LIAM:
I didn't wait.
Didn't care that Nick had just knocked the air out of my lungs.
Didn't care that my lip was busted or that I could barely see straight.
All I knew was there was a chance she was alive. That somehow, after everything, Zara might still be breathing.
I followed them.
I kept a few cars behind on the freeway, watching Nick's taillights like a lifeline. My hands trembled around the wheel, blood still smeared across my knuckles and jaw. I kept hearing her voice, the last time she looked at me—those wide, broken eyes. The way she yanked her hand away when I tried to speak.
I deserved her hate. I deserved worse.
But I still had to see her.
When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Nick and Kaylee stepped out first. Kaylee looked around warily. I kept my distance, waiting until they entered through the emergency entrance before climbing out of my car.
The cold air hit my face like a slap, waking every nerve. My legs felt heavy, but I moved forward anyway, every step screaming you're too late.
I walked into the ER lobby, and the sterile smell hit me harder than the chill outside. The lights were too bright. The murmurs too low. The receptionist didn't even look up as I passed her, following signs toward the ICU waiting area.
That's where I found them.
Nick was sitting stiffly on one of the plastic chairs, elbows on his knees, face buried in his hands. Kaylee was pacing, wringing her fingers, whispering something I couldn't make out. A woman—Zara's mom, I assumed—was sitting across from them with a haunted, shell-shocked look on her face.
I stopped a few feet away.
Kaylee noticed me first.
Her face twisted. "No. Liam—just go home. Please."
Nick looked up slowly. His eyes burned into mine. I could tell he was restraining himself—his hands gripped the armrest so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"I'm not here to start anything," I said quietly. "I just… I need to know if she's okay."
"You don't get to need that," Nick snapped. "You gave up that right when you and Beatrice laughed while shattering her heart."
My throat closed. I stepped closer, hands raised slightly in surrender.
"Please. Just let me sit. Over there. I won't come near. I won't say a word. I just need to be here… in case."
Kaylee exchanged a look with Nick. He stood up.
My heart thundered, expecting a second round. But instead, he stepped right in front of me.
"If she wakes up and sees you, it'll break her all over again," he said. His voice was low. Dangerous. "So stay out of sight."
I nodded. "Okay."
I sat in the farthest chair in the waiting area. From where I sat, I could just barely hear murmurs—doctors moving past, machines beeping somewhere distant. Every few minutes, someone walked through the doors and my head would shoot up, praying for news.
Nothing.
Every second dragged like a lifetime. My chest felt like it was caving in.
I thought of the night I saw her laughing with Kaylee after school. The night we snuck out and bought hot chocolate and she leaned her head on my shoulder, whispering that she felt like she finally belonged somewhere.
I thought of the matching bracelets. Of the way she smiled at them like she'd never gotten a gift that meant something before.
I thought of my words—words that had crushed her like glass.
"Don't be silly. You'll never be my type."
My nails dug into my palms. How did I say that? How could I?
I buried my face in my hands. God, if she makes it out of this, I swear—I'll fix it. I'll never leave her again. I'll tell her everything. That the bracelet was real. That I fell for her from the start. That breaking her was the biggest mistake of my life.
Please, just let her live.
The double doors at the end of the hallway opened. A nurse came out and walked toward Zara's mom. We all stood. My heart was in my throat.
⸻
The moment the nurse came out, everyone stood. My legs moved before I realized it, instincts overriding thought.
Zara's mother rushed forward, Kaylee following close behind, eyes brimming with hope—but also dread. Nick stood still, frozen beside the chairs, his fists clenched so tightly his arms trembled.
The nurse didn't meet anyone's eyes. Her face—somber, practiced, final.
"I'm sorry," she began softly, her voice like the slow peel of thunder before a storm, "the young woman brought in from the Route 17 crash—she didn't make it. The injuries were too severe. The body was identified by the paramedics… her ID was found on her."
Zara's mother let out a sound that I will never forget. A raw, primal sob that cut through the sterile air like a razor. She collapsed onto the nearest chair, clutching her chest, rocking back and forth.
Kaylee gasped and brought both hands to her mouth as tears poured freely down her face.
And Nick—he turned to the wall and punched it so hard the sound echoed down the hall.
But me?
I just stood there.
Time slowed. The world blurred. The fluorescent lights above dimmed and flickered behind my vision.
She's gone.
I stared at the nurse, waiting for her to say something else, something like, "Wait—there's been a mistake," or "She's stable, I'm sorry, I got the name wrong." But she didn't. She turned and walked away slowly, respectfully—leaving destruction in her wake.
I took a step back. My knees buckled.
She's gone.
No more sketchbook. No more late-night phone calls. No more crooked smile as she told me I was annoying and adorable in the same breath. No more star gazing. No more bracelets.
No more Zara.
I sank into the nearest chair, unable to breathe. My throat clenched shut. A sharp pain cut through my ribs.
Nick walked past me, glaring with such venom it could've killed.
"This is your fault," he hissed.
He didn't punch me this time. He didn't have to.
His words did what his fists couldn't. They buried themselves into my chest and stayed there.
He was right.
All of this was because of me. The plan. The betrayal. The heartbreak that pushed her to the edge.
I was the match that lit the fire.
I looked down at my hands. Shaking. Blood from the earlier punch still drying in the creases. Her blood—though not physically—might as well have stained me permanently.
I don't know how long I sat there.
Kaylee helped Zara's mother stand. Nick walked them to the front, casting one last glance my way—one that said stay away forever.
And when they were gone, I was still sitting.
Alone.
Utterly hollow.
The lobby around me became a blur. I couldn't cry. I didn't deserve to cry.
I had loved her. Truly. Deeply. But too late. Far too late to undo the damage. Too late to tell her the truth. Too late to fight for her.
And now, she was gone.
Because of me.
Forever.