19- Let You Know

I looked at the nurse whose eyes were darting from left to right. She didn't answer the question, as if confused on what to say. I frowned. "Are you new?"The nurse sighed, tucking a strand of her brunette hair behind her ear. "Is it obvious? It's my second week and I'm supposed to call the doctor and your question kinda threw me off. Please don't report me."“Hmm, is it that you don't want to tell me or…”“I just don't think it's something you should hear now. Emotional distress. Mental health…”I gave her a look she bit her lips, still standing there rather than doing the obvious.I tried to adjust my position in the bed, pushing myself up slightly with my good arm. Pain exploded through my left shoulder. I grunted, collapsing back against the pillows."Don't move," the nurse said quickly, moving closer. "You'll tear the stitches."I breathed through the pain, waiting for it to settle from screaming to just aching. My right hand moved instinctively to my throat, seeking comfort in.

20- What The Crash Found

“Are you saying I have cancer?” My voice camw out later than I intended. Dr. Kovač closed his eyes briefly. It was barely a second, but I saw it, pity. “I’m saying the blood work gave us cause for concern.”“That isn’t what Dr. Novak said.”The younger doctor shifted beside him. “I said the markers could indicate malignancy. They can also be elevated for other reasons.”My eyes moved between them. “Then why do both of you look as though you’re preparing to bury me?”Luca rose from his chair.“Watch how you speak to her.”Dr. Kovač glanced at him. “Mr. Romano, sit down.”He didn’t. Men like him probably considered chairs optional when they could stand over everyone instead.I turned back to the doctors. “What did you find?”Dr. Kovač placed the folder on his lap.“The scans we performed after the accident revealed a mass in your chest, behind your breastbone. We also found several enlarged lymph nodes.”My fingers moved towards the centre of my chest.There was nothing there. No pain.

21- The Missing Hours

Dr. Novak stopped beside the bed, his attention sharpening as he looked at me. Luca remained near the window, one hand inside his jacket, watching without interrupting. “Who is she?” Novak asked. “Celeste,” I answered, glancing at the treatment papers in Dr. Kovač’s hand. “She heard cancer and decided death was easier. Schedule the treatment before she finds another way to refuse.”Novak moved closer and lowered himself into the chair beside the bed. “If she is Celeste, who am I speaking to now?” His voice was calm, but his fingers tightened around the tablet in his hand. “How long have you been aware of her? Do you remember what happened before the crash?” I studied him without answering. The questions were coming too quickly, each one searching for a name I had no intention of giving him.“Enough.” Dr. Kovač took the tablet from Novak’s hands and pointed toward the door. “She has survived a shooting, surgery, heavy medication and a car crash. We confirmed her cancer less than an

22- Refused To Let Me Go

If I ignored him hard enough, would he disappear from my line of sight? Poof gone. As if he was never there. I turned away and started walking toward my room, refusing to look back at the wheelchair. The quiet roll of its tyres followed me, accompanied by the hurried footsteps of at least two nurses. One of them kept telling him he needed to return to his room before he tore his stitches, but Dante either did not hear her or had decided her whole presence was unimportant. I managed five steps before he called my name. “Celeste.” I stopped. Dammit. My body still responded to commands before my mind could challenge them. Anger followed my sudden realization, hot enough to make me turn around to give him a cold glare. Dante had come closer, although a male nurse now gripped the handles of his wheelchair to prevent him from moving farther. An intravenous line disappeared beneath the sleeve of his hospital shirt, and fresh bandages covered his shoulder. His face was pale

23- Do Not Get To Die

I had the upper hand because I knew something he had only just discovered.Nothing soothed the heart more than knowing that all the control this egotistical, annoying, handsome man thought he had was an illusion. I hated that handsome had forced its way into the description, but nearly dying had done nothing to make Dante Salvatore less attractive. If anything, the disordered hair and pale skin made him look more human, which was irritating because I preferred him looking like the devil he was.His fingers tightened around my wrist. “Say it again.”“I have cancer.” I watched his face carefully, enjoying the stillness that came over it. “Would you like me to say it slower?”Dante pulled me closer before I could step away. He used only his right hand, keeping his bandaged left arm pressed against his body. When I tried to free myself, his fingers moved from my wrist into my hair, closing around the strands at the back of my head. The grip hurt, but not enough to frighten me. I leaned

24- Three Bullets

Dante’s POVCeleste watched me as though my refusal to answer had confirmed every suspicion in her head. It had not, but correcting her would only encourage more questions. Curiosity made people predictable, and I preferred her searching for a dead woman over discovering truths that could become useful. She eventually turned away, carrying the black notebook to her bed as though putting five metres between us could erase my presence.My encrypted tablet rested beside the medication the nurses kept insisting I take. I hated weakness, I hated that I looked the part. I hated being in a hospital bed not being able to do shit properly without feeling pain. Pain is a weakness that I could and would never afford. The tablets can rot on the table and called Luca instead. He answered before the first ring finished, his face appearing beneath the harsh light of whatever room he had turned into a temporary command centre. There was dried blood near his collar, but he appeared otherwise unto