He Believed His Ex More Than He Believed Me Chapter 08
“Just one look,” he rasped.
The nurse studied him, then stepped aside. Through the glass, my wrist lay outside the blanket, its old and new scars more direct than any report.
Nolan watched for a long time, his fingertips against the glass and his lips slowly turning white.
He remembered those two weeks.
I had ironed his shirts, asked whether he wanted a dark or light tie, poured Vanessa coffee, listened to her discuss me as a case, and even smiled.
He had thought I was recovering.
In truth, I had only hidden my pain where he could not see it.
Before detectives took Vanessa away for further questioning, she tried to speak to him. Her eyes were swollen as she waited at the corner of the corridor.
“I admit I was too aggressive, but you can’t put everything on me. You wanted your freedom.”
“I only gave you a reason.”
Nolan slowly looked up. Bloodshot eyes showed he had not slept.
“Yes,” he said. “I wanted to be free.”
“So don’t worry. I’ll answer for my part too.”
Vanessa’s face went white.
The ICU monitor suddenly sounded an alarm, and nurses rushed into my room. Nolan sprang up, dropping the cracked phone.
Its screen remained lit. The final line of my note flashed beneath the fractured glass, then went black.
When I opened my eyes, white light burned them. A breathing tube filled my throat, making every attempt to swallow feel like scraping gravel.
Dr. Brooks stood beside the bed and held my fingers. “Can you hear me, Noelle?”
I blinked once.
Her eyes reddened, but she controlled herself. “You survived.”
Footsteps and raised voices erupted outside. Nolan lunged toward the door, but a nurse and a security officer blocked him.
“Noelle, I’m here.”
Dr. Brooks stepped into the hall and shut the door. “Mr. Mercer, your presence destabilizes her vital signs.”
“Stay away from her.”
Nolan pressed his forehead to the glass, breathing hard. I turned my head and saw how gaunt he had become.
“Mr. Mercer is outside,” the nurse said quietly. “Do you want to see him?”
The monitor continued its steady rhythm. I looked at the ceiling, my voice barely audible.
“I don’t know him.”
The hallway went silent.
Nolan slid down the wall, covered his face, and shook without daring to make a sound.
Dr. Brooks returned and tucked the blanket around me. “He won’t be allowed in without your consent.”
I closed my eyes. I don’t know him weighed far less than hatred.
It also felt much cleaner.
From that day on, Nolan slept on a bench in the hall. At night, the fractures woke me with pain.
My body was immobilized, and the smallest movement felt like being broken apart and rebuilt. I bit on gauze, but a groan escaped.
Outside, Nolan jumped up so fast he struck the bench. “She’s in pain. Get a doctor.”
A nurse pushed the medication cart inside. Nolan tried to follow, but security stopped him.
He clung to the doorframe, his knuckles white. “Give her whatever pain control she needs.”
“I’ll pay anything.”
The nurse looked at him coldly. “When she needed relief most, you replaced her medication with candy.”
Nolan’s hands fell away. He stepped backward until his shoulders hit the wall.
Under the harsh hallway lights, he seemed to age overnight.
He stayed in the stairwell until morning while calls from his attorney, his parents, and his office went unanswered.