front door. I would have made it if Kolbi didn’t step in front of me and block my exit.
I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth. “Kolbi, please move out of the way. I have to go.”
“Not until you tell us what’s going on.” He crosses his arms over his chest and looks behind me. Following his gaze, I turn to find Hank and Malcolm standing behind me, watching me closely. I force out a breath knowing that they won’t let this go until I explain things. This is how our friend group goes—one of us will keep something from the others but as soon as we catch wind of it, you aren’t allowed to keep it to yourself anymore.
“Listen, dude, if you’re worried we’re going to get mad that you have another friend outside of us, we don’t care,” Malcolm tries to offer and the other guys nod.
“We wish we could have known about it, obviously, but we don’t all have to have the same friends,” Hank adds.
My stomach turns over at their assumptions that Henry is nothing more than a friend to me. That he isn’t more than someone I hang out with on the weekends or text from timeto time. That he isn’t the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thought I have before falling asleep. That he isn’t the first man I’m about to give my heart to and if I can only be so lucky, the last one too.
