Skies We No Longer Share

Cecilia Jones kept a forgiveness notebook.

Six months ago, on Cecilia's birthday, Jeff Lawrence abandoned her to meet Yvonne Smith.

It was the 93rd time she’d forgiven him.

Three months prior, when Yvonne mentioned she was allergic to cat dander, Jeff gave away the cat Cecilia had raised for years. Cecilia forgave him for the 94th time.

One month ago, Jeff got drunk and woke up in the same bed as Yvonne. He insisted that nothing had happened and accused Cecilia of having a dirty mind. Cecilia forgave him for the 95th time.

Cecilia Jones was lying in her hospital bed today, staring at her right leg that got hurt when Yvonne Smith hit her. She thought back to when the car crash happened and how Jeff Lawrence had rushed to help Yvonne. She opened her special notebook and wrote down:

[I forgive Jeff again, for the 95th time.]

Her notebook only had 99 pages, and Cecilia felt like her heart could only forgive Jeff 99 times too.

If she ever got to the last page, she knew it would be time to say goodbye.

Cecilia took a deep breath and shut the notebook.

Just as she was about to put it away, Jeff stirred on the couch where he had been sleeping. He saw her and asked with a sleepy, scratchy voice, "What's that you've got?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some notes for work," Cecilia said, playing it down.

Jeff did not ask any more questions. He got up to check on Cecilia's IV drip.

Jeff had been looking after Cecilia non-stop since the accident, and he had only managed to catch about twenty minutes of sleep on the couch.

Cecilia saw the redness in his eyes and finally said, "The doctor said I'm okay, Jeff. You should go home and get some rest."

"I can't do that," Jeff said quickly, like the idea of leaving her alone was impossible.

"You're the one who's hurt. I wouldn't feel right leaving you here all by yourself, not even for a minute."

While he was talking, he made sure Cecilia's blanket was tucked in and her chair was comfy. He looked so careful and kind.

Cecilia watched him and remembered how Yvonne had looked at her with such a mean smirk just two days ago.

"Cecilia, I heard you had a big fight with your brother three years ago, all because of Jeff. You even stopped talking to your brother to come to the capital with Jeff. That's why he loves you so much.

"However, who do you think Jeff would run to first if we both got into trouble at the same time?"

She did not wait for Cecilia to answer. With a sudden push on the accelerator, she rammed the car right into her.

Cecilia was caught off guard. When the car hit, her leg got pinned, and blood came pouring out.

Jeff, not too far away, heard the crash and ran over. However, he did not come to Cecilia. He went straight to Yvonne.

At that moment, Cecilia's dream that Jeff still loved her shattered into pieces.

A person's first reaction could not be faked.

It had been a matter of life and death, and Jeff had made his choice.

Cecilia was about to tell him to go rest when Jeff's phone rang. He looked at the number, hesitated, then looked at Cecilia and said, "I need to take this, it's from work."

With that, he stepped out.

Seconds later, a nurse came in to check on Cecilia. As she opened the door, Jeff's voice on the phone was clear. "Jeff, I'm scared. I had that nightmare again... I keep feeling like Cecilia's going to hit me with her car, hurry over..."

Jeff's face went pale, and his eyes filled with worry.

In a hushed tone, he reassured the caller, "Don't worry, I'll be right there."

A few minutes later, Jeff came back, kissed Cecilia on the forehead, and said,

"I'm sorry, I have to handle something urgent at work. I'll come back to be with you later."

He rushed off before Cecilia could say anything.

Soon after, a young nurse bounced in, all smiles, and whispered some gossip.

"The guy who just walked out of this ward was super handsome. He wasn't just good-looking, he was also super sweet. He kept saying 'baby, baby' into the phone, like he was comforting his girlfriend. I wish I had a boyfriend who was that caring... "

Some of the older nurses who knew about Cecilia and Jeff nudged her, and she realized she should not have said that. She quickly stopped talking and left the ward.

Cecilia bit her lip, pulled out her notebook again, and wrote:

[I forgive Jeff for the 96th time. He promised he'd only call me 'baby,' but he lied.]