In Case of Heartbreak

09 | disclose

C H A P T E R 9 | K A T I E

The sound of Dean's voice had succeeded in stunning me into silence. Disbelief and shock rained over me, suffocating the room with a thick tension that he had yet to sense.

"Dean?" I asked breathlessly, my voice strangled, "What are you doing here?"

He wasn't supposed to be here. He didn't need to see this.

I'd taken the early shift this morning after Claudia had switched hours for the weekend, which meant that I'd been awake and on my way into work just as the sun was beginning to peek out from behind the clouds. It hadn't been an overly stressful shift, but with my exhaustion growing heavier as the day drew on, all I had wanted to do was to come up and visit my mom. For it to just be the two of us. Alone.

I certainly hadn't expected Dean to appear, and though I'd known he had his appointment downstairs in the physiotherapy wing, it hadn't crossed my mind that he could possibly follow me up here.

My heart had sped up in worry and I didn't know what to do.

"I'm not sure, if I'm being honest." His voice seemed normal and an element of surprise was missing from his face, which meant that he had yet to realize that the two of us were not alone. "My appointment finished early so I thought I'd explore a bit, but I got on the wrong elevator. I was heading down to the cafeteria actually, but when I spotted you I thought I'd take a look around."

I barely heard a word of his explanation as I sat frozen, letting the uneasiness of the situation consume me. It was when I saw his eyebrows draw close in confusion that I realized he had figured something was off.

There was no stopping this – he was going to find out.

"If you want me to leave," he started again, this time slow and unsure of himself, "I'll just – "

"No," I protested all too quickly, causing him to flinch back in surprise. I was positive I looked a state, my emotions flustered as I tried again. "I mean, it's fine. I just, I don't..."

I'd been caught speechless, not knowing what to say, but as my eyes flicked to the bed where my mom laid asleep, I noticed Dean's gaze follow mine. It was the first time he'd looked around the room since he'd entered, and I ducked my head as I heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Katie..." he trailed softly, his tone warm and sympathetic.

Clenching my eyes shut for a moment, I rang my hands together tightly in my lap before lifting my gaze to meet his. "Dean – " I spoke quietly, a definite strain to my voice as I forced out my next words, " – meet my mom."

I had only ever told one person about my mom, and that had been Stella. My brother, Theo, had been there the day my mom broke the news to us, and my mom had taken care of telling our relatives, one by one, as her condition worsened. I hadn't been nervous about Stella's reaction when I'd told her, as I knew she'd be around as a shoulder to lean on, but Dean was another story. I hadn't known him all that long, and honestly, I didn't know how he'd react.

When it seemed as though my words had sunk in, Dean's face paled. He looked as though he'd had the air taken straight from his lungs and was trying to regain stabilization. He didn't know what to do or what to think, but amongst the tense lull, I kept my focus on him, too scared to look away.

It was because of this that I didn't hear the stirring. The rustling of sheets was lost on me, and when the silence was broken, it was neither Dean nor I who broke it.

"Katie."

My breath caught in my throat and my heart leapt. I turned my head just in time to see my mom's eyes blink open hazily before they landed on me. I sat frozen for a moment, gripping the arm of the chair to brace myself, not believing that this was happening.