Hearts at War 1: It's Your Fault

TESSA

“Come on, darling, let’s go to the car.”

My mother’s voice was warm, but I could hear the thread of worry beneath it. She always tried to hide it from me, but I could feel it. I could always feel it.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she murmured, wrapping my scarf tighter around my neck before brushing my hair from my face. Her hands were warm despite the cold. “We’ll be at the hospital soon.”

I was a young girl with a weak heart. Everyone knew it. My heart wasn’t like other people’s—it tired too easily. My life was measured in hospital visits, check-ups, and pills that tasted like metal.

‘No acting up today,’ I told myself. No fainting. No gasping for breath. No frightening my parents again.

Snowflakes drifted lazily from the gray sky as we walked to the car. The cold stung my cheeks, but the snow was pretty. Pure.

I didn’t know then how quickly it could turn red.

We drove toward the hospital, the heater humming softly, fogging the windows. My father was driving. My mother sat in the