Then her eyes drift toward me.
She hesitates before stepping closer.
Small shoes squeak softly against the polished hospital floor.
“You’re the one who got her out,” she says quietly.
For a second, I can’t answer.
My throat tightens too hard.
“Who?”
“The doctor lady.”
Olivia.
The name punches straight through my chest.
“Yeah,” I manage.
The little girl studies me carefully, like she’s deciding whether I deserve what she’s about to say.
“She didn’t stop fighting,” she whispers. “Even when they hurt her.”
I close my eyes briefly.
Of course she didn’t.
That’s Olivia.
Bleeding.
Terrified.
Still standing anyway.
Still protecting everyone around her before herself.
“That sounds like her,” I say roughly.
The girl nods once.
Then she steps back toward Lucas like her job here is done.
Like she just needed me to know Olivia never gave up.
I drag a hand hard down my face and stare back at the surgical doors.
Still closed.
Still red.
“Come on,” I mutter under my breath.
Please.
Just come back to me.
