WOULD YOU RESCUE ME?

73.Resilience in Silence

The days began to settle into a tentative rhythm for Vanessa. Her steps, still measured and deliberate, no longer felt like acts of defiance against her body but instead a quiet celebration of resilience. Each shuffle down the dorm hallway, every careful descent of a staircase, was a small victory she kept to herself. She had started to walk on her own more often, even if the effort left her sore by the end of the day. Astra noticed the progress but kept her encouragement understated, sensing that Vanessa needed to own these moments without applause. Instead, she was simply there, a steady presence, offering a quiet smile or a helping hand when the wobble in Vanessa's gait hinted at fatigue.

Life outside Vanessa's fragile recovery was returning to normal as well. Astra had resumed her shifts at the bar, slipping back into her role with an ease that belied the strain she carried. The regulars welcomed her with grins and well-meaning jokes, oblivious to the undercurrent of worry she tried to keep at bay. "Back so soon?" one patron teased, sliding a few euros across the counter. "Missed you holding down the fort."

"Couldn't let you all get too comfortable without me," Astra quipped, her grin practiced but tired. Yet, no matter how busy the bar became, she found herself distracted by thoughts of Vanessa. The image of her bruised and pale, motionless, in a hospital bed lingered like a ghost.

Vanessa's dorm, once a place of uneasy solitude, was now bustling with activity. Luke, Amy, Maya, Simon, and Cassie had adopted it as their unofficial study hub, filling the space with books, coffee cups, and occasional bursts of laughter. Vanessa appreciated their presence more than she let on. They brought a liveliness that softened the edges of her days, though she still found herself glancing toward the door when Astra wasn't there.

As the group poured over textbooks and quizzed one another, Vanessa pretended not to notice the moments of tension. Cassie's sharp comments to Maya, Amy's sidelong glances at Luke, the subtle undercurrents of unspoken feelings. It was a relief, in some strange way, to see that everyone else carried their own complications. But eventually, the need for quiet focus pushed Vanessa to venture back to the library. Her body was ready for the walk, but her mind wasn't prepared for what awaited her.

The first day back at the library was a whirlwind of noise and whispers, though none of it seemed directed at Vanessa at first. She kept her head down as she navigated the rows of desks, choosing a spot by the window where she could pretend to focus on her notes while staring out at the damp Dublin streets. But no amount of staring could drown out the voices around her.

"Did you hear about Ben?" a girl whispered to her friend two tables away.

"Of course," the friend replied, leaning closer. "I heard he got kicked out after a fight. Apparently, he's been banned from campus entirely. Crazy, right?"

Vanessa's stomach tightened, her pen stilling in her hand. She'd known these rumors would surface, but the casual detachment in their voices made it feel worse. The truth, the chaos of that night, Ben's laughters, the suffocating weight of his anger, was a far cry from the sanitized gossip making its way through the library.

Astra arrived halfway through the afternoon, carrying her own stack of books but clearly more interested in keeping an eye on Vanessa than studying. She slid into the seat across from her, offering a faint smile that didn't reach her eyes. Vanessa didn't look up immediately, but Astra could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers gripped her pen too tightly.

They worked in silence for a while, but every now and then, Astra's attention flicked to the groups of students nearby. Snippets of conversation drifted over to their table, pulling her focus away from the pages in front of her.

"Jack's not even taking the exams this session," someone murmured. "Apparently, it's because of some bad behavior. Guess he had it coming."

"Do you think it's true?" another voice asked. "That Ben went after him because he was jealous?"