The silence in my apartment had grown unbearable.
Lila had left hours ago, her stubborn fire pushing her into action. I'd told her not to bother, that I'd already accepted the truth — but she went anyway. That was who Lila was. She never accepted anything without tearing it apart first.
I sat on the floor by the window, knees drawn to my chest, watching the rain streak down the glass. Each drop echoed the thoughts I tried to drown:
What if I'm dying?
What if I've been dying this whole time and didn't know it?
What if this is how my story ends — quietly, slowly, alone?
The door creaked open.
I didn't turn. I knew it was Lila. Her footsteps were different from anyone else's — quick, purposeful, never hesitant. But tonight, they were slow. Heavy.
She stopped a few steps behind me.
> "I double-checked at two hospitals," she said softly. "I even called in a favor at Eastview… and the results match. It's real."
I closed my eyes.
So that was that.
> "I'm sorry, Luna."
I stood up, turning to face her. Her expression was a mix of frustration and helpless sorrow — the kind that made me feel worse for making her feel it.
> "Don't be. At least now I know."
> "But it doesn't make sense. You're not showing symptoms. You're strong, active—"
> "Maybe it hasn't gotten that far yet," I cut her off. "Or maybe that's what's cruel about it — it hides until it's too late."
Lila exhaled and threw her hands up. "There's only one donor match in the system, and they still won't release his information. That's insane!"
> "They said he refused?" I asked.
> "Yeah. Point-blank. Said he wasn't interested."
> "Maybe he has his reasons."
> "No, Luna. No one 'has reasons' to let someone die when they could help. This isn't normal."
Her eyes locked with mine. There was something sharp behind her anger — a suspicion forming in the edges of her mind. But she didn't say it. Not yet.
> "So, what now?" she asked.
I swallowed.
> "I go back. I beg. I show them I'm not just a file on paper. Maybe I can convince someone."
> "And if that doesn't work?"
> "Then I find another way."
I didn't say it aloud, but something inside me had shifted. There was a steel in my chest where the fear had been. I wasn't ready to die — not quietly, not passively. Not while someone out there could save me and simply… wouldn't.
> "Let me come with you," Lila said.
> "No. I need to do this alone."
She looked like she wanted to protest, but nodded. "Fine. But call me the moment you're done."
> "I will."
She reached out and squeezed my hand. "You're not alone in this, Luna. Even if the world turns its back, I won't."
I smiled. A small, tired smile.
> "I know."
But deep in my gut, something twisted.
Because I didn't know that the world hadn't just turned its back.
It had turned me into a pawn in someone else's game.
And tomorrow, I was walking right into the center of it.
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