Page 295

She stood in it just fine.

Better than most.

Didn’t break.

Didn’t run.

Didn’t—

Didn’t leave.

That thought hits harder than anything else.

Because she could have.

Should have.

Didn’t.

I stare at the ceiling again.

Longer this time.

“Just a doctor,” I mutter.

The words don’t sit right.

Not even a little.

I close my eyes.

Try to shut it down.

Push it away.

File it under things that don’t matter.

Things I don’t deal with.

Things I don’t—

Her voice cuts through again.

“You don’t get to leave.”

Yeah.

That.

That sticks.

I exhale slowly.

And for the first time—

I don’t push it away.

Don’t fight it.