Chapter Text
Zayne sat by the unconscious girl’s bed, listening to the steady beeps from the monitors, watching the rise and fall of her chest; each breath a blessing he wasn’t sure he had the right to witness. Not after everything that had happened.
He felt the frost creep over his wrist and clenched his hand until his knuckles whitened and his muscles trembled. This loss of control ate at him every second of the day now. He had never been able to truly figure out when his powers would betray him, but now it only seemed to be getting worse. That the gate that used to inhibit the loss of control was broken, cast aside.
The fact was he couldn’t afford to have that happen again. It could be a patient next, he could lose control during surgery, or…it could be her, again, and next time she may not be so lucky.
Zayne was not good at being unable to control himself. He didn’t know what to do, felt like he was in a freefall he had no parachute for. He couldn’t trust himself around anyone if he couldn’t trust himself with his own person, so, though the decision had been hard, he knew what he had to do.
He reluctantly stood, still staring down at the girl’s face. He reached out as if barely allowing himself the right to touch her and grazed his fingers softly over her hand.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know…that you won’t agree with me on this, but, please, for once, understand that I’m doing this for…”
His final words were choked, stuck in his throat. He pulled his hand away, leaving traces of frost in its wake as he turned away, starting to head toward the door.
He heard a soft inhale from behind him, the brief rustling of sheets. He froze, footsteps halting, before he held his breath and turned.
She was still asleep, he saw with relief and, perhaps, some disappointment.
It was better this way, he told himself. It would only be harder if you had to see her face when you say goodbye.
With that new resolve, he continued to the door, pushing it open and stepping out into the currently deserted hall, heading for the icy, moonlit streets outside.