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“Anything would be better than nothing.”
“I’m tired, I can’t—”
“You’re not tired, you’re hiding.” Tally perches on the edge of the bed, taking my hand in hers. “And that’s okay. We get it. Honestly, I think I’d be hiding too if I was you. But we want you to know that you don’t have to hide from us.”
“I’m not hi—”
“Raine.” Abi takes my other hand. “It’s okay. We know you went through something huge but we’re here for you. All of us.”
“I…”
They watch me expectantly, waiting for my walls to crumble no doubt.
Strangely, I find myself waiting too.
But nothing happens.
Because I’m broken inside.
I’m—
A rush of emotion surges inside me, catching me off guard. I haven’t cried since the day I woke up in the hospital. It was like all my tears just dried up. But my eyes burn now, my throat clogging as everything comes crashing down around me.
“It’s okay, Raine. We’re here,” Tally whispers, pulling me into her arms. “We’re right here.”
I don’t understand what’s happening as I sob into her chest, all the pain and hurt crashing over me like a relentless tidal wave.
“I hate him,” I wail. “I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.”
No one corrects me or tries to ask why. They know I’m not talking about Theo.
No, this is about the trauma and pain caused by the man lying in hospital.
The man who ruined my life twice over.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Abi asks softly, and I lift my head.
“I… I can’t.”
“Okay, but you need to talk to someone, Raine. You’ve been through so much. You can’t carry all of this around with you.”
I nod, because finding words right now is impossible.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur as the tears recede.
“No, we’re not doing that,” Tally says. “You’re our friend. You don’t owe us anything, but Abi’s right. If you do ever want to talk, we’re here. No strings. No judgement.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t think they’ll ever realise how much their friendship means to me. Things didn’t start off great between the four of us but over time, they all burrowed their way past my defences and the truth is, I don’t want to dig them out.
I’ve never had girlfriends before. Not the kind that don’t want to stab you in the back the second you turn around anyway.
“We promised Theo we’d get you to do something other than hide up here and mope. How about we put on a film and binge on some of the snacks Liv brought?”
“I think… that sounds like a really good idea.” I smile.
For the first time since waking up in the hospital, a flicker of hope lights up inside me.
