I turn around to face the security guard, ready to accept my fate. I’ve been caught. He knows I’m lying.
“You might wanna put your shoes on. This place is full of germs.”
I blink down at the strappy heels in my hand and offer him a sheepish smile. “Thanks.”
After I fight with the buckle on my shoes, I speed-walk down each corridor until I get to the elevators I need.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
The doors open, and I scour the halls until I find rooms with numbers in the five-hundreds.
“Five-oh-one...five-oh-two...” I turn the corner and spot Marie’s room.
Her door is slightly ajar, so I creep inside without knocking in case she’s asleep. My pulse roars in my ears as the sterile hospital air and incessant beeping surround me.
Memories of my father flood my mind, and I pause in the doorway, gripping onto the doorknob for support.
You can do this, Morgan. One foot in front of the other. Landon needs you.
My shoes click against the tile as I tiptoe into the room, a failed attempt to muffle them.
Marie sits propped up in the dim room, a bandage wrapped around her head. Eyes closed.
Landon’s head lifts when he catches sight of me. In a gray suit with a light-blue satin tie, loosened from where it once was around his collar, he looks devastatingly handsome. His thick hair is mussed, like he’s been raking his fingers through it all night.
“Wow,” he whispers. Tired eyes trail down my dress, taking their time to appreciate every inch of smooth black material hugging my curves.
I don’t own many dresses, and the ones I wear are business-casual types for school functions. But I saw this black dress in an ad while I was doom scrolling late one night, and bought it on a whim. I imagined Landon’s eyes widening if he saw me in it, the way the front comes up high around my collarbone, accentuating my broad shoulders. It’s much like the way he’s looking at me right now.
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Your neighbor said you’d be here.”
Landon pushes out of the chair and shuffles around the foot of Marie’s bed. “I’m so sorry I didn’t call. I left my phone at the house.”
“It’s okay. I knew something was wrong, so I came to find you.”
“How did you convince them to let you up here?”
I hike a shoulder. “Told them I was your sister.”
His shoulders shake with his silent laugh. He reaches out to touch the ends of my hair. “You look magnificent.”
“You look pretty magnificent yourself.” I jerk my chin toward Marie. “What happened?”
Sadness fills his eyes as he stares at his mother. “She was fine, out back watering the plants in the yard. And then the next, she just...collapsed. She fainted, and hit her head on the deck.”
I wring my hands. “She’ll be okay though, right?”
“The doctor says it’s part of the MS.” A long exhale leaves him. “She needed a couple of stitches to stop the bleeding, but she’ll be okay. They’re keeping her here to monitor her overnight.”
I brush his hair back from his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t have to come.” He lifts his knuckles to my cheek, giving it a tender stroke. “I know how hard it must be for you to be back here.”
I lean into his touch. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
His eyes land on my mouth, and for a moment, the room around us disappears. Time slows, and it’s just the two of us.
