Seeing her friend might not necessarily make her happy, but I know she’ll feel better once she’s checked on her.
She nods and we stand. I tell the others we’re taking a break and no one argues with us. Haven refuses to get back in the wheelchair, so I settle for holding her hand as we leave and head toward the medical floor.
We’re both quiet as we walk, and when we make it to Tate’s room, Haven pauses. Through the window, we have a view of Tate lying on the bed, oxygen tubes coming out of her nose and multiple IVs attached to her arms. She looks so much smaller, fragile, and weaker than when I went up against her in the field in Pennsylvania, and then again in the sewer tunnel. With the demon inside her, she was a force, but it left her broken and near death.
Haven’s eyes shine as she worries her bottom lip. “I think I’d like to see her alone.”
“Of course,” I say, not offended in the least. “I’ll be right here when you’re done.”
“You don’t have to wait.”
I run my thumb over her cheek where a tear escaped, rubbing away the wetness.
She’s so brave. So beautiful.
“I’ll be here when you’re done,” I reiterate. “Take your time.”
Giving me a weak smile, she takes a deep breath, steeling herself, and then goes into the room, shutting the door behind her.
I turn away from the window, leaning a shoulder up against the wall to give her privacy. From down the hall, Locklyn rounds the corner. Spotting me, she gives me a nod and heads my way.
Her gaze lingers on the window to Tate’s room. “How is she doing?” she asks, meaning Haven.
“She’s a little banged up. Heartbroken because she lost a friend and another is fighting for her life. But she’s tough. Must run in the family.”
Locklyn huffs a half-laugh. “I wish we weren’t forced to be.”
I make a noise in the back of my throat, agreeing.
We fall silent, both lost in our thoughts.
I take a peek in at Haven, who’s sitting on the side of Tate’s bed, holding her hand. It looks like she’s talking to her, even though Tate’s clearly not conscious.
“I lied to you before,” I confess, and when I glance back at Locklyn, her eyebrows are raised.
“Is that so?”
I nod. “When I said that nothing serious was going on between me and Haven, that she didn’t mean anything to me, all of that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I . . . I love her.”
I brace myself, expecting Locklyn to blow up again like she did before. For her to tell me that’s stupid, that we haven’t known each other long enough. But all she says is, “I figured.” A corner of her mouth quirks up in a crooked grin.
“That’s it?”
She shrugs. “What else is there to say? When you fall in love, you fall in love. It’s as simple as that. I’m glad you found each other. And . . . I owe you an apology too.”
This time, my eyebrows rise. This ought to be interesting.
“Oh yeah? What for?”
She sighs. “How I reacted back in the cabin. I should have been a better friend and given you the benefit of the doubt. I jumped to conclusions and chose to believe the worst in you instead of the best.”
I wave her off. “It’s okay. You were just trying to protect your sister.”
“I was, but that doesn’t mean it was okay. And you were right. A lot has happened in the last couple years, and it’s changed both of us. It’s not like it used to be.”
Guilt for the way I handled that whole situation settles on my chest. “There are things I shouldn’t have said that day.”
She shakes her head. “It was hard to hear, but it was true. We keep pretending that everything is the same between us, but it’s not. And it’s just causing even more distance. No matter how much we change, I’m always going to love you, Becks, but it’s past time we acknowledge that what we had is gone.”
