He Left Me Broken Now He Wants Me Back Chapter 03
Rowan did take the time off.
The next morning, he was in the kitchen making breakfast burritos. Morning light slanted across his back as he worked at the stove, and for a moment, something in my chest eased.
The doorbell rang.
Rowan turned off the heat and went to answer it. Mia swept in and, like she’d done it a hundred times, pulled a pair of guest slippers from the shoe cabinet.
“I heard Liv was hurt, so I came to see how she was doing.”
Before I could answer, her eyes darted to the kitchen.
“That smells amazing! I haven’t had your breakfast burritos in forever. Ro, did you make enough for me?”
Rowan wordlessly divided the food into three portions.
“Go sit down.”
I made my way to the table on my crutches. When I saw the cilantro sprinkled inside the burrito, I froze.
Mia smiled. “You remembered I like extra cilantro.”
My stomach clenched. I let go of the chair and turned toward the bathroom.
“I’m not hungry. You two go ahead.”
Rowan glanced at me but didn’t say anything. He just handed the hot sauce to Mia.
I shut the bathroom door. As I turned, my crutch caught the edge of a storage rack. It tipped, and I went down with it, my knee cracking against the tile floor.
Rowan burst in, shoving the rack aside to help me up. His eyes landed on the red mark already forming on my knee, and he went quiet.
A few seconds passed. “If you didn’t want Mia here for breakfast, you could have just said so,” he said, his voice flat. “You didn’t have to do this to yourself.”
I stared at him, disbelief robbing me of speech.
A few months ago, on a rainy night, I’d gone to the hospital to see Rowan, doubled over with stomach pain. I’d barely sat down when Mia’s assistant appeared.
“Mia’s back is killing her. She wants to know when you can see her.”
Rowan glanced at me and stood.
I grabbed his wrist.
“Rowan, did you hear me? My stomach really hurts.”
He paused.
“Are you actually in pain?”
“What?”
“Are you really in pain, or do you just not want me to go see Mia?”
He pried my fingers from his wrist.
“I know you don’t like her. But she’s my patient, too. Olivia, don’t be like this.”
The door opened, then clicked shut behind him.
I sat there, one hand pressed to my abdomen, the other covering my eyes. Every breath was a fresh stab of pain.
I went to another hospital that night. The diagnosis was acute appendicitis. Lying on the operating table, all I could feel was the exhaustion of trying to keep our relationship alive.
Now, that same exhaustion washed over me again.
“Forget it,” I said. “We should just brea—”
Another knock sounded, this one on the apartment door.
It was Jenna Brooks, a friend I’d made during my hospital stay. She held up a Nintendo Switch.
“We had a deal. The minute you were sprung, I was coming over so we could play.”
My shoulders relaxed, and for the first time in what felt like days, I smiled. I followed her into the bedroom.