JENNIE

I hadn't left the hospital since I'd learned Lisa's father had been admitted. I wandered off to go find food and coffee for Lisa because I knew she wasn't going to leave that spot, and as I was heading back to the room, I felt chills race up my back.

"Jen, what are you doing here?"

I turned around to see Taehyung staring my way. "What do you mean what am I doing here? Lisa's father is here, and I'm staying by Lisa's side."

"She called you?" he said, sounding somewhat surprised.

"No, but I'm surprised you didn't. I know we are going through things, Taehyung, but for you not to let me know Lisa's father was here… You should've told me."

"I couldn't. Patient-doctor confidentiality."

"Oh, screw your confidentiality, Taehyung. You could've told me!"

"No, I couldn't have, and frankly, I don't know how it got back to you," he said.

"I told her," Rosé replied, walking up behind the two of us.

"You what?!" he barked at her. "Why would you do that?"

"I just figured…" She sighed. "I walked past Lisa's room and saw her sitting there alone. Her uncle went to work, and Lisa had been alone all day. I just thought she could use someone."

"That wasn't your place," Taehyung growled, growing red in the face. "You crossed a line."

"I'm happy she crossed it," I told him. I couldn't look at Rosé because seeing her still seared the broken pieces of my heart.

"It wasn't her place, and Jennie…Lisa Manoban isn't the type of person you need to be around."

"You don't get to decide that for me."

"She's dangerous—violent."

"We aren't doing this again, Taehyung." It felt like we were running on the same hamster wheel getting nowhere every time we crossed paths. "You started that fight."

"She's the one who swung!"

"You gave her a black eye!"

"She deserved it!"

"You don't get to decide that. You went to her and started a fight! She did nothing wrong," I snapped back at him.

"She's a burden in your life. You shouldn't even be friends with her."

"You don't get to make those decisions for me."

"She's right, Taehyung," Rosé said, stepping into the conversation.

"Rosé, will you mind your own fucking business for a second?! I'm trying to have a conversation with my wife here!" he barked, and as the words rolled off his tongue, I felt how they must've stung Rosé.

His wife.

I finally looked her way and saw the heaviness in her stare.

Then came the embarrassment, the guilt, the shame.

"Sorry. By all means, have your talk with your wife," she said, before turning to walk away.

Taehyung sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jesus, that's not what I meant. I just…" His voice faded off, and Rosé kept walking. "Shit!" He stood there for a moment, staring at me, unsure what to say. "I'm not sure what to do," he confessed.

I inhaled deeply and shook my head once. "You have two choices: you can stay here with me, or you can go after her," I told him straightforwardly. "But trust me, staying here with me isn't going to get you anywhere whatsoever."

He sighed and nodded. Then he turned and walked in Rosé's direction.

"And Taehyung?"

He looked back toward me with those blue eyes I used to love so much. "Yes?"

"You don't have a wife anymore. It's time to let me go."

Not another word was spoken because he knew. He already knew we were over and done.

It was no secret that our story had reached its final chapter, and some stories didn't get the happily ever after.

Some stories simply ended.

Marco hadn't awoken for two days, and the worry that filled me was sickening. Lisa was falling apart, and I wasn't certain how to keep her together. We sat on the couch in the hospital room, and I lay against her as she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. Sometimes I'd bring a novel with me and read out loud to her to try to keep her mind from spiraling.

"We should go to your place so you can shower," I told her, and she shook her head.

"I don't want to leave."

"It's been days, Lisa. The moment anything changes, they will let you know. We should just get you home for some rest, just for a few hours."

She nodded slowly and finally agreed.

We walked back in complete silence, and when I saw her body began to fold, I placed my hand in her and gave it a light squeeze so she knew she wasn't walking the path alone.

Once we got to her place, I turned on her shower and grabbed her a change of clothes. I set the clothes on the bathroom counter then went to grab her from the living room.

She was standing in front of her mother's paintings, staring at them with such sadness in her eyes.

"Your shower's ready," I told her.

"Thank you."

She cleared her throat and walked into the bathroom. Then she peeked her head out. "Jennie?"

"Yes?"

"Come in with me?"

Yes.

I went into the bathroom with her, and we took off one another's clothing so slowly. The only sound was from the water streaming from the showerhead. I climbed into the tub first, and she followed me. We stayed quiet, her rubbing soap against my back, and me lathering her hair with shampoo. We cleansed our skin, our hurts, our fears, and when the soap washed away from our bodies, we remained standing under the hot water.

Lisa pressed her forehead to mine and closed her eyes. I felt her breaths coating my skin as she inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "I can't lose him, Jennie," she said softly, and I watched as her tears intermixed with the water falling against her skin. "I can't lose him."

I felt the heaviness of her words, and I wasn't certain how to fix this, how to fix her heartbreak, or how to heal her father, so for the first time in a while, I did the only thing I could think to do when life felt out of control.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and began to pray.

Dear God, it's me, Jennie Ruby Jane….