Glass Hearts [BL]
Chapter 73: Maybe the World Doesn’t Need a Pause Button

Chapter 73: Maybe the World Doesn’t Need a Pause Button

Ash’s POV

I stood outside the hospital doors, unsure why I hesitated.....maybe guilt, maybe dread, but my feet just wouldn’t move for a solid ten minutes.

Yeah, I told myself I was going to ignore Dominic after everything that happened today when Nari came. But the moment I remembered he paid half of my mom’s surgery fee and after what Diane told me... something in me softened.

I also gotten the email earlier.

The hospital finally approved the request to fly in a specialist for Mom’s operation...by Monday.

It was happening.

Just three days remaining.

From the money Shawn gave me two days ago, I’d already cleared Alia’s pediatric bills. Everything seemed to be falling into place for once.

Except for the part where Liam’s killer was still out there.

Still watching.

Still sending threats.

Still burning a hole into my skin.

Literally.

I raised the hem of my hoodie just enough to peek at the red burn mark on my arm. It looked worse and ugly now. Like there was a swollen pore forming beneath the skin looking like it might burst soon.

Gross.

I shoved my hands into my hoodie pockets, clenching my fists. No time to fall apart now.

I finally stepped through the sliding doors.

Hospitals at night were different.

Time slowed. The lights dimmed. And everything....the breathing, the beeping, the living.....felt quieter.

My shoes squeaked gently against the polished floor. I walked past sleeping families curled on benches and stiff plastic chairs, past a vending machine.

A toddler snored on her father’s chest. A nurse whispered into a phone behind the reception desk.

No one looked up.

When I reached the children’s ward, I stopped at the glass to look in.

Alia was fast asleep on a green couch, one sock was missing, the other halfway off her foot. Her hand still clutched a crayon drawing of our mom in a superhero cape.

I pushed the door open and walked in.

She stirred slightly.

"Mmh... pizza..."

I smiled and crouched, gently pulled the blanket back over her, and brushed her hair from her forehead. Her nose twitched.

"You snore like a duck," I whispered. "Just so you know."

I placed her juice box on the bedside table and backed out quietly.

It was time to go see Mom.

I made my way down the hallway.

As I reached her room, I gave a small wave to Mrs. Jennings, who was curled up in her chair, crocheting a deep blue sweater. She hummed under her breath, a tune I didn’t recognize but somehow made the room feel warmer.

She smiled when she saw me. "She’s been peaceful tonight," she whispered.

I nodded and glanced at the other bed where the other patient was...it was empty now. Neatly folded sheets. No monitors beeping. Just space.

"I heard his surgery went well," I said quietly.

Mrs. Jennings nodded. "They moved him this afternoon. He’s awake, with his family."

I smiled faintly. "That’s good. Really good."

It was strange, feeling happy for someone you barely knew. But I was.

Hope is contagious like that...sometimes you borrow it from strangers when your own feels too far away.

My mom looked so beautiful and fragile.

Machines blinked beside her. Her chest rose, slowly. Carefully.

I let out a breath and sat at the edge of the bed, careful not to touch any wires or tubes. The beeping from her monitor was steady...like a heartbeat I was trying to believe in.

I rubbed my thumb against her hand and whispered, "Can I ask you something mom?"

"How did you know Dad was the one?"

"Did he make you feel like you could breathe too? Did he pull you out of your worst nights, even when he didn’t know how bad they were?" I paused. "Did he make you laugh when you wanted to cry? Did he drive you crazy just to bring you peace?"

"Because... I think that’s how Dom makes me feel."

I closed my eyes.

"I think I’m falling for him," I whispered. "And I don’t want to be scared of that."

"His name is Dominic. He’s... complicated. Kinda annoying sometimes. Too confident. Rich as hell." I glanced down at my hands. "But he’s also... really kind. In this quiet, careful way. He helped me when the police almost took me in. Paid for your surgery without telling me. Showed up for me at school today."

I blinked a few times, staring at the bedsheets.

"I don’t know why he’s doing any of it, honestly. I didn’t ask for help. I don’t really know how to ask." I smiled softly. "But he just... keeps showing up."

There was a long pause. Just the monitor monitor.

"I like him, Mom. I really like him." My chest tightened. "And that terrifies me."

I looked at her again, wishing her eyes would flutter open, just for a second.

"Because stuff doesn’t really work out for me. Not for long. And I’m scared I’m gonna ruin it. Or he’ll wake up one day and realize I’m too broken or too messy for his perfect world."

My voice got softer..

"He comes from all this old money, Mom. Like, fundraisers and parents who travel out with their own private jets. That world... it’s not mine. It’s not us."

I reached for her hand gently, let my fingers curl around hers.

"But when I’m with him, it’s like... I can breathe. And I haven’t felt that in a long time."

I kissed the back of her hand gently, rested it against my cheek.

I sat back and took a breath. "Your special doctor is coming," I told her quietly. "They said Monday. For the surgery. They said he’s the best. So... you gotta hang on till then, okay?"

My throat tightened.

"Just one more weekend, Mom. Please."

I squeezed her hand one more time.

Then, walked to the small window in the room, and leaned against it. The glass was cold.

I watched as the city blinked. It was bright, loud and alive, even at this hour. It was almost 12PM. Cars still moved. Somewhere, someone was laughing. Someone was crying. And here I was, frozen in the middle of it.

Funny how the world never stops.

No matter what you’re going through, it just... moves on.

Sometimes I wish there was a pause button. Just for a little while.

So I could catch my breath.

I thought of Of Alia, Dominic, June and Marcus. Scar face and Baldy in the pawn shop, their serpent tattoo staring back at me like it knew me personally.

The peace in here didn’t belong to me.

But for now, I let myself hold it anyway.

A light tap on my shoulder pulled me back to the present.

"Oh...sorry, dear," Mrs. Jennings smiled. "Didn’t mean to scare you. I just, uh..." she

pointed to the room, "my glasses slipped under the bed again. And Henry usually helps me with this sort of thing, but he’s with his mom tonight. And my phone’s acting up too. It keeps talking to me in this robotic voice...honestly, I think it’s possessed."

I managed a tired chuckle.

She handed the phone over with a pleading look.

I took it. Silenced the voice prompt, adjusted the brightness, and cleaned off the screen with the corner of my sleeve. The whole time, I could feel her watching me.

"You remind me of my son," she said suddenly.

I glanced up.

"He was always trying to fix everything." She paused, her eyes softened. "But he never let anyone fix him."

I didn’t say anything. I just smiled.

She reached out and took my hand, gentle and warm like my mom’s used to be.

"You’re allowed to cry," she said. "Even boys. Especially boys like you."

Something in my throat tightened.

Before I could find any words, her husband called out from the corner of the room.

"Margaret, if you’re not back in two minutes, I’m eating your pudding!"

"That man. Forty-two years of marriage and he still thinks that’s a threat."

She smiled, then leaned over and gently touched my mom’s arm.

"I’ll pray for her, Ash," she whispered. "And for you."

The flashlight icon popped up on her phone. I clicked it on.

"I’ll help you look for the glasses," I said, standing up.

"Thank you, my son."

She walked ahead of me slowly, and I followed her back to her corner. Her husband was sitting cross-legged bed, halfway through a pudding cup.

"I warned you," he laughed.

She smacked his arm with a newspaper and he squawked like a child. "That was mine, Rufus!"

"It’s ours, Margaret. What’s mine is yours, remember?"

She fed him a spoonful of soup anyway, while grumbling. He grinned at her like they were both sixteen again.

And I just stood there, watching. The kind of love that didn’t need grand gestures. Just two people, bickering and laughing and choosing each other every day.

Maybe the world didn’t need to have a pause button.

Because, if you’re lucky, you find someone who makes it feel like it doesn’t need to.