Le's Soldier

Part 39

The waiting room felt like it had stopped existing in time.

Tommy didn't know how long they had been there. It could have been an hour. It could have been ten. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, the clock on the wall ticking with an almost cruel rhythm. Every second that passed without news felt heavier than the last.

Leah sat beside him, hunched forward, her elbows on her knees, her hands clenched together so tightly her knuckles were white. She hadn't stopped shaking since the ambulance doors closed. Her face was pale, her eyes red and glassy, and every so often a quiet sob would slip out before she could stop it.

Katie sat on her other side, one arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close. She didn't say much—just little reassurances every now and then. Soft, quiet things.

"She's strong."
"She's going to fight."
"She wouldn't leave you like that."

Leah nodded every time, but it didn't look like the words were reaching her.

Tommy leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. His leg bounced uncontrollably. He was still in his uniform, streaked with dried blood. Lilly's blood.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw it again.

The gunshot.
The way she staggered.
The way she still managed to shove Leah out of the way before going down.

He swallowed hard.

"She shouldn't have been there," he muttered.

Leah's head snapped up. "Don't. Don't say that."

Tommy looked at her. Her eyes were fierce now, even through the tears.

"She didn't choose it," Leah said. "We were just... we were just on a date."

Her voice cracked on the last word.

Tommy sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "I know. I just... she was finally getting back to normal. Headaches gone. Cleared for duty. And then—"

He couldn't finish the sentence.

Silence filled the space between them again.

Across the room, a vending machine buzzed. Somewhere down the hall, a trolley rattled. The hospital was alive, busy, moving forward like nothing had happened.

But for them, everything had stopped.

Leah suddenly stood up, pacing. "Why is it taking so long? It's been hours. They should have said something by now. Someone should have come out."

Katie stood too, gently catching her arm. "Leah, sit down. They'll come when they know something."

"But what if—"

"Don't," Tommy said firmly. "Don't go there."

Leah's chest rose and fell quickly. She looked like she might collapse. Slowly, she let Katie guide her back into the chair.

"I should've seen it," she whispered. "He had the gun. I didn't even notice. She did. She always notices everything."

Tommy didn't reply. Because it was true.

Lilly was always the one who saw things first. Always the one who stepped in front of danger without thinking twice.

And now she was lying somewhere behind those doors, cut open, full of tubes, fighting for her life.

The double doors at the end of the corridor finally opened.

A doctor in blue scrubs stepped out, looking around the waiting room. "Family of Lilly?"