Chapter 144: Choices
The pounding on the door shook Theo out of his half-sleep.
"Theo!" Liam’s voice barked from the other side, sharp and commanding.
Theo groaned, dragging a hand over his face. "Go away."
Another slam rattled the frame. "Daisy needs you," Liam said, his tone edged with urgency. "She’s not eating, not sleeping... she’s falling apart."
Theo froze, the words slicing through the fog in his head. But almost instantly, his jaw tightened. He let out a bitter laugh, dry and hoarse. "Nice try, Liam. You think dragging her name into this will get me to crawl out? What is it this time... dinner with Mom? A company thing? You can handle them..."
On the other side, silence. Then Liam’s voice, lower, steadier. "You think I’d waste my time making this up? She’s sick, Theo. Bad. You lock yourself in here for a week and expect her to just... survive it alone?"
Theo’s fists clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms. His voice came out raw, almost a whisper.
"Sadly... She hated me. It’ll only get worse if I show up. So it would be better for her to survive this without me by her side."
For a moment, the only sound was his ragged breathing.
Then Liam scoffed, sharp and disbelieving. "God, you’re pathetic." His fist thudded against the door again. "You think locking yourself away makes you noble? You think running from her pain is somehow protecting her? Wake the hell up, Theo... she doesn’t need you gone. She needs you there. Even if she hates you."
Theo shut his eyes, pressing his forehead against his palms. The words struck deep, but the fear of facing Daisy weighed heavier. His chest rose and fell unevenly, caught between the instinct to stay hidden and the pull of her name.
Liam’s voice dropped lower, no trace of his usual mockery. "Aurora told me she hasn’t slept for a week. Not a damn hour." He paused, letting that sink in before driving the knife deeper. "Except that one day... when you brought her to the hotel. That was the only time she closed her eyes without a nightmare."
Theo froze, every muscle locking.
"You hear me?" Liam pressed, his tone sharp but steady. "She’s breaking, Theo. And whether you like it or not... you’re the only one who can put her back together."
Inside, Theo froze. His chest rose and fell unevenly, the weight of the words clawing at him. He could hear the truth in them, but fear rooted him to the spot. Fear of facing her. Fear of breaking her all over again.
"You don’t have to believe me," Liam went on, his voice lowering, the edge softening just enough to slip under Theo’s guard. "But if you think staying away is saving her, you’re blind. Right now, Theo... the only thing keeping her from breaking is you."
For a long moment, silence hung heavy. Then came the faint shuffle of movement, uneven steps across the floor, a ragged breath breaking through the quiet. Finally, the doorknob turned.
The door creaked open, and Theo stood there. His skin was pale, his jaw unshaven, his shoulders sagging as though he’d been carrying the weight of the world alone. Dark circles framed his eyes, but what unsettled Liam most was the hollow look in them, like he hadn’t been living, just barely existing.
Liam’s smirk faltered, replaced with something unreadable. "You look like hell."
Theo leaned against the frame, his voice hoarse. "Maybe I’ve been there."
Liam crossed his arms, tilting his head. "Good. Then you know how close Daisy is to joining you if you don’t get your act together."
The words landed like a blow, and Theo’s knuckles whitened on the doorframe. His lips parted, but no excuse came. Only the sound of his breathing, shaky and uneven.
"Where is she?" He asked, weakly stepping out of the room.
Liam started walking, "Aurora brought her here..."
"What do you mean?" Theo’s breath caught, his head snapping toward the stairs. "Here? She’s here?" His voice cracked, carrying both disbelief and panic.
"Yes," Liam said evenly, though his eyes flicked over Theo with sharp calculation. "Aurora brought her. She’s in the car right now. Finally managed to get her to sleep... with pills." He paused, letting the weight of the next words sink in. "Aurora said she sometimes takes too many of them."
Theo’s face drained of what little color he had left. His chest heaved, his hands trembling as he gripped the railing so tightly it groaned under his weight. "Sleeping pills...?!" The thought slammed into him like ice water. Daisy, swallowing handfuls just to escape her nightmares. Daisy, hurting enough to risk slipping away entirely.
Without another word, Theo stumbled down the stairs, his unsteady steps fueled by a surge of dread. Liam followed close behind, his usual playful demeanor stripped away, replaced with a grim seriousness. For once, there was no smirk tugging at his lips, no lazy arrogance in his stride—only the sharp awareness that this moment could involve someone’s life.
Theo pushed through the front door, the cool night air hitting his face like a slap. His eyes locked on the car parked in the driveway. Through the window, he caught a glimpse of Daisy’s figure, slumped against the seat, her face pale even in the dim light, lashes trembling faintly as though she was fighting shadows in her sleep.
His heart clenched. The sight of her like that, looking fragile, exhausted, held together by the thin thread of medication, nearly brought him to his knees.
"Aurora’s inside with her," Liam said quietly, almost gently, as if sensing Theo might shatter.
Theo’s hand curled into a fist at his side, the other pressing against his chest where it hurt the most. "God... what have I done to her..."
"I don’t want to say it’s not your fault," Liam said, his voice low but firm. "But I will say this... you still have a chance to change it. Just don’t run from the problem, Theo."
Theo turned his head sharply, eyes glinting with pain and disbelief. "And what if she doesn’t want me near her? What if all I do is make it worse?"
Liam stepped closer, his tone cutting but steady. "Then let her tell you that herself or ask her. Don’t decide for her again. You already know what happens when you make choices in her place."