I No Longer Want The Blessing You Brought From Snowy Mountain Chapter 09

I No Longer Want The Blessing You Brought From Snowy Mountain Chapter 09

The ambulance came fast.

Luke was wheeled into emergency.

Elena was arrested on the spot.

I sat outside the ER, shaking.

Ethan showed up too. He ran to me, grabbed my shoulders.

“Dawn! Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

I shoved him off. “You show up now?”

He froze. “I—I was outside—I didn’t know—”

“You saw her, didn’t you?”

I held his stare. “You saw her run in with that bottle. And you didn’t stop her.”

He looked away, mouth twitching.

“I thought—I thought she was just trying to scare you—”

“Scare me?”

I laughed, but tears came too. “With acid?”

“I didn’t think she’d actually—”

He was flailing. “Dawn, you have to believe me—”

“Believe you?”

I pointed at the ER doors. “The person in there—that was supposed to be me.”

“If Luke wasn’t there, would you have just watched her melt my face off?”

Ethan went white as a sheet.

He couldn’t say a word.

What could he say?

He always put Elena’s maybe and accidents first. And always pushed my what ifs aside.

The ER doors opened.

The doctor came out.

“Family of the patient?”

“Yes—I am.”

I rushed forward.

“Second-degree burns on his back. He’ll need to stay hospitalized. But he’s stable—we got him in time.”

I breathed out, legs almost buckling.

Ethan caught me.

“Dawn—”

“Don’t touch me.”

I pushed him away and followed the nurse into the room.

Luke lay in bed, pale but awake.

He saw me and gave a weak smile. “Don’t cry. I’m fine.”

That just made the tears come harder.

“I’m so sorry—I’m so sorry—”

“Hey. Not your fault.”

He tried to raise his hand to wipe my cheek, but the wound pulled and he winced.

I grabbed his arm.

“Don’t move.”

Over the next days, I didn’t go back to the gallery. I stayed at the hospital.

Ethan came every day, hauling vitamins and recovery drinks.

I never let him in.

He sat on the bench outside. Morning till night.

Luke got better slowly.

Something shifted between us.

He told me stories from his travels. Taught me how to identify mineral pigments.

We had so much in common.

With him, I felt light. Safe.

One afternoon, he fell asleep.

I watched his face, still. Felt something unfamiliar stir in my chest.

I walked out—and found Ethan still on that bench.

He looked worse than before. Like a hollow statue.

I went to him.

“Ethan. Go home.”

He looked up, his eyes lighting up. “Wait—you’re actually talking to me?”

“Staying here doesn’t help anyone.”

“It helps me!”

He stood up, stubborn. “Just seeing you—that’s enough.”

“I’m getting married soon.”

I said it flat.

The hope died in his eyes.

“To… him?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes.”

This time, I wasn’t lying.

The moment Luke threw himself in front of that bottle—I knew. He was the man I could trust with my whole life.

Ethan stared at me forever.

Finally, he laughed. Hollow.

“Good… good.” His voice cracked. “I hope… I mean it. I hope you two are happy.”

He turned and walked away. One step at a time.

He looked like a leaf falling in autumn.

I watched him disappear. Felt nothing.

My phone rang. Mom.

Her voice was frantic.

“Dawn! Ethan—he’s gone back to Mount Mercy!”

“He says he’ll pray for the purest blessing scarf—until you change your mind!”

“There’s a blizzard up there—it’s dangerous! You have to stop him!”

I held the phone and said nothing.