Shades of Redemption

41

I stood beside Gavin's bed, feeling the weight of everything we'd been through hanging over me like a cloud. It felt unreal, like I was watching someone else's life unfold. He looked so peaceful, so unaware of the chaos that had unraveled between us over the past year. I kept reminding myself that to him, none of it had happened.

"I'm going to head back to my apartment," I said softly, watching him stir slightly, his eyelids fluttering open. 

"I need to take a bath and change my clothes. After that, I'll go to my studio to check on a few things."

Gavin looked up at me, giving me that familiar, warm smile that used to make my heart race. It was still there—the version of him that I had loved so deeply. The one that no longer existed for me. 

"It's okay, Soph," he said, his voice soft and reassuring. "You've already spent so much time here. You should take care of yourself."

I swallowed hard, trying to push down the emotion that was bubbling up inside me. If only he knew how much time I had spent over the past year thinking about him, worrying about what we had lost. But there was no way to explain that to him now. Not when he didn't remember.

"You didn't take my time, Gavin," I said, my voice quiet but firm. "I wanted to be here. I chose to take care of you."

He looked at me with those gentle eyes, and for a moment, it almost felt like everything was normal. But nothing was normal anymore.Before I could say anything more, Eleanor, who had been standing quietly by the door, caught my eye and gestured for me to come outside. 

"Can we talk before you leave?" she asked, her voice trembling.

I nodded, giving Gavin one last look before stepping into the hallway with Eleanor. I had been dreading this conversation, but I knew it was coming. There was no escaping it.Eleanor's eyes were already red, brimming with tears as we stood outside Gavin's room. She didn't speak right away, just nervously twisted her hands together. 

Finally, she let out a shaky breath and said, "Sophie, I know this is a lot to ask, but... I need you to lie to Gavin. Just for a little while."

I blinked, the words not quite registering at first. "Lie to him?"

She nodded, her voice small. "He thinks you're still together. He doesn't remember the breakup or... anything that happened over the past year. I know it's unfair, but he's clinging to this idea of you two that's stuck in the past. If he finds out the truth now, it could... I don't know what it would do to him."

I felt my chest tighten. I had been afraid this would happen, that I'd be expected to pretend everything was fine between us, that the past year hadn't torn us apart. I wanted to say no, to tell her that it wasn't fair to me or to Gavin. But looking at her desperate face, I knew I didn't have a choice.

She continued, her voice trembling. "Please, just until he's stronger. You don't have to... do anything more than that. Just act like nothing's changed."

The logical part of me screamed that this was a terrible idea. But the emotional part, the part that had loved Gavin for so long, knew that telling him the truth now would only hurt him. I couldn't be the one to do that. Not yet.