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“I know how long, Hawk,” I snap. He doesn’t say anything, but his stare is unnerving. “I did what I had to do.”

“You thought you had to leave?”

“I knew I had to leave.”

“Why–”

When moaning starts coming from Rose, Hawk turns around and walks back to his mother. I use this time to make my exit. I wasn’t wrong for calling Bianca, but I was wrong for not telling her or Martha that I didn’t want to see him. Gripping the metal of the handle in my hand, I pull on it slowing, trying not to make a noise.

“Tessa?”

My shoulders tense at the sound of his voice. I look over my shoulder.

“Thank you for making the call.”

I nod without saying another word.

As soon as I reach the nurses’ station, I check the clock on the wall. Shit, I’m ten minutes late to pick up Sam.

“That didn’t last long,” Martha says as she enters the station, dropping a couple of files on the desk.

“How could you do that to me?” I hiss.

“Don’t take that tone with me, baby girl.”

“I wasn’t prepared for that.”

“We never are prepared for situations like that, now are we?” She pulls out the netted chair from the desk and sits down. “You knew. You knew what you were doing when you made that phone call.”

“I was helping out an old friend.”

She raises her eyebrow and presses her lips together. “Are you sure about that? Because from what you’ve told me about Hawking and his mother, that wasn’t a reunion that needed to happen.”

I throw my hands up in the air, which only makes her laugh in return. “I don’t have time for this. I need to get Sam.”

“Give that boy a hug from his aunt Martha, baby.”

I don’t respond. I keep going, walking down the halls, past patients’ rooms, past Rose’s room, the need to stop and see him one more time is substantial, but I can’t. I can’t go there. I can’t bring my past into my present.

I’m just not strong enough.

Hawk

I don’t remember Tessa being that infuriating. I also don’t remember her being that skittish. That’s because she wasn’t. Not with me. Not with anyone.

The way she recoiled from my touch was like a fucking knife through the heart. She had to have known that I would come when she called Bianca. It shouldn’t have been a surprise for me to be here, but when that nurse brought her in, and she saw it was me, it was like she saw a fucking ghost. No, scratch that, it was like she was reliving a fucking nightmare.

Seven fucking years and not a word from her.

It took everything I had not to grab her and hold her until the old Tessa came back to me because I’m damn sure the woman standing in this room only moments ago is not the same Tessa I grew up with. Did the attack change her that much? Who the hell knows if that’s the only issue? It’s been seven fucking years. Anything could have happened in that time. Just because my life hasn’t changed much doesn’t mean that hers hasn’t.

* * *

I rub my hand down my face out of frustration, growling. “Fucking shit.” It took everything I had to turn my back on her and see what was happening with Rose. The look on Tessa’s face, how she snapped at me, I knew she was only seconds away from bolting, so I gave her the easy out. Something I don’t plan to make a habit of.

My body jerks awake when the door opens, casting a sliver of light to shine in my eyes. Blinking, I watch as the nurse from before enters the room. “I figured it would take you more time to run that girl from this building. I underestimated you.”

I lean back in the chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”