The streets outside blurred as I walked, but my mind wasn't on where I was going. It was stuck in that hospital room.
Stuck on her.
Seeing Surin—no, Ava—lying there, weak, exhausted, barely holding herself together… it broke something in me. I did this to her. Even if she collapsed from stress, I knew part of that stress was me.
And then she woke up.
And the first thing she did was look away.
I clenched my fists, gripping the plastic bag in my hands.
She still hates me.
I didn't blame her.
But then… why did she let me stay in that room? Why didn't she tell me to leave?
That tiny sliver of hope kept eating at me, and I hated it. I didn't deserve it.
The warm takeout containers in the bag did little to ease my nerves as I walked back into the hospital. The air inside was cold, but my body felt even colder.
I hesitated outside the door, my fingers twitching at my sides.
Then—
"THAT WAS LIAM?!"
Jia's voice. Loud. Furious.
I winced. Great. She knows.
"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!"
I sucked in a breath, gripping the door handle. This is going to be bad.
Slowly, I pushed the door open.
A pillow flew straight at my face.
I barely dodged it, staring at Jia as she stood there, seething. Her eyes burned with rage, hands clenched into fists like she was two seconds away from punching me.
Ava looked… tired. Like she had been expecting this.
For a second, none of us moved.
Then Jia's eyes narrowed.
"You," she growled, taking a step forward.
I tensed. "I—"
"SHUT UP." She pointed at me, fuming. "You don't get to talk."
I swallowed hard, gripping the bag tighter. "I just—brought food."
Jia scoffed. "Oh. You brought food. Wow. That's gonna fix EVERYTHING, huh?"
I didn't answer. Because what was I supposed to say?
Ava let out a sigh. "Jia…"
"NO, DON'T 'JIA' ME!" Jia turned back to her. "How are you this calm?! He LIED to you. He—" She threw her hands up. "And now he thinks he can just show up, feed you, and everything will be fine?!"
I flinched.
Because she wasn't wrong.
I wasn't stupid enough to think food could fix anything. But what else could I do?
Ava rubbed her temples, exhaling slowly. "Jia, just—let it go for now. I'm too tired for this."
Jia hesitated, looking between us before huffing. "Fine. But I swear, if he does one wrong move, I'm throwing him out the window."
I swallowed. Noted.
Jia sat back down, arms crossed. Ava turned to me then, eyes unreadable. "What did you bring?"
Her voice was quiet.
I cleared my throat. "Uh. Rice, soup, and some side dishes. Doctor said you need to eat something warm."
She stared for a second before nodding. "Okay."
I took that as my cue to walk over, setting the food down on the tray. My hands were steady, but my chest was a mess.
Because for the first time in years, she was letting me do something for her.
And I wasn't going to waste it.