30

VIVIAN

Nate stood in the doorway, his face twisted in a scowl, eyes colder than I’d ever seen them.

"Tracy, I think you've overstayed your welcome. You can go," Nate's voice was icy, a stark contrast to the warmth I had once known from him. My mouth hung open in shock, unable to believe what I was hearing.

Anger bubbled up from deep within me, hot and sharp. Tracy began to gather her things, looking confused and a little scared, but I couldn't let her leave. Not like this. Not when I needed someone sane beside me.

"Tracy isn't going anywhere," I said, my voice firm, trying to protect the only person who seemed to care about me. Nate's face hardened, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm in a hospital, wrapped in bandages from an accident, and this is what you say to me? You don't even ask how I am or how I got here? Or what happened?" My voice rose with incredulity. It was crazy that he would behave like this at such a moment.

Nate scoffed, a cold, derisive sound. He stepped closer, towering over