Chapter 31
VENDING MACHINE GRIEF
Holly
“I let go of control for five minutes. Just five. And he didn’t flinch. That scares the crap outta me.”
Holly sat in a molded plastic chair that might as well have been a punishment, knees drawn up, hands clenched around a cup of vending machine coffee Nate had bought her but she hadn’t touched.
The fluorescent lights above flickered like they couldn’t make up their minds.
Someone two bays over was coughing. Someone else was crying. But all she could feel was him.
Nate sat beside her. Close, but not crowding.
Present in a way that had nothing to do with words.
He hadn’t said a damn thing on the drive over, just grabbed his keys and got her to the damn hospital with a burning focus that made something in her chest ache.
He’d driven one-handed, the other putting just enough pressure on her thigh to keep her from falling apart.
Like it was instinct now. Like holding her down in the middle of a hurricane was just something he did.
It scared her.
Because five minutes before that call he’d been fucking her against a glass balustrade over Burbank like he was trying to fuse their souls together.
Fuck. The things he’d said. The way he’d touched her as though she was both sacred and ruinous.
Made her feel as if she was allowed to want.
Allowed to be wanted. Holly’d never felt like that. Not even close.
He made her feel like being difficult wasn’t a flaw.
Like being fierce was the whole fucking point.
And now here he was, still holding the line while everything inside her shook.
The nurses had said someone would be out soon.
That there were tests, complications, but no answers yet.
She blinked. Realized her hands were trembling.
She didn’t want to cry, because crying made it all too real.
Her traitorous throat tightened anyway, and when the first tear spilled she turned her face away from him.
She tried to press her fingers to her eyes, to hold it in, to pull herself back together.
But his stupid, big, warm, callused hand grabbed hers and squeezed.
And Holly, who didn’t trust easily, who didn’t let go…
Fucking let go.
She’d trusted him with her body on that rooftop. Now, in this sterile, awful, in-between place where everything was out of her control, she trusted him with something far more dangerous. Her heart.
They waited in silence, her shoulder resting lightly against his. His hand still tangled with hers. They didn’t talk about the rooftop, or the almost-kiss. Not even about how they felt, or what any of it really meant. And when a nearby door creaked open, they straightened in unison.
A doctor approached. A confident-looking woman in her mid-thirties, tired eyes, kind voice. “Holly?”
She stood, clinging to his hand as she felt him stand beside her.
“Your mother’s stable,” the doctor said, offering a calm, practiced smile. “She had a minor complication with her breathing. The good news is we’ve got it under control. She’s resting comfortably.”
Holly let out a slow, shaking breath as Nate’s grip tightened on hers with relief.
“But…”
The word hung like a knife.
The doctor sighed. “Her current treatment isn’t responding the way we’d hoped. It’s not a failure, but the effectiveness has plateaued. We’d like to change course. Try a more aggressive therapy.”
“What does that mean?” Holly asked, voice thin.
“Different chemo. Higher intensity. Possibly targeted radiation.”
“Cost?” she asked, already dreading the answer.
The doctor gave her a look that said she knew. “It won’t be cheap.”
Of course it wouldn’t. Holly nodded, numb. “Okay. Do it.”
She couldn’t look at Nate. Her mom was alive, and she was grateful, but every step forward came with a higher price. And she was rapidly running out of ways to pay it.
Entertainment Weekly:
From the Ballroom to the ER? TTF’s Hottest Couple Spotted Together at LA General
The dancing duo was seen entering the emergency wing late last night, with sources confirming Holly’s mother has been admitted. Nate reportedly stayed by her side the entire time. Is it just choreography chemistry? Or is the fake-dating flame starting to burn a little too real… READ MORE →
@HammerDownHoney on X:
did i just see nate eriksson at the hospital with holly?? IN SWEATS? no cameras? no press? just holding her hand and looking like he’d murder god for her??? bro… if this is PR it’s oscar-winning.
#takethefloor #hollyandnate #realorreel
@ballroombaddie on Instagram:
Spotted: Nate Eriksson with his hand on Holly’s back and the softest look we’ve ever seen on a 6'4" enforcer who once got suspended for excessive violence. No camera crew. No stylists. No lighting team. Just a hoodie, hospital coffee, and what looks suspiciously like real fucking feelings. I’m unwell.
#hollyandnate #thisisnotadrill #softlaunchking #takethetloor #sendhelpimcrying