Listening wasn’t my best trait—that had especially been true before my injury. My job, my lifestyle—they required me to lead and do the talking. But since arriving here, I was now the one taking it all in.

Changes were happening faster than the rain pouring outside.

“Tomorrow is my last night here,” I told her. “I wish I could give you more time to think about it.”

She stood, the carton of desserts resting on her hand. “I’ll give you an answer very soon.”

I nodded, the room turning cold as she took several steps toward the door.

She stopped halfway and glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you, Caleb.”

I wondered if she was just being polite or if she’d said it out of habit or if the reason matched the emotion I hadn’t been able to identify. “For what?”

She sighed. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

The swishing of her scrubs was the last sound I heard before she was gone.

I didn’t pick up my tablet, nor did I turn on the TV. I shut my eyes instead, trying to picture what the next few months would look like, staring at my light-gray walls, wheeling across my hardwood floor. My condo becoming a jail, the world outside an incessant tease.

I didn’t remember falling asleep, but when my eyes opened, the sun was just starting to come through the blinds, the smell of coffee rich in the air.

This was the longest rest I’d gotten since being admitted.

Slightly disoriented, I rubbed my eyes, gently stretching my arms, and that was when I noticed the note. My name was written across the folded piece of paper, which sat next to the box I’d watched Whitney take with her. When I peered inside, there were two Oreo-flavored cookies on the bottom.

As I read her neat penmanship, a breeze came in through the open window, causing my smile to grow even larger.

We have a deal.

—W

P.S. For saving me.

Six

Whitney walked over to my bed, holding a large vase of flowers that she set on my nightstand. “I hope you don’t mind. I thought these would brighten up your room a little.” She fingered several of the petals, smiling as she stared at them.

“You’re saying it’s dark in here?”

The brown finally connected with mine as she laughed. “I’m saying, it’s the most beautiful home I’ve ever been in and extremely masculine.”

My whole condo was decorated in gray and black, so the pink and blue buds certainly stood out.

“Now that you’re all settled in, what can I get you?”