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Tears welled in her eyes, and one streamed down her cheek before she could stop it.
Then, with one final rip, the shirt split in two up through the neckline.
Each half fell limply to the sides, as cool air washed over her bare chest.
Maddie lifted the hoodie, brushing away the wetness on her cheek before holding it in front of her.
Saff cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would hurt you.”
“It didn’t,” Maddie bit out, wiping another tear away with the back of her hand.
She felt Saff’s fingers gently move the shirt off her shoulder. “I need to pull the bandage off now.”
Maddie tensed.
“I’ll be careful, but it might hurt a little.”
Every touch, no matter how light, felt like she was being burned all over again. And by the time Saff got the full bandage off, she couldn’t tell if the wetness on her face was from more tears or sweat from her body being tensed through the pain.
As another wave of pain radiated out from her shoulder, she suddenly felt a cold sweat prickle up over her body.
“Hey,” Saff said, her toneless medical voice instantly disappearing. “Are you okay?”
A slight nausea rose in her stomach, and she swallowed it down.
“So what,” Maddie hissed, her anger passing the point of no return. “You’ll only talk to me like an actual person if I’m about to pass out?”
Silence.
“You know,” Maddie continued, smearing every word in thick hatred. “For someone who constantly says they’re not a doctor anymore, you sure do a great job of wearing that mask when you want to.”
Saff remained quiet, and that silence became a beckoning call for every remaining ounce of hatred in her chest. A call so strong, she couldn’t stop herself, as every word that had piled up in her since she’d told her the truth came spewing out.
“You lied to me,” she gritted. “That whole time—you—you were lying to me. You made me—“ she caught herself as a single word flashed into her mind, and used every bit of the mental energy she had left to destroy it as quickly as it had come. “You made me care about you. You made me care so much that even after everything, I still put you first. I still tried to save you!”
Saff scoffed, and Maddie felt her move closer.
“What you did was stupid.” The veiled, emotionless voice was now entirely gone, replaced with a rage so feral it sent a pang of fear trickling down her spine.
Maddie leaned forward, losing the last of her control. “I fucking hate you.”
“Good,” Saff spat back. “Now maybe next time you won’t almost get yourself killed for me.”
Maddie scoffed. “Is that what you’re so mad about? You’re pissed that I cared enough to—”
Saff cut her off, her voice reverberating through the small room. “People were being murdered and burned alive and you—“
“Yeah,” Maddie surged forward, shoving a rough hand into her chest. “And you could’ve been one of those people!”
“It doesn’t matter!” Saff shouted, and Maddie felt her step closer. So close that Maddie’s knuckles brushed against what must’ve been her thigh. “You need to think about yourself—no one else. You need to survive!”
Maddie sneered, an angry yet satisfied smile turning up the corners of her lips. “Oh yeah? And who were you thinking of when you went into that burning building to find me?”
Saff went quiet, but Maddie could hear—feel—her heavy breathing in front of her.
“You could’ve died,” Saff said, her voice cracking on the last word. And something about the way she said it was different.
The difference was so small—so subtle—that she wondered if she’d imagined it. It was still angry, but it was also something else. Something she hadn’t heard until then.