“You broke me.”
“I know.”
Silence filled the room.
Then she said quietly, “I hated you for a very long time.”
“You had every right.”
She looked exhausted.
“Now I’m too tired to hate anybody.”
That was the first crack.
At the same time, Dana kept pulling me back to reality.
Missed calls.
Pharmacy notices.
Voicemails.
One message: Call me when you can. Don’t panic.
Which, of course, made me panic.
Daniel caught me in the hallway after one of those calls.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s a lie.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue.
“My sister’s treatment is being delayed,” I admitted. “Insurance won’t cover enough. I’m short again.”
He paused.
“How short?”
I let out a bitter laugh.
“The kind of short that ruins people.”
Then I looked at him.
“And don’t stand there like you’re about to rescue me. I’m not one of your projects.”
That hit him.
“I’m not trying to rescue you,” he said. “I’m trying to repay what you did for my children.”
I looked away.
It’s hard—laying your worst struggles out in the open.
“Look, if you’re serious, I’ll be at the store tomorrow. You can help me after my shift. Right now, I need to call my sister.”
The next day, he showed up.
He waited until I finished work.
And for the first time in a long while…
I allowed myself to believe there might actually be hope—for the person I loved most in the world.
