Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 433

With a thunderous crash, her world came crashing down.

Amelia swayed on her feet, and Lennon reached out to steady her by the arm. “I know this is hard to accept,” he said gently, “but organ donation is voluntary. We can’t interfere with someone’s decision—we just have to accept it.”

The room spun around her, and if she hadn't been clutching the edge of the table, Amelia might have collapsed. She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting for composure, telling herself she couldn’t fall apart—because if she did, what would happen to Ruby?

After a long silence, she finally opened her eyes, her voice hoarse. “...How could this happen?”

Lennon sighed. “Honestly, I’ve seen this before. Sometimes donors change their minds at the last minute. It’s complicated—some people are brave when they sign up, but once they learn more about the surgery, they get scared. Or maybe their family steps in, or something else happens. All we know for sure is that the donor backed out. Ruby will have to keep waiting for a match.”

Amelia couldn’t even remember how she made it out of Mr. Martinez’s office.

Outside, the sky pressed low and heavy, thick clouds swallowing the light. The air felt suffocating, as if she were trapped inside a sealed jar, her chest tangled tight with invisible weeds.

She dropped onto a bench outside the hospital, utterly spent—she didn’t even have the strength to stand. She just sat there, staring blankly as the last traces of daylight were devoured by the clouds. Darkness swallowed everything.

A sudden clap of thunder, and then huge raindrops struck her face.

The downpour came without warning. People hurried for shelter, darting across the street or ducking under awnings.

Amelia didn’t move.

The rain hammered down, drenching her hair, her clothes, her skin—heavier and heavier.

Finally, overwhelmed by the torrent and her own despair, Amelia curled up on the bench, drew her knees to her chest, buried her face, and sobbed—loud, wracking cries lost in the roar of the rain.

…

After she’d cried herself empty, Amelia dragged her soaked body back to her car and drove to the mall.

She couldn't afford to collapse. Even if the whole city washed away in the storm, she had to keep standing—Ruby still needed her.

Amelia settled beside her, and they paged through the pop-up book together.

Ruby finished the book quickly, then climbed over to Amelia’s side and snatched up the little calendar again.

“Mom, look what I drew!” she exclaimed.

Amelia tried to stop her, but Ruby was already holding the calendar up for her to see.

“See? This is my plan!” Ruby declared proudly.

She was too young to write, so she’d drawn pictures for everything she wanted to do.