Paul's POV
For what seemed like ages, I fixed my gaze on the message on my phone. The words blurring in front of my eyes: "I need to do this alone." The meaning behind the book wound more than simply its words. Becky was drawing away once more. My heart dropped when I understood she still felt she had to confront her demons alone, despite all we had gone through and all the progress she had made.
As I turned the phone over on the bedside table, frustration swirled in my belly. Every second made the hospital room seem smaller, as though the walls were closing in on me. The aching in my chest was far more weight than the cut in my side.
How on earth could she not notice it? How could she not realize I would happily fight next to her? That I would meet Lydia, Samantha, or someone else att
