Lahat ng Kabanata ng MY EX WANTS ME BACK: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

Abe's povI had replayed the phone call at least twenty times during the drive to the hospital.Every version ended differently.In one, Zephyr wanted to punch me.In another, he wanted answers.In the worst one...He wanted to hear me admit everything to his face.None of those possibilities made me feel any better.I parked outside City General and sat in my car for another five minutes.Maybe I shouldn't go.Maybe the nurse had made a mistake.Maybe—My phone vibrated.Hospital Reception"Mr. Carter? Mr. Holloway is asking if you've arrived."So...There had been no mistake.He really wanted to see me.I got out of the car.The hospital corridors were just as quiet as they had been the previous night.A nurse met me near reception."This way."Neither of us spoke during the walk.The closer we got to the intensive care ward...The heavier my feet became.She stopped outside Room 407."He can only manage a few minutes."I nodded.She gently pushed the door open."There you are."Zep

Abe's povI stared at Diane's name on my phone long after it stopped ringing.It had only been a few seconds.Yet somehow...It felt like years.I took a slow breath before answering."Hello?"There was silence.Then..."Diane?""...We need to talk."Her voice was calm.Too calm.The kind of calm that usually came before a storm."I'm listening.""I just left the hospital."I leaned back against my office chair and closed my eyes."How's Zephyr?""He's awake."Relief spread through me."That's good.""He asked me for space."I swallowed."I figured he might."Another silence.Then she asked the question I'd been expecting."The nurse told me you visited him."I looked out the window."She did.""Why?"There wasn't any accusation in her voice.Only confusion."I didn't go there on my own.""What do you mean?""I got a call from the hospital."She frowned."I don't understand.""They called because..."I hesitated."...Zephyr asked to see me."The line went completely silent."Diane?""

Diane's povNo matter how hard I tried...I couldn't focus.The spreadsheet on my monitor had remained open for nearly twenty minutes, yet I hadn't entered a single figure.My cursor blinked mockingly in an empty cell.Waiting.Just like my mind.I sighed and rubbed my temples."Earth to Diane."I looked up.Sarah was standing beside my desk with two cups of coffee."You've been staring at that screen for ages.""I know.""You haven't typed anything.""I know."She placed one of the cups in front of me before pulling over an empty chair."Okay."She folded her arms."Talk.""I'm fine."She gave me a look."Diane.""I'm serious.""No, you're pretending."Before I could respond, Zoey appeared carrying her lunch tray."I knew I'd find the intervention happening without me."Sarah pointed to the empty chair beside her."Sit."Zoey sat immediately.Then both of them looked at me.Waiting.I laughed weakly."This feels like an interrogation.""It is," Zoey replied."We're concerned."Sarah

Zephyr' povThe room felt strangely empty after Diane left.I stared at the closed door for a long time.Long after her footsteps had disappeared down the hallway.She cried.Really cried.Not the quiet tears she'd been trying to hide these past few days.The kind that shook her shoulders.The kind that made it hard to breathe.A part of me thought seeing her like that would make me feel better.It didn't.If anything...It made my chest hurt.I hated seeing her cry.I always had.Even now.Even after everything.I leaned my head back against the pillow and laughed bitterly."You really are an idiot, Zephyr."A nurse poked her head into the room."You say something?"I smiled awkwardly."Just talking to myself."She chuckled."Best conversations you'll ever have."I wasn't so sure.---Physiotherapy had taken more out of me than I wanted to admit.Every muscle in my body ached.But somehow...The physical pain was easier to deal with than everything else.Closing my eyes, I drifted ba

Diane's povIt had been three days.Three days since Zephyr's first physiotherapy session.Three days since I'd watched him take those painful first steps.Three days since he'd told me he didn't hate me.It wasn't enough to erase what I'd done.Nothing ever would.But it was enough to give me something I hadn't felt in weeks.Hope.Small.Fragile.But hope nonetheless.For the first time in what felt like forever, I woke up without the crushing weight in my chest.The guilt was still there.The regret was still there.But now...There was also the possibility that maybe, just maybe, things didn't have to end with all of us broken.The office was unusually lively that Monday morning.People hurried between meeting rooms, balancing coffee cups and laptops.The joint project was officially entering its next phase.As one of the project leads, my calendar was packed from nine until almost four.I barely had time to breathe.Sarah fell into step beside me as we walked toward the conferenc