The city was quiet now, wrapped in a fog that seemed to swallow every sound but the steady drip of water from the gutters. The hospital room felt smaller than ever, like the walls were pressing in, holding secrets too heavy to carry alone.
Maya's eyes fluttered open, the dim glow of the bedside lamp casting soft halos around the edges of the room. Her throat was dry, words tangled somewhere between fear and hope.
Liam was there, of course — sitting too still, like he was holding himself together by sheer force. His gaze was fixed on the thin curtain that fluttered with the night's cold breath, but Maya knew what he wasn't saying.
"Do you ever wonder," she began, voice barely audible, "what happens when everything falls apart? When the person you thought would never leave… walks away?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, his fingers curled tighter around hers — an anchor in the dark. "I don't want to think about that," he said finally, voice low but trembling. "Because then I'd have to admit how scared I really am."
Her heart squeezed painfully at that admission — a crack in the armor she didn't know he had.
Outside, rain began again, tapping like nervous fingers against the window. The city lights blurred into watery ghosts, flickering in and out of sight.
"We're running out of time," Maya said, swallowing the lump in her throat. "But maybe… maybe it's not just about fighting the disease. Maybe it's about fighting for every moment we still have."
Liam's breath hitched, and his eyes searched hers like he was trying to memorize every line, every flicker of emotion. "Then let's not waste a second."
For a long moment, silence stretched — thick, fragile, electric. The world outside didn't exist anymore. There was only the two of them, clinging to a hope that felt both impossible and necessary.
Maya's fingers found his cheek, tracing a trembling line down to his jaw. "Whatever happens next," she whispered, "I'm glad it's with you."
He leaned in, lips barely brushing hers — a promise and a plea all at once.
The rain fell harder now, a storm unleashed. But inside the quiet room, beneath the fragile light, two souls burned fiercely — defiant, fragile, and utterly intertwined.