Self

Chapter 38

Gastric perforation….

Her mind wandered, her grip slipped, and the bowl shattered.

Instinctively, she reached for the pieces, but a sharp edge cut her. She gasped, and tears fell, unbidden, onto her hand.

Six years. Not days, not months.

It was a habit that had burrowed deep into her very being–hearing about Yale’s hospitalization triggered an almost instinctual concern, an urge to see him.

However, she stopped herself–logic over instinct.

Yara told herself she would learn. She would learn not to worry, not to cry for him.

From the dazzling days of love to the struggle of togetherness and finally, to their parting–she could not pinpoint when the cracks had begun to show.

Was it his first broken promise? His first lie? All that remained were blurry snapshots.

Six years could be epic, or it could be nothing at all.

Charlotte stomped down the stairs in her heels. Rushing too fast, she tripped over some trash in the hallway and let out a string of curses. “What a dump! It’s falling apart and reeks. Absolutely maddening!”

Then, out of nowhere, her phone rang

“Yale, why are you calling? The doctor said you need to rest up, right?” Charlotte was seriously ticked off, but remembering Yale was sick, she tried to sound gentler–even though she was still pretty blunt.

Yale had just woken up in the hospital to the news that Charlotte had stepped out.

“She said she went to find Yara to get her to visit your Zachary said with a shrug, his hands out like he wanted to say he could not do anything about it.

Yale’s eyes darted around, and after waiting for about 40 minutes–during which he was chugging water, sitting up, rolling around, and sneakily checking the door–he could not take it anymore and called Charlotte. “Where are you?”

Charlotte’s voice was muffled. “Just out and about.”

“How long till you get here?”

Charlotte had not convinced Yara to visit Yale, and she was not eager to return to the hospital and bug her brother. “I’m not coming, okay? I’ll swing by home to grab the chicken soup Mom cooked for you, and

then-

“Yara’s not with you?” Yale cut in, catching the off vibe in her voice.

Oops! Charlotte sighed. “Nope.”

Yale’s mouth tightened as he gripped the phone. “Who asked you to go after her? What’s my being in the hospital got to do with her? Don’t you get what breaking up means?! Butt out!”

“Fine, fine, I’m the nosy one! I’m the pain in the neck, the annoying one, while you two are just too cool for school, not caring about each other!” Charlotte snapped back, her patience runhing thin. Did he think she was a pushover?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Charlotte snorted, “Yara made it crystal clear–your problems aren’t her problems, not by a long shot. Sick or dead, she couldn’t care less, and she’s not about to visit you in the hospital! Happy now? Hey? Yale?

You there?!”

Suddenly, the other end went dead silent.

Glancing at her phone, Charlotte realized the call had ended.

In the hospital room, Mary caught the icy chill in Yale’s stare, and then her eyes darted to the busted phone scattered on the floor.

Great, another phone wrecked!

She instinctively gripped her phone tighter in her pocket. She had just replaced the last one, and there was no way she was loaning it out again.