Chapter 4 - The Hospital of Regrets
The hospital in Macon was a sea of sterile white and fluorescent lights.
It was four in the morning when I walked through the sliding doors,
the smell of antiseptic hitting me like a physical weight.
I found Lucas in the waiting room,
his head buried in his hands,
his shoulders shaking with exhaustion.
When he looked up and saw my face,
his eyes widened in horror.
"Samantha?"
he whispered,
standing up to reach for me.
"What happened to you?"
"Who did this to your face?"
I couldn't even speak;
I just fell into his arms and let the dam break.
I told him everything—the keys,
the storage room,
the hammer.
He held me as I sobbed,
his own grief mingling with a newfound protective fury.
"He’s a dead man,"
Lucas hissed,
his hands clenching into fists.
"I should have known he was garbage the day he didn't help with the move."
"Forget him for now,"
I said,
wiping my eyes.
"I need to see her."
The nurse led us down a long,
quiet corridor to a room at the very end.
My mother lay there,
her face peaceful,
as if she were merely sleeping between shifts.
The machines had been turned off,
leaving a silence that was louder than any noise.
I took her cold hand in mine,
pressing it against my bruised cheek.
"I'm so sorry, Mom,"
I whispered,
the words catching in my throat.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to hold your hand."
"I'm sorry I let those people keep me away."
Lucas stepped back to give me a moment of privacy.
I checked my phone,
which I had finally recovered from the apartment.
There were three missed calls from a number I didn't recognize.
Then,
I saw the voicemails from Mom.
She had called me just before the attack happened.
"Samantha, honey,"
her voice sounded weak but urgent in the recording.
"Don't let them take the box."
"The metal box under my bed,"
"it has the secret."
"I love you, baby,"
"stay strong."
The message ended with a jagged breath.
I looked at her still form,
the weight of her last words settling over me like a shroud.
What box?
What secret?
I realized then that my mother knew more about Gavin’s family than she had ever let on.
She hadn't just taught me patience;
she had been waiting for the right moment to protect me.
May you like
I kissed her forehead,
promising her that I would find the truth.
