“Hey,” she said quietly, stepping closer. Dave kept silent, his shirt a white smudge against the dark wall. “How are you feeling?”
She went to drop off Doc’s white coat, trying her best to wipe the freaked-out expression from her face. When she returned, Dave was looking out the window again.
“I’m all right, I guess.”
Just like that, she was out of ideas. She pulled up a chair and took a seat, suppressing a sigh. “I’m sorry about Elena. We weren’t close, but God knows, she was the only innocent soul in this building.”
Dave gave a tense nod, pushing a pillow up against the headboard so he could recline on it.
“Wanna talk about what happened?” Pain prodded carefully.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Anything. Everything. Just spill it, whatever is on your mind.”
She heard it in his silence, the not knowing how to even begin putting his thoughts and feelings into words. But she just kept watching him, motionless.
“The day after Eugene died I woke up feeling like shit. Thought it was the worst day of my life, my shoulder was all…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “And then she was there. Her arm was bandaged, but she was… perfect.” He looked down at his hands, worrying something between his fingers. His voice turned into a whisper, “I wish she never met me.”
“But she was happy with you,” Pain said quietly, battling with her constricting throat.
“What’s four months against a lifetime?”
She shrugged, shaking off the weight of sorrow. “What’s a lifetime against four months? No one is ever ready to die. Who knows, maybe you’d given Elena the one thing that had been missing from her life.”
Dave’s head shook. “It could’ve been anyone, any other guy—”
“If you could have another four months with her in exchange for the rest of your life, would you give it up?” she interrupted him, earning the first genuine, focused look.
“Of course, I would.”
“Here, you have your answer,” she said with a wave of her hand.
He fell silent, his gaze growing distant. “I should’ve gotten her out of there, should’ve protected her.”
“Dave,” Pain said, making him look her in the eyes. “They’d done something to her. Imagine I was there with you two—would I have been able to undo what they’d done?”
He chewed on his lip for a moment before shaking his head.
“Stop blaming yourself then.”
With a sigh, he turned to the window again, his legs dangling off the bed. She left the chair to perch at his side, as if it could help her be more persuasive. But once more, she was out of ideas what to say.
They sat quietly for some time, until the small object in Dave’s hands caught her eye. “What’s that?” She picked it up without thinking.
“It was…” The words died on his lips as he watched her unwind the long silver chain and look at the small, elegant E on its end. “I found it on the desk. Doc must have taken it off her. She wore it wrapped twice around her neck.”
Pain looked up at him, the necklace resting on her palm. “Did you give it to her?”
A quick shake of his head. “No. It was her parents’ gift. They were killed in a train accident. Her grandma died a couple years later.”
“You should keep it.”
His face contorted in uncertainty. “I was thinking about it, but I’m not sure. It will remind me, and—”
“Only for a while,” she assured him, knowing what he meant. “Here.” She reached her hands around his neck, fastening the clasp. The chain fell down his chest, the pendant hiding in the folds of his shirt. He had rolled up the sleeves, probably to hide the dark-red smudges on the cuffs, but she could still glimpse Elena’s blood.
His troubled gaze fell down on the necklace.
“Why do you smell like whiskey?” she asked.
“I…” he fidgeted, as if unsure what to say. “I finished Doc’s bottle,” he confessed, gesturing at the trash bin. “Didn’t even feel it. Nothing.”
Pain turned to find a small empty bottle there. She frowned but then grabbed a few tissues from the nightstand, crumpled them and tossed them into the bin. “Well, now you can give it up.”
Dave’s pale lips twisted in a miserable smile. “He’ll probably notice it’s gone.”
“Then tell him I finished it,” she said with a wink but didn’t manage to draw any emotion from him.
He turned to look at her, his gaze sober, sharp. “They have to pay for this.”
“Of course, they will.” She clasped his shoulder, holding his gaze. “But you can’t rush this. We have to do it right, or you might fuck it up and they’ll escape. Promise you won’t take matters into your own hands. We got your back. Just focus on getting better now.”
He gave her a long, thoughtful look before nodding.
She patted his shoulder and got up, stretching the stiffness out of her body. The sky outside had begun to lighten. Well, this was easy, she thought, keeping suspicion out of her eyes as she studied Dave. His grave face didn’t betray anything.
“You want me to wake up Chad?” she asked.
“No. I’ll go get cleaned up.” He got up, looking as stiff as Pain felt.
“Okay, but come back here afterwards. They’ll need to confirm everything’s all right. Don’t pass out in the shower or anything, okay?”
“I’m fine, really.” He waved his hand, pushing her gently toward the exit. Any other day, he would’ve made fun of her worrying about him, but the fact that he didn’t bring it up showed just how numb he felt.
