Dark Redemption - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,2

get.

I'm angry and pissed off.

At the same time, I feel guilty.

Dante gave me this unbelievable gift. Yes, it went awry and now I blame him and myself for insisting on that surgery in the first place. But we thought that it would turn out differently.

Frustrated by my own impotence and inability to do a single thing, I blow up at him and I run away.

I go to the hospital, the only place that I know where I can stay indefinitely, and I stay for a long time.

No walks today, nothing but passing time in the waiting room while my mother sleeps.

Around six in the evening, I go down to the cafeteria, grab some food, and eat alone at a table facing the parking lot. There's a large window next to me, and I watch families come and go, wondering what kind of secrets they're keeping from their loved ones.

I know that Dante’s waiting for me back at the hotel, but I can't bring myself to go. I don't want to fight. I don't want to talk about this.

I'm exhausted and tired. Contorting my body into a hard chair with little padding in my mom's room, I eventually doze off.

The following morning after I wake up with the worst pain in my back I've had ever since I was in college, I can barely turn my neck from side to side. I try to do a few stretches but the pain is unbearable.

A nurse comes in, takes my mom's vital signs and gives me an update. Stable and slightly improving. That’s good for now.

I head down the hall and wash my face in the bathroom, wishing that I had packed a toothbrush. When I walk back out, I see him.

Dante’s standing in the hallway, broad-shouldered, dressed in jeans and a jacket, open-collar shirt, no tie. His hair looks a little messy, out of control, and he has big black circles underneath.

"You don't look like you slept well,” I say.

He shakes his head no.

"Are you okay?"

He takes a step closer to me when I turn to walk away and then wince in pain.

"I'm fine," I say, putting my hand out to block him from coming any closer.

"Did you sleep here?” he asks in a gasp.

"Yes."

"I'm really sorry. I did not mean for any of this to happen."

"Yeah, you said that already," I say, refusing to entertain his apology.

"I was just trying to help, okay? Even if you never forgive me for this, please know that I had no ill will. I knew that you couldn't afford the payments, and I could, so I did. I wanted to help you."

I shake my head no and bite my lower lip. "I don't want to talk about this now."

"I'm going to be going," Dante says, and my breath gets lodged in the back of my throat.

"Going where?"

"I have a job in Chicago. I've put it off for a while, but now seems as good a time as any. I've paid for the hotel for the next three weeks. If you want to stay there longer, just tell them and I’ll take care of it."

"I appreciate all of this, but I can't accept it," I finally force myself to say, looking down at the floor.

"You can and you have to," he says, focusing his eyes on mine.

I know that he knows that I didn't have enough credit on my card to extend the stay at the cheap motel down the street, let alone the Marriott. But I also have no choice.

"You're upset with me," Dante says, taking a step forward. "You're angry, but please take care of yourself. Please accept this gift. Please accept this as an apology for me being such an asshole. I just wanted to help. I wanted to be this knight in shining armor, and maybe I shouldn't have. Maybe it was a dick move."

I stand here, unable to move my neck, but unwilling to turn completely away from him to teach him a lesson. I want to reach over and kiss him and tell him that it's fine, but something stops me. Something pulls me away: it’s my pride.

Dante hands me the key to the room and asks me to use it and to rest, because being here is taking a toll.

"I'd like to come back after this trip to Chicago. I'd like to talk about this,” he says.

With my pride getting the best of me, I shake my head no.

"Okay. Just think about it, okay?" Dante begs with his eyes.

He