When You're Gone (Colette) novel Chapter 24

James finally left the hospital after Colette discharged herself. He reluctantly accepted her payment for the hospital fees, though he had initially refused.

It was only after Colette's biting words that he gave in.

"James, please don't force yourself," she said coldly. "You don't come from a well-off family, do you? I can afford the fees. I'd feel guilty if you had to work part-time just to pay for my hospital bills."

Flustered, he lowered his head.

Lately, his dreams had been full of visions of himself as someone else—James Zeller of the Zeller Group, a successful entrepreneur capable of thriving even if he lost everything.

But James Zeller was a far cry from James Vanderbilt, a penniless student who hadn't even graduated yet.

Demoralized, he lay on his bed in the dorm, unable to understand how everything had gone wrong just when he thought things were starting to improve.

Suddenly, a noise outside his dorm room caught his attention. He checked the time—it was after class.

Students walked in groups past the dorm, their chatter and youthful exuberance a stark contrast to the emptiness and bleakness of the dorm room.

The door to James' room flung open without warning. Light flooded in, and illuminated the space except for a corner of the room.

James' roommates barged in, talking amongst themselves. None of them noticed him lying on the bed.

As night fell, they turned on the lights. Noticing his absence, one of the guys muttered, "I thought James was the most serious of us all. He skipped all his classes today and was out late."

Another laughed. "Did you know he's been knitting a scarf? Finished it two days ago. I bet he was out on a date."

"With whom? Was it the girl from the student union?"

"Yup. That's the one."

…