The Girl I Never Got Over

CHAPTER 21

I was not dreaming.

I knew because dreams never made your heart thud this hard. They didn’t make your stitches ache or your ribs tighten like they’d forgotten how to expand.

She was standing in the doorway.

Riley.

Hair a little frizzy from travel. Hoodie too big. Lips parted like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to speak or run. But those eyes—God, those eyes—looked right at me like I was something breakable and beloved all at once.

The nurse smiled and said it casually, like she hadn’t just drop-kicked my soul back into my chest. “Your girlfriend, Mr. Rivera.”

My brain stopped working. “My what?!”

The nurse chuckled and closed the door behind her.

I stared at Riley. Still staring. Probably looked insane. Didn’t care.

“You came,” I said, voice hoarse.

She nodded, swallowing hard. “Of course I did.”

And that—just that—nearly undid me.

I pushed myself up straighter, wincing. “Did… did Zara call you?”

“No,” she said. “I called her. After you went down, I—” She stopped. Her voice cracked. “I couldn’t stay in London.”

I let the silence settle, thick with everything we hadn’t said.

“Riles,” I breathed. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

She crossed the room and sat on the edge of the chair beside my bed, slowly, like she was afraid I’d vanish. “I told them you weren’t ready. I told the board. I emailed the PT. I begged them not to let you play yet.”

“I know,” I said. “I saw the email thread.”

“You what?”

“I broke into my own damn file,” I muttered. “Had the nurse pull my inbox. I was hoping… I don’t know. Hoping you still cared enough to be mad.”

She blinked fast. “Of course I care. I’ve always cared. That’s the problem.”

I reached for her hand—hesitated—and stopped just short. “I don’t expect anything. I just wanted you to know… I wasn’t trying to prove anything anymore. Not to the world. Not to the scouts. Not even to myself.”

“Then what the hell were you doing, Lucas?” she whispered.

My voice cracked open. “Trying to be someone you didn’t have to worry about.”

That broke her.

She looked away, then back, tears skating the edge of her lashes. “I never wanted you to be perfect. I just wanted you to be okay.”

I exhaled shakily. “I’m not. Not really. But when you’re in the room, I remember how to try.”

She reached for my hand first this time.

Fingers trembling.

I laced mine through hers slowly.

We sat there for a moment. No monitors. No voices. Just the hum of something between us that never really left.

I gave her the smallest smile. “So… girlfriend?”

She rolled her eyes, cheeks pink. “It got me through the door, didn’t it?”

“Mm.” I squeezed her fingers. “Don’t think you’re getting out of it now.”