I never thought it would be this hard to breathe.
My chest was tight, not from illness, but from the weight of truth I could no longer carry alone. I had run from Lila the moment I handed her the results. Maybe I was afraid she'd break. Or maybe, deep down, I feared she'd look at me with pity. I didn't want pity. I wanted someone to say it was all a mistake.
I sat in my room, the door half-shut behind me, and pulled my legs up onto the bed. My fingers twisted the edges of the blanket, knuckles pale from how hard I gripped. A thousand thoughts raced through my head, but one kept looping louder than the rest:
"This is real."
Or at least, it felt real.
I barely heard the soft knock before Lila pushed the door open. She stepped inside slowly, her usual confident energy dimmed by something softer, more fragile. She wasn't crying — not yet. She just stared at me, the envelope still in her hand.
I couldn't look her in the eye.
She closed the door behind her, then came to sit beside me on the bed. The air between us felt too still, too sacred for small talk.
After a long moment, she finally spoke.
> "This doesn't make sense, Luna."
Her voice was calm, but I knew Lila well enough to hear the storm behind it.
> "You've been healthy. You don't even get colds. And now this?"
"I didn't believe it either," I whispered.
She opened the envelope again, eyes scanning the results. I could feel her breath catch as she reread them, like if she looked long enough the words would disappear. I stared down at my hands, ashamed that they were shaking again.
> "What did the doctor say?"
> "Nothing helpful. Just that it's serious. And they can't release any donor info... unless the donor agrees to help."
She frowned.
> "So someone out there could save you and just… won't?"
I nodded, blinking hard.
Lila stood abruptly, pacing the room now. I watched her fingers clench and unclench.
> "I know someone at Eastview," she said suddenly. "A nurse. I'll talk to her. These results… I want to make sure they're real."
I looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"
> "I mean something's off. You didn't go in for anything specific. You just… got checked up. And then suddenly, a life sentence?"
She sat beside me again, softer this time.
> "You trust me, right?"
> "More than anyone."
> "Then let me look into this."
I didn't answer right away. Part of me wanted to hope. The other part was terrified of what hope might cost.
> "Okay," I whispered. "But if this is real… I want to fight."
Lila reached for my hand and held it tight. Her grip was strong, grounding.
> "If it's real, we fight. But if it's not… then someone is playing you, Luna. And I swear I'll find out who."
I didn't know it then, but that promise would change everything.
Because Lila wasn't just about to uncover a lie.
She was about to unravel a design—
Elias's design.
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