Ch. 14 | Hope

Leo

"Sir, You need a visitors pass to go back there." A nurse stopped me from going towards the patient area.

"So get me a fucking visitor pass." I ordered, forgetting I was no longer on base.

"Please," I added with a sweet smile. Her face turned red and she nodded.

"Name please." The nurse asked as she typed rapidly on a keyboard.

"Leo Perish. Im here to see Riley Earningst." I gripped onto the edge of the counter.

"Oh. Thank you for your service, Sir. Miss Earningst is in room 205, make sure to grab a mask on the way in." She smiled.

"A mask?" I questioned and looked at the box of blue surgical masks.

"Yes. Its just a precaution for our sicker patients. They're very vulnerable." I nodded and thanked her.

The mask was the biggest pain in my ass. The straps kept falling off of my ears and breathing in it felt like I was breathing into a paper bag. But it was worth it if it meant keeping her safe.

I walked down the hall, reading off numbers and seeing sick patients.

"201."

"202."

"203."

"204."

"Riley," I sighed in relief when I saw her sitting in a chair through the door pane.

She looked so tired. Bags surrounded her beautiful brown eyes, and her once tan skin looked incredibly pale.

I stepped back, out of the view of the door, and took a deep breath. I didn't expect her to be this bad. She seemed to well in the letters she had managed to write. I peaked back into see her bent forward, her face in a bucket.

Without hesitation I opened the door and rushed in.

"Riley?" I asked and crouched next to her chair.

"Im fine Amanda. Usual side effects." She groaned and sat back in her chair, moving the hair out of her face.

Her eyes widened at the sight of mine.

"Well, you're not Amanda." She smiled.

"Sorry to disappoint?" I chuckled and put my hand on her cheek. She was still beautiful, sick or not.

"Disappoint? Never." She put her hand on mine and leaned into it. We had never shared this form of affection before.

I hadn't realized how I felt about her until She left for treatment. It was like a hole in my everyday life.

"What're you doing here?" Riley asked pulling a blanket around her. She must've been freezing. Hardly any meat on those bones.

"Got tired of asking to borrow a pen from the boys." I winked and she laughed. It was such a beautiful sound I had missed.

"Well Amanda isn't gonna be too happy about that. Your letters have become her source of entertainment. And has given her some hope." Riley smiled moved to the side of the chair, motioning for me to sit next to her.

I nodded and sat next to her, pulling her into my side. She was too skinny.

"Ah, I see. Well, She can read the next one." Riley stiffened at my words.

"Leo?" She said tiredly.

"Yes, beautiful?" I waited for her to tell me what she should've in the letters.

"Im really tired. Is it okay if you come back in a little bit?" She peered up at me with her big brown eyes and I nodded, standing from the chair.

"Riley, Why didn't you tell me it got this bad?" I asked, anger bubbling inside of me.

"I didn't want you to worry." She smiled at me before coughing a few times.

"I could've been here with you. We could've done this together." My voice cracked at the end.

"Its not your job to be here." Riley closed her eyes and gripped onto the blanket.

"But I could've been. You wouldn't have had to do this alone, Ry." I closed the distance again, and took her hand in mine. She pulled it away though.

"You're my boss, It'd be weird to have you here." Riley scooted away.

"Is that all I am to you?" I asked in disbelief.

We werent just co workers anymore. She wasn't my private.

She hesitated before nodding and I scoffed.

"Okay." I shook my head and stormed out of the room.