The Space Between Heartbeats

Cracks and Mends

Chapter Twenty-One

Cracks and Mends

DANNI’S POV

The room was still, lit only by the soft glow of afternoon sunlight bleeding through the blinds. The hum of machines faded into the background — a lullaby of beeps and quiet breath.

I shifted on the hospital bed, wincing at the pull in my ribs, and glanced toward the corner.

Em sat there, knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them. Her hoodie swallowed her small frame. Her head was down, but I could see her eyes — wide open, staring at nothing.

“Hey,” I whispered.

She flinched, like I’d startled her. Then looked up slowly. “Hey.”

The silence that settled between us wasn’t awkward. It was heavier than that. Worn. Honest.

I studied her — the smudges under her eyes, the way her sleeves were pulled down past her fingers like armor. She looked… tired. And maybe a little broken.

“Thanks for staying,” I said softly.

Her lips twitched. “Didn’t have anywhere better to be.”

We both knew that wasn’t true.

I hesitated. Then added, “I’m sorry. For how I left things. For not listening. For... making it harder.”

Em looked at me then — really looked — like she was deciding whether to stay angry or just let go.

“You scared the hell out of me,” she said. Her voice cracked halfway through. “I thought you were gone. And I hadn’t even said— I was just so mad, Danni.”

I swallowed hard. “I know.”

“And then you woke up, and you chose you, and I wanted to be proud — I was proud — but…” She shook her head, voice trembling now. “I was also mad at myself. Because I kept thinking, what if I was stopping you from being happy with one of them? What if all I left you with was anger?”

“You didn’t,” I whispered. “You left me with love.”

Her eyes welled, but she blinked fast. “You’re such a damn sap.”

“Says the girl who hasn’t left my side in three days.”

She huffed a laugh. “Shut up.”

I reached out, fingers brushing the edge of her sleeve. “You were right, Em. About everything. I kept running back to the past like it owed me something. Like I could rewrite the ending if I just kept rereading the beginning.”

Em’s jaw tensed. “You don’t have to explain. Not to me.”

“But I want to,” I said. “Because you’re my person. And I want you to know I didn’t choose myself to shut anyone out. I chose myself because, for once, I wanted to start with me. Not to end there.”

A tear slid down her cheek before she could swipe it away. She cursed under her breath, then stood up and climbed into the bed next to me like we were sixteen again, hiding from the world.

“I missed you,” she murmured against my shoulder.

“I never stopped needing you,” I said.

She didn’t say anything after that. Just stayed there, quiet and warm beside me.

And in that silence, something stitched itself back together.

Not perfectly.

But enough.