Nathan's POV
For a moment, there was only silence.
Hailee didn't answer my question. She didn't move. She didn't even breathe the same way as before.
She just… closed her eyes.
Slowly. Purposefully.
Like she was trying to hide inside the dark.
I watched her chest rise and fall. Too steady. Too controlled.
She wasn't sleeping. I knew her better than that.
I'd always known when she was pretending.
My heart cracked a little.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked.
Maybe I shouldn't have hoped.
I turned my face slightly, looking at the ceiling, trying to make sense of the ache in my chest. It wasn't from the wound this time. It was something deeper. Something that didn't heal with bandages.
Maybe it was just the heat of the moment.
Maybe it was just her trying to comfort me.
Maybe… maybe she didn't mean it.
But she felt real.
Her voice had felt real.
Her body had felt real.
Her warmth.
Her touch.
Her tremble.
All of it felt like truth.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight.
