Chapter 41
Forty-One
Scarlett
23 Years Old
Hospital waiting rooms were the most bland-looking place to get life-altering news. It made sense that none of the surgery wing waiting rooms were particularly colorful, and neither was the emergency room. That was reserved for the pediatric and maternity wings, the former which Scarlett had been to a thousand times with her brother and for the foundation. The walls in the OR waiting room were white, the accents a cool blue that she assumed were painted that way to calm the surgical patients’ loved ones. Given the way that Leo and Colin both stormed into the waiting room, it did nothing to alleviate anyone’s worries.
“She’s in surgery,” Harper said, meeting a near-frantic Leo in the center of the room.
“It’s a spiral fracture because she fell on it weird,” Saanvi added, rising to her feet.
“Goddammit, Piper,” Leo grumbled under his breath.
“Which bone did she break?” Colin asked, but he wasn’t asking Harper or Saanvi, or even Kashvi, who had risen to her feet to join everyone, he was asking her , as if Scarlett’s opinion and recollection was the only one that mattered in the room.
“It was—” Harper started, only to get cut off by Colin, raising his hand in a stop position.
“Let Scarlett tell it. She’ll give us the entire story with the most detail,” Colin said. Leo’s hopeful eyes turned to her, and Scarlett found herself moving toward them, officially tasked with informing the group of Piper’s condition.
“First and foremost,” Scarlett lifted a finger, “she’s okay, and the surgery is expected to go well. It will be over in two hours at most.” Leo still looked like he was about to throw up, so she continued talking, reassuring him about the procedure and the entire story of Piper’s fall that felt incredibly anticlimactic for how gross her arm sounded when she had hit the floor and how panicked their entire group had been at the time they had hauled her into Saanvi’s car and driven to the hospital like someone had lit a fire under their asses. Like Colin, Piper didn’t drink, so her lack of balance was all her and not a byproduct of their wine and telenovela night. On the way to the ER, between worried statements about how Leo was going to take the news, Piper had passed out exactly once, and they were able to rouse her easily. Throughout the story, Scarlett maintained that Piper was okay, even while in pain. By the end, she got a resolute nod from everyone but Leo, who was clearly determined to wear a path into the floor for the next two hours. She took a seat just in time for the rest of the Hartricks to show up, Walker shaking like a leaf and Talia trying to calm him down.
So, with a pleading look from Colin, Scarlett started her story over, relaying everything once more.
Thirty minutes into the surgery, a silence had fallen over the room. People were still talking, but everything was hushed, as if any sudden noise would disturb the surgeons behind several walls. The nervous energy in the room coupled with the wait had Scarlett wanting to pace with Leo, but she knew that wouldn’t help matters. She was sure Leo’s pacing was making Walker’s (and the entire room’s) anxiety much worse, but she needed to get up and move soon, or she would get too antsy to be helpful.
When she stood, Colin followed suit, raising his eyebrows at her from across the room. “Where are you going?” Everyone swiveled their heads from their various places in the room to watch their conversation, and Scarlett was suddenly very aware that everyone there must know about their falling out at the gala.
“The pediatrics wing.” She swallowed, avoiding everyone’s gaze. “There’s a kid the foundation is sponsoring there, and I figured I could go visit her while I wait for Piper.”
“Can I come with you?” Colin’s back was ramrod straight, his hands fumbling with each other as he nervously glanced around. A few people averted their gazes because they must have noticed his discomfort with everyone looking at him, but she could tell how much he wanted to escape. Scarlett nodded, taking pity on him, because she too could no longer stand the prying eyes. When they made it around the corner, Colin breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“You could have just left on your own, you know,” Scarlett said.
“I wasn’t sure what was appropriate. Everyone seems content to sit and wait, but the chairs are really uncomfortable, and even the material they used for the cushion part was scratchy. Now, I have an excuse.”
“The children’s wing is a lot better. It’s colorful and warm, and mostly everything was donated so they could pay for the nicer stuff,” Scarlett explained, pointing left as she glanced at the curved mirror up on the wall to watch for anyone turning the corner.
“I’d love to see the kinds of people you help. I’ve seen you in the studio with kids, and I know what kind of research you fund, so it’ll be nice to see the other part of your job,” Colin said, walking swiftly beside her. She had forgotten how long his legs were when they walked side by side, and picked up her pace to match him so he didn’t have to walk with an unnatural rhythm.
“Liliana is twelve years old, and she has the same type of cancer Tucker had. Last I heard, she was doing really well and responding to chemo, but she caught a fairly high fever, so her parents took her in last night,” Scarlett informed Colin as they stepped around another corner. The sign for the pediatric wing was embossed on the wall with the colorful handprints of children. She hit the call button when they reached the door.
“Hi, Scarlett.” The woman at the counter smiled and waved at her through the glass. Marcia was one of her favorite people here, and Scarlett knew Marcia liked her back because in the years she had been coming here, she and Kashvi had brought dozens of cupcakes to this floor for a little morale boost, and Marcia had begged for the recipe.
“Hi, Marcia,” Scarlett cooed back. “We’re here to see Liliana. This is Colin.” She gestured to Colin, and he raised a hand in an awkward wave. “He’ll be joining me today.” From the look on Marcia’s face, Scarlett hoped to God that the woman wouldn’t say anything about her companion. She hadn’t ever brought a man with her apart from her Uncle Marty, so she could already tell this was going to be the hot gossip on this floor for who knew how long. Marcia smirked but stayed silent as she pressed the button to let them in. Scurrying inside, Scarlett latched on to Colin’s arm to drag him along, hoping that more people wouldn’t see them together and start talking. The move felt so intimate that she was about to force herself to let go just in time for Colin—damn him—to reach for her hand instead, lacing their fingers in a tight-gripped hold. She could extract her hand, but the feeling of it left her warmed on the inside, and she figured Colin might need the show of support while he waited for his sister.
When they got to Liliana’s door, Scarlett disentangled their fingers and knocked on the open door. “Hello?” she singsonged.
“Scarlett.” Cora, Liliana’s mom, beamed and waved her inside. Liliana was in a deep sleep on the hospital bed, a few strands of sweat-soaked hair clinging to her forehead when they entered the room.
“How’s she doing?” Scarlett asked.
“Good, just resting. They got her on some fluid, and her fever broke, so now I think she’s just exhausted. They’re keeping her for another day just in case.” Cora’s eyes roved up to where Colin towered over everyone. “And who’s this?”
“Colin.” He stuck out his hand, and Cora shook it and introduced herself.
“He’s a friend,” Scarlett said, and then, needing a reason other than that for him to be there, she quickly added, “Colin works in the research lab for Sloan CRO, so he’s well-versed in all of this.”
“Just the research side,” Colin corrected.
“What are you researching?” Cora asked, sounding interested.
“Blood and bone cancers,” he answered. Scarlett swiveled her head to look up at him. As usual, he didn’t meet her gaze, but she watched his hand twitch at his side. “I have an idea for my doctorate, so I’m also researching for that so that I can submit a research proposal and garner some support for it when I’m ready.”
“Lilliana’s dad is a professor at Fletcher University and working on his doctorate.” Cora nodded. “What’s your expertise going to be in?”
Colin shifted on his feet, and if they weren’t in a hospital room, Scarlett thought he might be bashfully kicking rocks. “My dissertation would be on Acute Myeloid Leukemia, specifically in children.” Scarlett froze, all the muscles in her body suddenly locking up. “Oddly enough, Scarlett’s cat gave me the idea for my research project.”
“Pepto?” Scarlett’s voice cracked, eyes wide with the onslaught of new information. She should have asked what he was researching at the gala. Should have known already that he was studying the exact form of cancer her brother had. A slew of questions spiraled in her head as Colin continued.
“Yes. It’s going to take a while to come up with specifics, but a noveld-peptide has been used in differentiation therapy with leukemia before, and I’d love to further that research.”
Cora was looking at Colin like he was a hero, completely unaware that Scarlett’s head was swimming. “I have no idea what that means.” Cora smiled. “But I’m so happy that people like you exist.” It was similar to what Scarlett had told Colin all those years ago. She wasn’t the kind of person who could solve this problem and other problems like it. She had told him back then that she thought he was the type to change the world, and she was right. She just didn’t have a clue that this was how he planned to do it.
“I need to use the bathroom,” Scarlett announced, motioning toward the doorway and escaping to the hallway quickly before the salt burning her nose manifested and tears started visibly falling down her face. Escape was the only thing she could think to do, because if Colin didn’t love her like she knew he didn’t, then she couldn’t fathom why he would choose this occupation over geology. When had he changed his mind? Did it mean anything, or was she a random influence that became a stepping stone in his career?
By the time Scarlett returned from the bathroom, she had adopted an unperturbed attitude as she worked through her list of questions with Cora on whether their family had any immediate needs, jotting down a few things in her phone and texting them to her mom to get the ball rolling. Liliana stayed fast asleep the entire time they were there, and after a half hour of listening to Colin and Cora discuss all the things his job entailed, Scarlett was so unsettled that she thought the OR waiting room might actually be less anxiety-inducing.
The stark silence between them as they moved down the pediatric wing hallway was so loud that Scarlett thought she might combust. Colin stopped suddenly and gestured at the wall. “Did you paint this?” He pointed to the framed watercolor of brightly colored flowers she had painted three years ago, and Scarlett nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
She sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself. “Thank you.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Colin asked, eyes still looking over her painting.
“As long as I get to ask one, too.” It was time to stop hiding from the elephant in the hallway.
“All right,” he agreed. “Me first?” Scarlett nodded. “I’m wondering if it’s too much to ask you to come over and teach Theo while he’s painting? I appreciate that you let me come pick up some supplies so he could continue his piece, but I know nothing about art, and I tried once to play a YouTube lesson, and Theo hated it. It’s not quite the same without you.”
“Where would we go?” She was certain she already knew the answer, but was waiting for it not to be what she secretly hoped it was.
“My apartment,” Colin replied.
“Okay,” Scarlett murmured. After kissing him last night, her heart fluttered at the idea of being at his place. The same way it did when she was she thought she was moving to Maryland to be with him. And just like it had been back then, it was a terrible idea to accept. “I could do that.”
“I’ll text you my address, and you could come over?”
“Tuesday?”
“I would say Tuesday, but I made plans to go to an art museum with Theo in Merrick because I figured that’d be better than YouTube again. He doesn’t usually like outings much unless it’s the lookout, but he seemed excited about this one. Can we do Thursday at the usual class time or even a little before? Theo’s off school for the summer, and he ends up hanging out with me for most of the day when I have him.”
“Sure,” she said, solidifying her fate. “When you go to the museum, they have a watercolor exhibit and a pointillism exhibit, so you’ll have to show him both for me.” Colin opened his mouth like he was planning on inviting her to the museum as well, and she didn’t think she could handle watching him dote on an eight-year-old unless she had some purpose to be there. Teaching Theo was a good reason to be around Colin, but she couldn’t find enough of an excuse for a museum visit as well, and she needed to guard her heart before Colin inevitably sucked her under his spell again. “Just let me know what time you want me over on Thursday,” she said.
Colin closed his mouth, nodding, before pulling out his phone, tapping out a message, and pocketing it just as hers dinged in her pocket. “You still have the same number,” he noted.
“I do.” The words she left unspoken hung between them. You could have reached out any time . Kashvi had been able to keep in touch when she was away at college. It wasn’t hard to pick up a phone or make time to visit during the holidays. They had FaceTimed almost every day. It could have been the same with Colin, too, even just as a friend, but he hadn’t even tried to reconcile.
“Your turn to ask a question,” he said, turning to look at her painting once more.
Scarlett’s voice was strained when she finally choked out, “When did you decide to study Acute Myeloid Leukemia?”
“Right after we broke up.”
“Why?”
“The long answer is that I don’t like the idea of anyone going through what you did,” Colin replied, still staring at her painting. “I wanted to fix one of your problems, and I found I liked studying cellular biology.”
“What’s the short answer?”
“You already know that,” he said. “You just don’t believe me.”
I loved you then, and I love you now. Not a single thing has changed.
“I…” Scarlett swallowed. “I don’t know.” She knew what he was referring to, but it didn’t quite prove what she wanted it to. He had kept his distance for five years and hadn’t contacted her a single time. Her number hadn’t changed. She hadn’t blocked him. So even if he had chosen his career because of her, it had to be residual guilt from the way he had left things, or he had simply happened upon something he loved because of her.
“It’s okay, Red. I’m certain you’ll understand eventually. When you do, I’ll explain more.” Colin gave her a sad smile and inclined his head toward the door. “Walker texted me that Piper’s out of surgery. Let’s head back.”
She didn’t notice he had used her nickname until it was too late and he was holding her hand again.