“Careful, Doc,” he warns. “You’re starting to sound like you actually care.”
And that—
That’s the final hit.
“Get out,” I say.
The words are quiet.
Deadly.
Controlled.
But there’s no mistaking them.
A beat.
Then another.
Neither of us moves.
Because something just broke.
Or started.
Hard to tell which.
His gaze holds mine for one last second.
Something there.
Unspoken.
Unresolved.
Then—
He turns.
And walks out.
The door shuts behind him.
And the silence that follows—
Is louder than anything we’ve faced so far.
I stand there.
Frozen.
Heart still racing.
Hands clenched at my sides.
Because I didn’t say it.
Didn’t tell him the truth.
