A SECOND CHANCE AT FOREVER Chapter 15: CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ASHLEY

The feeling hit me like a punch to the gut. It was as if the world had shifted beneath my feet, throwing me off balance. 

Should I go to him? Maybe thank him for last night? For the way he’d shown up when I needed him, even though everything between us had fallen apart? That might have been the right thing to do. 

But then, I paused

No. That would be too much. It would feel forced, like trying to rekindle something that had long since burned out. 

Or 

I could just go back to the waiting room, pretend like I didn’t even see him  just like I’d been ignoring the ache in my chest for months now.

That was the rational choice and the safest

But...

A thought gnawed at me, relentless and insistent.

What was he doing here?

His presence at the hospital isn't normal. At first, I’d brushed it off, convinced it was just a coincidence. Maybe he had a check-up or something. But I've caught a glimpse of him multiple times now– in passing, in the lobby, by the elevators, walking through the halls. 

It wasn’t like him to be here so often, and the last time I checked, he didn’t work at the hospital. 

I couldn’t just turn around and ignore him. That was easier said than done.

I peered cautiously through the glass doors, half-hidden behind a column, trying to catch a glimpse of him without drawing attention to myself. My breath hitched as I saw him making his way toward the hospital’s side entrance, his gait purposeful as if he was heading somewhere specific. 

My curiosity sharpened. There was something strange about it, something that tugged at me with increasing urgency. 

Taking a deep breath, I knew what I was about to do was dumb. I knew I was crossing a line, letting my curiosity get the better of me. But I couldn’t help it. 

This wasn’t right. It wasn’t my business. But the more I thought about it, the more the need to understand why he was here overwhelmed my better judgment.

I had no idea what I was hoping to find. No clue what the hell I was even doing. But before I could second-guess myself, my feet were already in motion, following him at a distance.

I would keep my distance, stay far enough behind him that he wouldn’t notice. I wouldn’t draw attention to myself. I wouldn’t make a scene. I just needed to know what he was doing here. After all, curiosity couldn’t be helped, could it? 

Just a quick look. Just enough to understand why he was here. That was it.

And then I would leave. I would walk away, no harm done.

I kept a steady pace, making sure I stayed hidden in the shadows, well behind him, careful not to let him catch a glimpse of me. My heart was pounding in my chest, every step feeling heavier as I tried to keep my presence as discreet as possible. He wasn’t too far ahead, but he was moving with purpose, turning corners and heading deeper into the hospital.

I felt like an intruder, like I was doing something wrong. Every instinct screamed at me to turn around, to stop this before it got out of hand. But I couldn’t. My feet kept moving, and my mind was too occupied with the question that refused to leave.

Why was he here? What was he doing?

My mind raced as I followed him through the hospital corridors. We passed nurses and patients, people moving in and out of rooms. I kept my distance, careful to stay out of his line of sight. My body felt like it was on high alert, tense with the need to stay unseen, to gather whatever information I could before making a quick getaway.

We reached another hallway, and he turned sharply, entering a section of the hospital I didn’t recognize. It was quieter here, a bit more private. I had no idea where he was headed, but it didn’t feel like the main part of the hospital anymore.

I had no business following him. I knew that.

Then, without warning, he stopped.

My heart skipped a beat. I froze in place, my breath caught in my throat. He didn’t turn around immediately, but I could feel the tension in the air, like he knew someone was there. My pulse raced as I tried to make myself as small as possible, pressing my back against the wall, my breath shallow. 

I cursed under my breath, panic flooding my chest. 

Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.

I couldn’t afford to get caught. If he saw me, it would be over. I’d have to explain myself, and I wasn’t sure I could come up with a good excuse.

Then, just as I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I saw him move. He glanced around, his eyes scanning the hallway. I held my breath, praying he wouldn’t look in my direction. He didn’t. He didn’t see me. After a long, agonizing moment, he turned back around and continued walking down the hallway.

I exhaled in relief, my heart still racing in my chest. I waited for what felt like an eternity, watching the space where he had been, making sure he wasn’t coming back. When I was certain it was safe, I pushed myself off the wall and began moving again, this time even more discreetly. I kept my steps light, my eyes locked on the back of his figure as he moved ahead.

But then, as I rounded the next corner, everything came crashing down.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

There, standing at the corner, staring directly at me, was Kyle.

I froze. Literally froze. It was like time stopped, and I was caught in the headlights of  Kyle.

For a moment, I was just standing there, staring at him, probably looking like a deer who’d accidentally wandered into a lion’s den. I had no plan. No clever excuse. Nothing.

Finally, my brain kicked into gear—barely.

“Hi, Kyle…” I said, wincing at how awkward it sounded, but I wasn’t about to turn and sprint down the hallway like a complete lunatic. Well, I was already a lunatic for following him this far, so what’s one more awkward moment?

“I was just… uh…” I fumbled, my mind racing. What the hell am I even saying?

“I wanted to thank you for last night,” I blurted, 

Wow, that was smooth. Good job, Ashley.

Kyle’s gaze remained steady.

“Uh,” I continued, trying to recover, “you know, for driving me home, and for the, uh, tea.” Yeah, that sounded better, right? Totally. "The herbal... hangover... tea...?"

I cleared my throat, mentally kicking myself. This was why I shouldn’t be here. Why I shouldn’t have followed him. Why I should’ve stayed in the waiting room with Violet and pretending nothing was going on.

But here I was. Trying to cover up a ridiculous situation with more ridiculous words.

He finally spoke, his voice low.

“Are you following me?”

Shit.

“Not following!” I said a little too quickly. “I just... wanted to thank you. I saw you come out of the car and figured this was the right moment to say thank you, and yeah...”

God, I was rambling. 

Kyle’s gaze stayed on me and I felt the weight of it in my chest. Then, he asked, his tone slightly more pointed:

“So, you’ve been following him from the park?”

I blinked, thrown off by the question, and nodded,“Yeah, I guess so.”

There was a brief pause before he asked, “Oh. So, how are you feeling now?”

I exhaled sharply, the tension in my chest easing just a little. “Better now,” I replied.

The silence between us stretched, thick and awkward. 

Then, without thinking, I blurted out, “What are you doing here?”

The question slipped from my mouth before I could stop it, and I immediately regretted it. What business is it of mine? But at that point, I had already followed him this far, so I figured I might as well know why I was trailing him like a creep.

Kyle’s jaw tightened as if he was debating whether or not to answer. For a moment, I thought he might just walk away without saying another word. But then he did speak, his voice guarded.

“Therapy,” he said simply.

Therapy?

The word hit me harder than I expected, like a punch to the gut. Kyle? Therapy? What could be wrong? What had happened to him

As much as I hated him—everything he’d done, everything he’d put me through—there was a small, unexpected wave of pity that washed over me. But I quickly shut that down. There was no connection between us anymore. No reason for me to care and I wasn't about to ask him what kind of therapy, or why, or what had led him here.

“Oh, I see,” I murmured, nodding even though I wasn’t entirely sure I did. “I should probably leave now.”

I turned away before he could say anything else, before he could look at me with that infuriatingly calm expression that made me question everything I thought I knew about him. 

So I walked away, each step feeling heavier than the last, the awkwardness of the moment following me like a shadow. 

What the hell was I even doing?