THE GIFTS

ALEXA POV

"Mommy! Look!"

I rushed into the hospital room, my heart jumping into my throat. For one horrible second I thought something had happened again. But Lily was sitting up in her hospital bed, tearing through a shiny gift bag, her face lit up.

"Look what he got me!" she giggled.

She pulled out the stuffed animal first. A unicorn, with a soft white body, rainbow mane, little silver horn. My heart skipped a beat. It was the exact one she had been begging me for every single time we walked past the toy aisle at Target for the past three months. 

I blinked hard. Of all the things he could have brought, he somehow picked the one thing she wanted most.

Lily hugged it tight against her chest. "It's my favorite! How did you know?!"

Travis stood by the window, his hands in his pockets, watching her with a soft smile. "The nurse said you liked unicorns," he said.

I frowned, that didn't make sense. Lily was admitted two hours ago and the nurses on this floor didn't know her.

"The nurse told you which unicorn?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He glanced at me, then back at Lily, calm and unbothered. "She said you had been looking at one in the gift shop downstairs. I described it to the lady there and she found it."

That sounded reasonable, but my stomach tightened anyway. We never went to the hospital gift shop. Lily had never been hospitalized before today.

Lily held the unicorn up proudly. "Look, Mommy, she has a name tag! It says Sparkle!"

Travis smiled at her. "Perfect name for a brave girl like you."

His phone buzzed loudly in his pocket. He glanced down at the screen and his whole face changed. The softness vanished instantly, replaced by something cold.

He silenced it without answering.

"Sorry," he said quickly.

"Work?"

"Yes. Just my assistant." He didn't check the message. He just turned the phone face-down on the chair, like he didn't want me to see it.

Lily yawned, still clutching Sparkle, and her eyelids started to droop.

Travis noticed immediately. "You should rest, little one."

"I don't want you to go," she mumbled, her eyes half-closed.

"I'll be right outside. I promise."

She nodded and her eyes fluttered shut. Within seconds, she starts to doze off and the room went quiet except for the steady beep of the monitor.

"Thank you," I whispered to Travis. "And sorry for how I treated you earlier at the accident."

"It's fine," he said, looking at Lily. "And besides, I wanted to, I've never seen a kid forgive someone that fast."

"Travis," I said softly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why are you still here?"

He looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Most people in your position would have their lawyer here. Or their insurance company. You brought gifts and stayed, Why?"

He was quiet for a long moment, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. 

Then he finally said, "Because when I was seven, I was hit by a car outside my father's office. The driver left. My father left me on the sidewalk because he had a meeting. I waited alone for twenty minutes before an ambulance came. I told myself if I ever did that to someone, I wouldn't leave. That's all."

My chest tightened. The way he said it made it impossible to doubt him.

His phone buzzed again. He glanced down and declined it instantly, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Your lawyer?" I asked.

"He thinks everything is a lawsuit," he said with a small, tired smile.

"Isn't it?" I asked.

"If you want it to be," he said calmly.

Before I could answer, the nurse came in to check Lily's vitals. She smiled when she saw the unicorn in Lily's arms.

"Oh, nice. The private gift shop unicorn. Those are expensive," she said, checking Lily's pulse.

"The private gift shop?" I asked.

"On the first floor, it's for VIP families, they're not the regular one in the lobby," she said. "Mr. Cole had them open it after hours just for this."

After hours? VIP? I looked at Travis. Why exactly is Travis doing all this?

"She's doing great," the nurse said. "Her vitals are stable. She just needs sleep."

Travis nodded. "I'll let you both rest."

He walked to the door, then stopped. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small paper bag I hadn't seen before. He set it on the chair beside me.

"This is for you”.

I frowned and opened it. Inside was a coffee, still hot, and a sandwich wrapped neatly. It was my exact order of oat milk latte, half-sweet, extra foam, and a turkey sandwich with no mayo.

My hands started to shake.

"How did you..." I looked up at him.

"I saw you hadn't eaten," he said quickly, like he realized he'd overstepped. "You looked tired. I just guessed."

He guessed? You don't guess oat milk, half-sweet, extra foam, no mayo.

"Sorry. I should go," he said, seeing my face, and left before I could say anything, closing the door softly behind him.

I stared at the coffee in my hand. My exact coffee. The one only Maya at my office knew because she always orders for me.

My phone buzzed. It was Maya.

"How's Lily?"

"She's stable now," I whispered.

"Thank God. Listen, I hate to do this but your boss wants you tomorrow by eleven a.m. sharp for the Henderson presentation."

My stomach dropped. "But Maya, she isn't even discharged yet."

"I told him you're coming or you're fired. Don't worry, I'll cover your morning shift."

Of course. My daughter is in a hospital bed and I have to worry about a PowerPoint.

"Thanks, Maya."

I hung up, exhausted.

A minute later, my phone buzzed again, it was a message from an unknown number.

I hope she's sleeping comfortably. Didn't want to disturb you both. Sorry about the coffee, I wasn't sure if I got it right. - Travis

I typed back with shaking fingers: How did you know how I take my coffee?

He replied, 

I asked the nurse downstairs what you usually order when you're here with Lily. She said you come here a lot with her._

I froze. The blood drained from my face.

I come here a lot? Lily has never been hospitalized before in her life and i have never been here before today. The nurses here have never seen us.

Before I could reply, another notification popped up on my screen. This time it was from Victor.

Where are you?