Calleigh was scared. It wasn't the abject terror she'd felt when Eric was missing and she didn't know if he was dead or alive, but she was so afraid that he wouldn't want to see her. She stepped into his room slowly, closed the door slowly, took one slow step toward his bed.
Eric's eyes opened when he heard someone else enter, and happiness flooded through him when he saw it was Calleigh.
"Hi," she said, smiling nervously.
"Calleigh."
Hearing how weak his voice was, she was angry at Stetler for talking to him in this condition. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Eric's eyes closed for a moment. He wondered why she was keeping her distance. And had that been a flicker of anger in her face a moment ago? Of course she must be angry after what he'd put her through. I'll be fine if you still love me, he wanted to say, but of course that wasn't something he could ask. He wished she would come closer. "Yeah," he finally said.
It was obviously a lie, and the only reason Calleigh could think of for him to say that was if he didn't want her to be concerned for him, didn't want her to stay. It didn't occur to her that he was trying not to make her feel worse. "I'm sorry," she said. "Eric, I'm sorry for everything."
He misconstrued her tone of restrained despair as coldness. Everything...she wasn't just sorry about shooting him, but about everything? What did she mean? Was she sorry about getting involved with him in the first place? It seemed to be a confirmation of his worst fear; she didn't want to be with him after this.
She was hoping for some kind of forgiveness, some assurance that he didn't despise her now. She didn't get it.
"You don't mean that," he said in a tone that to her sounded accusatory.
He thought she wasn't sorry about shooting him? "Yes I do. It was a mistake, Eric."
Was she now saying that their relationship, the best thing that had ever happened to him, had been a mistake? "No it wasn't," he said as forcefully as he could.
She misinterpreted the hurt in his voice as reproach. Did he honestly believe she'd shot him on purpose? "I should go," she said, turning quickly so he wouldn't see the tears as they began dripping down her cheeks.
"Wait...Calleigh..." He wanted to beg her to stay, get her to change her mind, but he didn't know what he could say to do that.
The door closed, separating them. Both of their hearts were breaking.