Chapter 10
n a hospital gown and saw Collins standing at the end of the corridor through a layer of glass.
He didn’t have his usual devil–may–care look and his brow was knitted tight,like he was holding down a huge emotion to control. He kept rubbing his brow with one hand on his hips.
The doctor stood beside him,as if he were saying something to him. His expression was solemn.
It was the first time I’d ever seen Collins like that. He was nothing like the flippant self of yesterday.
When he came back,l instinctively straightened up nervously.
He gently closed the door,stood with his back against the wall for a moment,then walked to me and squatted down in front of me,his eyes looking straight at me,his voice low,“Laurissa Smith,what have you…really been through all these years?”
I froze and stayed silent.I knew in that moment the test results couldn’t be good.
His gaze felt like it was stripping away every layer I’d ever used to protect myself and there was no place to hide.
“You think it’s nothing just because you can’t sleep,your chest feels tight and sometimes it hurts?” He forced a smile,but it looked uglier than if he cried.“Do you even realize your heart is failing?”
I looked down and instinctively clutched my chest. It had always felt heavy,like a huge stone pressing down on me.
