Chapter 3

3 I opened my laptop to take care of some work, completely missing the sound of the door opening.

I looked up, and David was frowning at me.

"Why aren't you answering your phone?"

I checked. Sure enough, I had a few missed calls.

Probably around midnight.

"I went to the hospital to get you, but you weren't there." His tone was annoyed.

"Really?" I asked with feigned surprise.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you weren't coming tonight, so I just took a cab."

He seemed like he misheard me.

In the past, if he was late, I would've called him a million times demanding to know where he was.

And then he'd give me the silent treatment for "being so insecure."

There was no way I would've gone on without him asking.

He sighed.

"Actually… Sarah fell again. Her bones aren't great. It's really easy for her to break something. I couldn't just leave her there. At the time..."

"Mhm."

I didn't even let him finish. I said it so calmly.

"Anna?" He blinked.

"Yeah?" I looked up from my computer, pretending not to have heard him.

He frowned even harder.

"You're not mad?"

"Mad about what?" I laughed. "You guys are childhood friends. I get it. No big deal."

He took a deep breath and sat next to me.

"You are mad, aren't you?"

"Nope," I smiled. "I stopped caring about that a long time ago."

He sighed and took my hand.

"I know I messed up. I'm the one apologizing this time. Let's just move past it, okay?"

I tilted my head and laughed. "It's fine, you don't need to do this. It's not a big deal."

His eyes widened in shock.

This was the first time he'd ever caved first.

But it turned out I didn't need him to.

Turns out, when you stop caring about someone, it's really hard to get mad at them.

I checked the time and closed my laptop. "It's getting late, David. I wanna go to bed."

I stood up, and a sharp pain shot through my leg. I tripped and fell.

"Anna!"

David grabbed my arm. I pulled away. I wasn't even angry.

"It's fine. I just forgot my crutches."

He frowned. "Why do you need crutches?"

I shrugged. "My leg's broken."

He froze.

Maybe he remembered his excuse from earlier, about how worried he was that Sarah might've broken something.

His face was all twisted up.

"I'm sorry…"

It was the first time he'd ever apologized first, and he even bent down to help me up.

"Let me carry you to bed."

Normally, if he offered to carry me, I'd jump at the chance.

But now, I just didn't feel anything.

I smiled softly. "Nah, just grab my crutches. They're by the door. I can walk myself."

He didn't move. "Wouldn't it be easier if I carried you?"

In the past, he took the initiative to hug me, I must would happily jump into his arm.

But now, somehow, the sentence does not tempting to me.

I gently laughed: "No need, I can walk there myself."