“Callie, I’ve got something urgent to deal with,” he stammered, attempting to mask his unease. “Let me send you home first. Once I’m done, I’ll—”
“It’s fine. Go,” Callie interrupted him coldly, unwilling to drag the charade any further.
Her tone sent a wave of panic surging through Reid. He hesitated, his feet rooted to the ground as though the mere act of leaving her would sever something irreparable. For a brief moment, he considered staying, putting off the pressing matter until after her birthday.
But his phone buzzed again and when he glanced at the caller ID, his resolve cracked. Without a word, he turned and dashed out of the office.
Moments later, Callie saw his car speed away like a shot arrow, vanishing into the distance. She sighed, the faint hope she had harbored dissipating entirely.
Her phone chimed, pulling her attention. It was a message from Geneva—a photo of a prenatal check-up report. Geneva was pregnant. Eight weeks. Reid was going to be a father, but not to her child.
Callie stared at the screen, her lips curling into a bitter smile. Unknowingly, tears streamed down her cheeks, but a hollow laugh escaped her lips instead. The people around her exchanged confused glances and one of them cautiously asked, “Callie, are you okay?”
Before she could answer, a strange tightness gripped her throat. She gasped for air, clawing at her neck as the world spun around her. She collapsed to the ground, her coworkers rushing to her side. In her blurred vision, she noticed the smashed remains of her birthday cake—speckled with peanut crumbs.
Reid had actually forgotten that she was allergic to peanuts.
Geneva had once posted that she loved peanuts. Since then, Reid spent hours peeling peanuts for her, ignoring the blisters forming on his hands to make her favorite peanut cake. Geneva had even posted about it online, calling him ‘the sweetest man in the world.’
Callie felt the cruel irony settle in her chest. This love had died long ago—she had just been too blind to see it.
When Callie regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. Her body felt weak and her head throbbed. As her eyes adjusted to the harsh light, she saw Reid sitting by her side. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands trembled as they clutched hers tightly.
“Callie,” he rasped, his voice breaking. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I forgot about your allergy. It’s my fault…”
Callie moved her finger, trying pulled her hands out of him
Reid noticed the motion and immediately leaned forward, pulling her into an embrace. His whole body trembling. “Thank God you’re okay. I was so scared. Please don’t be mad at me. I’ll make it right, I swear,” he whispered in her ears.
With the last ounce of strength she could muster, Callie pushed him away, tears slipping down her face. She turned her head, refusing to look at him. Her grief wasn’t because he forgot about her allergy, that he had stopped caring, but it was because she finally understood that the eight years she had poured her heart into were wasted.
Reid adjusted her blanket and busied himself slicing an apple, trying to salvage the moment. “You haven’t eaten anything since last night, because you’re unconscious. Your body need food. Here, have a piece,” he said, holding it to her lips. “I’ll cook something better when we get home, okay?”
Callie said nothing, her eyes closing as though to block him out. She wasn’t sure when, but eventually, she drifted off into a fitful sleep.
When she woke up again, there was a thermos on the bedside table, with a sticky note stuck to it.
The nurse entered to check her IV and started chatting cheerfully. “You have a very thoughtful boyfriend, Miss Dodson. He stayed all night long taking care of you. He made you soup over and over so that you would have fresh ones waiting when you woke up.”
Callie forced a smile but couldn’t bring herself to respond.
The nurse continued, her tone shifting to excitement. “Oh and I heard there’s one too in the maternity ward upstairs. He cooked noodles for his pregnant wife, bathed her, helped her change and even washed her undergarments. I mean, that level of attentiveness is almost too much!”
