All Chapters of Terms and Heart: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

~Joanne~ The silence wasn't really silent, I could hear the drumming of my heartbeat in my ears, the ticking sounds of the clock at the end of the hallway seemed louder than usual. I had never been so conscious of time than now. It's been two hours since Nate was rushed into the ER. I'm becoming impatient, I need to be sure he's fine. ***Earlier that day*** “Wake up sleepyhead it's almost time for school”. I said while pulling on Nate's blanket. He groans, letting out an “urghm” sound that I'm not satisfied with. “You could be late for school” I said this time around ruffling his hair knowing he hates it so much. “Shit…please stop touching my hair” “Language, Nate,” I cautioned him with a scrunched up face “I'm a grown-ass man” he replied grumpily as he made his way out of the bed. “Grown-ass man my foot” I muttered under my breath as I rolled my eyes “Hurry up I'm off to prepare breakfast” I said while walking out of his room with a satisfied smile on my face.

~Alexander~ I was already in a foul mood so early in the morning as I headed towards the board room. The latest headline plastered across the news had been almost amusing,— "Power, Privacy, and Preference: Is Alexander Blackwell More Than He Appears?”. Typically, yes, I'm more than I appear but being homosexual is definitely not part of it. Reporters were always hungry and starving for a story they could sink their claws into. Something scandalous. Something they could twist until it resembled the truth. I knew someone was behind it, the Media won't be stupid enough to dig into dangerous territory. The door clicked shut behind me as I stepped into the room and immediately, the room went quiet— not out of respect but out of fear. After a few minutes of silence, a ‘good morning sir’ that I didn't bother to respond followed me to my seat before the quietness returned again.I let the silence hang as I scanned the faces around the table. Some avoided my gaze while others fidgeted. I

~Joanne~ The office felt like it hadn't fully woken up yet. Most desks were still empty. Only a handful of people arrived and they barely filled up the space. ‘I guess today I was part of the punctual workers’ I murmured good morning greetings to my co-workers with my signature fake smile plastered on my face. They were already clustered in small groups, gossiping like the day hadn’t just started. “Good morning to you too Joanne,” one of my colleagues bothered to respond. “Hope you had a good night's rest,” he added, trying to strike a conversation. “Yh, I did. Thank you,” I replied,brushing it off with a short nod. Without another glance in his direction, I made my way to my desk and settled down— preparing myself mentally for the hectic day ahead. “I noticed you didn't report to work yesterday” Someone said from behind me.I didn’t need to turn around to know it was the same guy from earlier. He was really

~Joanne~ The cold night air hit my face the moment I stepped out of the hospital doors. It wasn’t refreshing. It was biting. And yet, I needed it. I needed something to remind me I was still here. Still breathing. Still trying. Stella had tried to convince me to go home. She tried her best to comfort me, to assure me that everything would be fine—but I didn’t see it. I didn’t know if I could still hope at this point. I didn’t know if I should expect the worst. I staggered to the nearest bench just outside the emergency wing and collapsed into it, burying my face in my hands. My fingers were cold. My chest tighter than it had ever been. It wasn’t just the fear of losing Nate anymore. It was helplessness.Watching him like that — wires, tubes, machines doing the job his heart could no longer manage and knowing there was nothing I could do… My eyes burned, and this time I didn’t stop the tears. I let them fall, hot and silent down my ch