Hope Never Died

6︱Great Minds Think Alike

Walking Cory out of the hospital is a physically draining task.

Her grandmother is still not ready for visitors and needs to remain in the unit for the night, much to Cory's chagrin.

"I'm not going home, you know," she mumbles, crossing her arms. "I'm staying here until they let me see her."

"Don't be so stubborn," I tell her softly. "Think she'll want to see you all worn out? It won't do her good."

"Nothing's doing her good," she breathes, running a hand through her hair.

"Listen to me," I say, grabbing her hand and looking her in the eye. "Whatever happens after today, I'm here for you. Whenever you need to talk or just breathe, I'm here."

She looks bewildered, tears still glittering in her eyes. "What changed?" she whispers. "Don't tell me you pity me, Elias. Don't embarrass me like that." She wrenches her arm out of my grasp and walks away.

"I don't pity you," I call after her. "I admire your strength."

She stops but does not turn. And one thought echoes in my head: I'm fucking up big time.

I walk until I'm only a few inches behind her. "You're so strong, LeBlanc. So fucking strong to handle all that by yourself. And I admire you for it."

She turns to me, and it takes all of my self-control not to reach over and hug her. She opens her mouth to speak, but her phone rings, and she picks up instantly. "Anthony! Anthony, I don't know if Helene's told you anything, but you need to come home as soon as possible, okay? Nona's not well. The doctors are lying to me, and—" she freezes suddenly, her eyes widening and her tears falling. "What do you—" she stumbles and grabs my arm. "Anthony, tell me you're joking." She straightens with a pained look, then rushes away from me, toward the Lambo parked just a few feet away.

And all I can do is stare after her.

જ⁀➴

When I see my parents standing in the living room later that night, I feel an ache in my chest.

I hug them with all my strength, trying not to cry. Because I know now what it means to have parents. I know to be grateful. I know I'm never going to be alone.

"What happened to you, dear?" Mom says tearfully, holding my face.

I smile sadly and kiss the top of her head.

"What a surprise!" says Liam happily—yes, they knew he moved in and were even encouraging of the idea and just told them not to make them grandparents before they were married.

"It's been too long since any of you came to see us," says Dad, grinning. "So we took matters into our own hands."

"Good thing that," Maria says cheerfully. "We're working all the time; there's literally zero time."

"Is that so, sweetheart?" says Mom, patting my cheek.

"It's medicine," Dad grunts. "Of course he'll be working full time." He pats my arm and sinks into the sofa with a sigh. "Legs don't even work properly anymore."

"Are you getting old, Professor Torres?" I call with a grin.

He grumbles under his breath in response.

When Mom goes to cook dinner with Liam and Maria, I go upstairs to lay down in my room. All I can think of is Mrs. LeBlanc's death and how fucked up my situation with Cory is going to get. She's probably going to hate me and will most likely never want to speak to me again. The thought makes me wince, but I dug my grave, didn't I?