Page 168 of Halo

“And you’re the brightest part of mine.” Her fingers trace my cheek. “I need you to keep shining, even when things get dark for me.”

A lump forms in my throat I lean into her touch. “Okay.”

The curtain pulls back as Diwa steps in with another bag of fluid. “You ready, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” I answer.

Diwa cuts her eyes toward me. “I was asking Leah.”

Leah laughs, and I hold up my hands. “Sorry.”

“This one.” Diwa points at me. “Menace. Always has been.”

“No truer words have ever been spoken,” Leah teases, pinching my sides. “I have to keep him on a very short leash.”

“Good woman.” Diwa comes around the bed and throws an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me against her side. “But—” she takes off her glasses—“he has a heart of gold. I’m glad he finally found someone to give it to.”

Leah bites her lip, beaming.

Heat crawls up my neck. “Okay, okay, stop being all sappy.”

Diwa laughs and gives my cheek an affectionate pat. “You bring her when you move with us to the Philippines.”

I chuckle. “I promise.”

A few minutes later, Leah’s surgical team filters in, and the room shifts from waiting to go time. Diwa hands me a surgical cap, and I can carefully coil her French braid beneath it, tucking in the wisps around her ears.

I lean down and kiss her. “I love you,” I murmur.

Leah hums, brush her nose against mine. “See you soon, Cowboy.”

“You better.”

She kisses me once more before they unlock the bed and wheel her away.

***

The hospital chapel is empty when I walk in. It’s small and eerily quiet with dated wood paneling and stained-glass windows. The lingering scent of incense hangs in the still, sacred air.

I take a seat near the back and stare at the little wooden kneeler tucked beneath the pew in front of me.

I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t pray. I'm not even really sure I believe in a higher power—at least not the all-knowing, all-loving entity in the Bible.

But she does.

She's going to be okay. She's young and healthy and in great hands.

In this moment, I'm scared. I'm empty and lonely and I so desperately need to feel her peace.

It made sense to come here.

I lower the kneeler and get down on my knees. My elbows rest against the pew in front of me, and I lace my fingers together.

“Hello?” I glance around the chapel. “I don’t know if anyone’s actually listening. But if you are, hi.” I swallow around a knot in my throat, twiddling my thumbs. “I'm, uh … I'm Nick. Crawford, just in case.”

I sigh, staring absently at the crucifix resting on the altar. But after a while, I’m not really seeing it anymore.

All I see is her.