Goodbye to You
Carl had showed up right away and stayed by the ICU all night until they finally brought me out.
His eyes had been red and swollen as he held me and said, "Hailey, this must hurt so much, right?"
I could hardly move, feeling like my whole body had been ripped to pieces. Even so, I had used what little strength I had to wipe away his tears.
Carl had cried until his eyes were all puffy. "Never again, Hailey," he had said. "I swear I'll protect you. I won't let you go through this kind of pain again."