Chapter 4

"Marcus mentioned something else," he said quietly. "A property listing in your bag. You're buying a place?"

Ericka's fingers twisted in the thin hospital blanket. "It doesn't matter now."

"It matters to me." Dominic leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Were you planning to leave? Just... disappear without saying anything?"

"The contract..."

"Fuck the contract!" The words exploded out of him, loud enough that someone in the next bay shushed him. He lowered his voice, but the intensity remained. "I don't care about the stupid contract, Ericka. I care about you. I've cared about you for three years, and I've been too much of a coward to do anything about it."

Finally, she turned to look at him. Her eyes were red-rimmed, whether from exhaustion or tears, he couldn't tell. "Then why did you push me away last night? You kissed me, Dominic. You pulled me in, and then you just..." Her voice broke. "Do you have any idea how that felt?"

"I know." He reached for her hand, and when she didn't pull away, he wrapped his fingers around hers. Her skin was cold, and he rubbed his thumb gently across her knuckles. "I panicked. The moment I kissed you, I realised I was risking everything. Our friendship, our living situation, all of it. And instead of being brave, I shut down."

"So it wasn't because you didn't want me?"

The vulnerability in her voice nearly undid him. "God, no. Ericka, I've wanted you for so long I can't remember what it felt like not to want you. Every morning when you make those terrible puns on your sticky notes, every night when we study together and your leg brushes against mine under the table, every time you laugh at something stupid I say, I've been falling for you in slow motion for three years."

A tear slipped down her cheek. "Then why the contract? Why make that rule in the first place?"

Dominic sighed, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Because I was scared. My parents... their relationship started out just like ours. Friends first, roommates, then something more. And when it fell apart, it destroyed everything. I watched my dad spiral after my mum left. I told myself I'd never put myself in that position, never let someone get close enough to hurt me like that."

"So you built walls instead."

"I built a fortress," he admitted. "And then you moved in with your sticky notes and your off-key singing and your blueberry pancakes, and you just... walked right through every defence I had. I didn't stand a chance."

Ericka was quiet for a long moment. The heart monitor beeped steadily, marking the seconds as they passed.

"I was going to leave," she finally said. "This morning. I had it all planned out. Sign the lease on the new place, hire movers, and be gone before you get back from your classes. Clean break."

The thought of coming home to an empty apartment, to her room stripped bare, made Dominic's chest constrict painfully. "Why didn't you?"

"I was on my way to the real estate office when I started feeling dizzy. I thought I could push through it, but..." She gestured weakly at the hospital bed. "Apparently, skipping dinner and staying up all night crying isn't great for someone with low blood pressure."

"You were crying all night?"

"Don't sound so surprised. You broke my heart, Dominic." The words were simple, matter-of-fact, and they hit him like a punch to the gut. "I've been in love with you for two years. I thought I'd hidden it so well, and then you kissed me, and for one perfect moment, I thought maybe you felt the same way. And then you didn't."

"I did," he insisted, squeezing her hand. "I do. I just expressed it in the worst possible way."

Ericka's lips trembled, and she looked away, staring at the IV in her arm. "Then why did you push me away? Make up your mind, Dominic. You can't keep doing this to me."

"I know." He ran his thumb across her knuckles, noticing how fragile her hand felt in his. The antiseptic smell of the hospital room made his stomach clench. "I've been fighting this for so long. Every morning when I hear you in the kitchen, or when you fall asleep on the couch, and I have to wake you... I've wanted to tell you how I feel."

A nurse passed by outside the curtain, the squeak of her shoes fading down the hallway.

"So tell me now," Ericka whispered. Her eyes met his, red-rimmed but steady.

Dominic took a deep breath. "I love you. Not as a roommate or a friend. I'm in love with you, Ericka. I have been for years. And it terrifies me because I've never felt this way about anyone."

He watched her face, searching for a reaction. The steady beeping of the heart monitor seemed to grow louder in the silence.

"The contract was a mistake," he continued when she didn't speak. "A stupid way to protect myself from getting hurt. But all it did was hurt you instead. And I can't..." His voice cracked. "I can't stand knowing I did that to you."

Ericka's fingers tightened around his. "I was so sure you were going to kick me out. That's why I was looking at apartments. I thought I had to leave."

"I would never—" Dominic stopped himself. "No, that's not true. I made you think that. That stupid contract made you think that." He leaned closer. "But I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay. With me. If... if that's what you want too."

The monitor caught a skip in Ericka's heartbeat, and a faint blush colored her pale cheeks. "What about the contract?"

"I'll tear it up. Burn it. Whatever you want."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I'd like to see that."

Dominic felt something loosen in his chest, a tightness he hadn't even realised was there. "As soon as we get home."

"Home," she repeated softly. "I like the sound of that."