CHAPTER 107: NOT EVERY SOULMATE WAITS

Soulmates, people say.

I’d never really believed in the idea. It always sounded like one of those things people said when they were drunk, or when a relationship was so new they still pretended to like each other’s playlists.

Is it someone you meet once in a lifetime and just... know?

Someone who, without asking, makes promises they actually intend to keep?

Someone who knows your favorite color? The way you take your coffee?

Or is it someone who catches you when your knees give out, sits on a cold hospital floor with you, and stays awake all night like Dominic did tonight?

Was he my soulmate? Or was it just the exhaustion talking?

I didn’t have an answer.

Maybe a soulmate wasn’t about fate or stars aligning.

Maybe it was just... someone who stayed. Someone who didn’t flinch when things got terrifying. Someone who didn’t look away when things got ugly. Someone who could hold your head in their hands and make the chaos shut up for a while. Someone you didn’t have to explain yourself to, because they already understood.

I slipped my hands into my pockets, to hide the shaking than anything, and pushed open the door to Mom’s room.

The sight stopped me in the doorway.

June and Marcus were asleep. Both slouched in those uncomfortable visitor’s chairs that left your back screaming after twenty minutes, but somehow they made it look... peaceful.

June’s head rested on the edge of Mom’s bed. Marcus’s head tilted toward hers. His hand was wrapped around hers, their fingers tangled like they’d fallen asleep mid-conversation and never let go.

Their breathing matched... the kind of peace that only comes after you’ve run yourself empty.

I leaned against the doorframe and just... watched.

It looked romantic. Not the loud, messy kind I’d seen at school where couples hung off each other in hallways, but the quiet kind. The kind where you didn’t need to say a word because your hand in theirs said everything.

I found myself thinking... maybe a soulmate could be that, too.

Not the movie kind with dramatic kisses in the rain. But the kind who stayed up through a night they didn’t have to, just to be there. The kind who could fall asleep in a crappy chair because being close to you mattered more than their own bed.

For a second, I wondered if they even knew they looked like this.

If they woke up and saw themselves, would they pull apart? Pretend it didn’t mean something?

Maybe this was it....the real thing.

Just choosing each other, again and again, even when the chair is hard, the air is stale, and the only soundtrack is the steady beep of a heart monitor.

I didn’t want to wake them, so I lowered myself into the last empty chair. My eyes kept flicking to their joined hands.

It was so beautiful, I had to take my phone out and quietly snap a picture. I didn’t know why....maybe to remind myself later that love didn’t have to be loud to be real.

It made me think about Dominic again. The way his eyes softened when he looked at me. How he somehow made breathing feel easier without saying anything at all.

And maybe that was it. Maybe soulmates were just the people who made the world feel less impossible.

I must have drifted off, because the next thing I knew, the pale light of morning was spilling through the window. My neck ached, my eyes burned.

When I blinked awake, June and Marcus were both sitting up now, looking straight at me.

"Wake up, Ash," June said softly.

Marcus leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "We need to know what’s happening. How was the surgery?"

I rubbed at my face, trying to force my brain to start working.

Marcus leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Is she okay?"

The weight in my chest returned instantly. "Dr. Sato said it went as well as it could’ve," I said. "She’s stable... but not out of danger yet. He said the next twenty-four hours are the most important. They’re monitoring her. It’s just... waiting now."

Marcus nodded slowly, like he understood too well what ’waiting’ meant.

I could feel Dominic’s hoodie still on my shoulders. It was warm, and I didn’t want to take it off.

June reached across the bed and touched my hand, her fingers kept squeezing mine. "Then we’ll be here the next twenty-four hours."

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. "You guys shouldn’t skip school because of me." I yawned.

June gave me this look like I’d just told her Ren was standing beside her.

"I don’t care," she shrugged. "I’m staying. You’re stuck with me for the next twenty-four hours whether you like it or not."

Marcus didn’t say anything, but the look he gave me was enough to know he agreed with her.

I exhaled, sinking back into the chair. "You’re both stubborn."

June smirked. "You say that like it’s a bad thing."

My body ached like I’d been hit by a moving truck, but at least the chairs didn’t feel as bad as the one in front of the operating room did last night. I was just too tired to notice.

From then on, the hours blurred together.

I kept going up to the nurses’ station, trying not to sound desperate when I asked, Any update? Is she stable? Did the doctor come by yet?

Each time, they’d give me that polite, professional smile...the kind that’s supposed to calm you down but really just makes you more anxious, and say, " She’s resting. No complications so far."

They were polite at first, but after the fourth or fifth time, I could tell they were trying not to sigh before answering. Still, I couldn’t stop myself. Sitting still felt impossible.

Every beep of her monitor made my chest feel tighter. Every time a nurse came in, I was convinced they were about to tell me something bad.

Dominic came back around mid-noon, but he didn’t take too long. He just handed me lunch

and said he’d be back tonight. He had to run errands for Diane.

June was curled up in the chair beside me, scrolling through her phone, while Marcus sat by the window..

I leaned back against the pillows. "You know... I don’t think I ever thanked you properly," I said, looking at June and Marcus. "For yesterday. I didn’t think people would actually show up for me like that. I already called to thank everyone from Mr Sun’s diner, but still... you two..." I stopped, because my throat tightened again. "It means a lot."

June’s lips curved into a small smile, as she waved it off. "You don’t need to thank me. You don’t even have to thank us, Ash. That’s what friends do."

Marcus nodded. "Yeah. Don’t be weird about it."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Dominic kept texting to check up on me.

"Oh, speaking of yesterday..." I pulled my phone out. "I took this picture of you two when you were sleeping. You..." I turned the screen to show them, "you two actually look like a cute couple." I chuckled.

June’s head shot up, and she laughed so loud a nurse passing by peeked into the room. "Marcus and me? A couple? That’s hilarious. Don’t jinx us." She give me the ’i’m watching you’ fingers.

Marcus didn’t laugh. He gave one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes, the kind of smile that twitches. Then, glanced at the photo, then at me. "Yeah... funny."

I caught Marcus watching her for a second, his lips kept parting like he was about to say something....but he only cleared his throat and looked away, pretending to scroll through his own screen.

June didn’t seem to notice. "Anyway, guess what? Ren invited me to be his duet partner for the talent show." Her eyes lit up as she started blushing. "He said I should come over to his house tomorrow after school so we can start practice. Just me and him. Me and Ren in a room." She covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Oh, wow." I laughed. "That’s surprising, I don’t even know what to say."

I didn’t miss the way Marcus’s smile faltered for a second. His fingers started tapping against his thigh.

June kept talking, completely oblivious to the situation. "I mean, we have good chemistry, right? It’s gonna be fun. Besides, we both like music. I guess we’re soulmates afterall"

"Ha! I don’t think that’s how soulmates work."I chucked.

She squinted and me. "Stop jinxing it, Ash!"

A second later, Marcus looked back at me, like he’d just noticed something. "Wait... Ash. You got a new phone?"

"Ugh, where?" I said, caught off guard. I literally forget I was holding a new phone.

Before I could even answer, he leaned over and dragged it right out of my hands.

June’s eyes went wide. "Is that? Jesus, Ash, is that an iPhone 14? You didn’t tell me you were rich!"

I shook my head quickly. "No, no....it’s not like that. Someone gifted it to me the day my old phone got ruined in the rain."

June’s mouth curved into a knowing smirk, like she’d already solved the mystery. "Ohhh, I see."

"So," Marcus said slowly, "who gave you that phone?"

I hesitated, my thumb kept brushing over the case. "It’s... uhmmmm."

His brow furrowed, but before I could explain, there was a sharp knock at the door.

Thank God for the interruption.... I had no idea what I would’ve said anyway.

A nurse poked her head in. "Ash Rivera?"

I stood up immediately. "Yeah?"

She gave me a polite smile. "The doctor’s ready to give you an update. You can come with me."