I Left Him Behind

"Hurry! Her heart rhythm is all over the place—she's in recurrent V-fib!"

"Shock her now! Push the meds!"

Outside the emergency room, the doctors and nurses trying to save my mom were in chaos.

The hallway between her room and the ER was still smeared with the blood she had coughed up.

I huddled in a corner of the hallway, terrified, still clutching the crumpled number slip from the marriage license office.

I called Callum Sinclair again and again.

He wasn't her specialist.

But if he showed up, it would give me something to hold on to while I was falling apart—a little bit of strength, enough to feel that, besides Mom, there was still someone in this world for me—the man who had been by my side for seven years.

The phone rang more than a dozen times before Helena Vaughn finally picked up.

"We're at a critical point in the cryo-transplant review. Every step of the data analysis matters. Can you stop holding Callum back?

"A doctor puts patients first. You knew that when you chose him! Why are you clinging to your love life at a moment like this?"

Her voice was cold. It nearly broke what little resolve I had left.

But I was still holding on to a sliver of hope, so I begged her.

"Helena, I'm not making a scene. My mom... my mom is dying..."

We'd been inseparable for four years in college. Back then, whenever anything went wrong for me, even something small, she'd always give a little ground for the sake of our friendship.

Now a life was on the line, and there was nothing but dead silence on the other end.

A few seconds later, she spoke in a flat, almost heartless voice.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

It felt like someone had driven a knife into my heart.

Before I could say anything, I heard Callum's low, gentle voice through the phone.

"Who's calling?"

"Callum... my mom, she's—"

"Nobody."

Helena cut me off without hesitation.

"Spam call."

Then she hung up.

Tears slid silently down my face.

A doctor came out, his face full of regret.

"I'm sorry. We did everything we could. Her organs failed, and we weren't able to save her. She's gone."

Everything I'd been holding back came crashing down.

I hugged my knees, crouched in the hallway that reeked of blood, and sobbed.

Then my phone buzzed.

Callum's cryo-transplant review had gone well, and they were throwing a celebration.

In the photo, Callum and Helena stood side by side, holding a frosted cake together.

Their smiles were easy and radiant.

The screen was flooded with congratulations from their colleagues.

Same city. Same night sky.

I was feeling the pain of losing someone I loved.

And they were raising their glasses to victory.

"Callum, you and Helena are so in sync. You're basically our department's golden couple."

"When are you going to propose to Helena? Everyone's dying to come to the wedding."

The group chat kept scrolling as more colleagues joined in on the teasing.

Callum pushed up his glasses, looking a little awkward.

But he never once denied it.

Helena's cheeks turned pink.

"Stop it, you guys. I'm not Dr. Sinclair's type. Besides... he has a girlfriend."

Someone in the chat answered with a jaw-drop.

"Who in this whole department could be a better match than you two?"

"Callum's probably already fallen for you. Somebody just has to say it out loud."

The next second, their colleagues at the party all crowded in.

Helena was shoved right into Callum's arms.

The photo was posted to the group.

I was shaking, chilled to the bone.

Callum was the one who had added me to that group in the first place. He'd sworn he wanted to prove he had nothing to hide from me.

That he wanted everyone to know I existed.

And yet, even now, none of his colleagues knew he had a girlfriend of seven years.