The Scandal Before the Vows novel · Chapter 19 of 24
Chapter 19: The Question
Elliot's POV
I woke at five, and the bed was empty.
She was sitting on the floor against the wall in my shirt, with the notebook open on her knees.
The lamp was still on.
I did not say anything, because I had known for eleven days that this moment was coming.
"What is this?" Corina said.
"A tally."
"Of what?"
"Days since the hydrangeas."
She turned a page, then another.
"It's in groups of five, with the dates. You didn't miss one."
"I worked nights for most of them. I did it when I got home."
"Why?"
I sat up and put my feet on the floor.
"Because you were a patient for exactly one night," I said, "and the rule was supposed to cover that. It didn't cover what came after."
"What came after?"
"I got home every morning at seven. I stood in the kitchen with my coffee and looked at the window of my mother's spare room, and if your light was on, I made a mark."
She said nothing.
"The day it wasn't on, I made one anyway. I went and knocked on your door like a lunatic, and you told me through the wood that you were fine. I made the mark after that."
"Elliot."
"Let me finish." My voice was not steady. "You told me on the lawn that your name was Corina and then you said, don't tell him I'm cold. I've had that in my head for eleven days. You were bleeding into the flowers next door, and your biggest worry was that he'd know you were cold."
She put her hand over her mouth.
"I have handled a lot of calls," I said. "I don't count days for patients. I didn't start this because you were hurt."
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