Chapter 27 Before Everything Changes

Chapter 27 Before Everything Changes
POV: Valeria Cruz

Hospitals have a smell.

Clean.

Too clean.

Like everything is being erased the second it happens.

I’ve been here long enough to notice it.

Long enough to hate it.

Long enough to know I don’t belong here—

but I don’t belong anywhere else either.

“Good news,” Rafe’s mom says as she steps into the room. “You’re being discharged tomorrow.”

The word hits weird.

Discharged.

Like I’m done.

Like everything is fixed.

It’s not.

“Okay,” I say anyway.

Because I don’t know what else to say.

Because I don’t know where I’m going after this.

Rafe shifts slightly in the chair beside me.

He’s been there every time I wake up.

Every time I fall asleep.

Every time I open my eyes and need to make sure I didn’t imagine him.

He looks… different.

Still.

Tired.

But lighter than before.

Like he’s finally letting himself breathe now that I’m awake.

“You ready for that?” he asks.

His voice is softer than usual.

Careful.

Like he doesn’t want to push me too far.

I nod slowly.

“I think so.”

It’s not the truth.

But it’s not a lie either.

Because I know one thing for sure—

I’m not going back there.

Not to that house.

Not to her.

Ever again.

A knock sounds on the door.

Before either of us answers—

it opens.

“Elena told us she was awake!”

Maya.

Loud.

Bright.

Like she didn’t walk into a hospital room.

Like she walked into something normal.

Sofia follows behind her.

Quieter.

But just as present.

And then Elena.

Last.

But the first one I look at.

“Hi,” I say, surprised.

“Hi?” Maya repeats. “That’s all you’ve got? You disappear for two weeks and come back with ‘hi’?”

“I got hit by a car,” I say.

She pauses.

“…okay, fair.”

Sofia snorts quietly.

And just like that—

the room feels lighter.

Different.

Like something cracked open and let air in.

They spread out naturally.

Maya takes the couch like she owns it.

Sofia leans against the wall, arms crossed but relaxed.

Elena comes straight to me.

Always the same.

Careful.

“How are you really?” she asks quietly.

Not for show.

Not for anyone else.

Just me.

I look at her.

Then at the others.

Then back at her.

“I don’t know yet.”

And that’s the truth.

She nods.

Like that’s enough.

Like I don’t have to be okay for her.

“We’ve been keeping things from exploding at school,” Maya says.

“That’s a lie,” Sofia mutters. “It’s already exploded.”

Maya shrugs.

“Details.”

I feel Rafe shift beside me.

Subtle.

But I notice.

Because something in the room just tightened.

“Camila’s been—” Maya starts.

“Not today,” Elena cuts in gently.

Maya stops.

Immediately.

And that—

that tells me everything I need to know.

They’re protecting me.

From something.

From her.

I don’t ask.

Because I don’t want to break this moment.

Not yet.

“You have people now,” Sofia says suddenly.

I look at her.

Confused.

“You’re not alone anymore,” she adds.

The words land differently this time.

Not like before.

Not like something I want to believe.

Like something that might actually be true.

My throat tightens.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

Maya points at me.

“Don’t get emotional. I don’t do crying.”

Too late.

A knock interrupts us.

This one—

different.

Slower.

Controlled.

The kind of knock that waits.

That knows it will be answered.

The door opens.

Daniel Vega walks in.

And everything shifts.

Not loudly.

Not dramatically.

Just—

serious.

Real.

Rafe straightens immediately.

His entire posture changes.

Elena goes quiet.

Maya and Sofia exchange a look.

Then look at me.

Like they know something I don’t.

“Can I have a moment?” Daniel asks.

Polite.

But firm.

Not really a question.

The girls hesitate.

None of them move right away.

Elena looks at me.

Waiting.

Checking.

I nod slowly.

“It’s okay.”

Maya pushes off the couch.

Sofia uncrosses her arms.

Elena squeezes my hand gently before stepping back.

“I’ll be right outside,” she whispers.

Then they’re gone.

The door closes.

And suddenly—

the room feels bigger.

And smaller at the same time.

It’s just me.

Rafe.

And his father.

Daniel steps forward.

Calm.

Measured.

Like everything he says matters.

Because it does.

“Valeria,” he begins.

My name feels heavier coming from him.

More real.

“I need to talk to you about what happens next.”

My stomach tightens.

Because I already know—

this isn’t small.

This isn’t just discharge papers and follow-ups.

This is something else.

“You’re safe,” he says.

That word again.

Safe.

But it doesn’t feel simple anymore.

“There are some things you don’t know,” he continues.

My chest tightens.

I look at Rafe.

He doesn’t speak.

But his jaw tightens slightly.

Like he already knows.

Like he’s been waiting for this.

“What do you mean?” I ask.

My voice isn’t steady anymore.

Daniel pauses.

Choosing his words carefully.

“The woman you’ve been living with—”

I stiffen.

“—does not have legal custody of you.”

Everything stops.

“What?”

The word barely comes out.

“There’s more,” he says gently.

Of course there is.

There’s always more.

My fingers tighten around the blanket.

Because suddenly—

nothing feels stable.

“What are you saying?” I ask.

Now my voice is shaking.

Unsteady.

Daniel exhales slowly.

“Your parents have been located.”

My heart stutters.

Stops.

“…my what?”

Before he can answer—

the door opens again.

Slow.

Careful.

And two people walk in.

A man.

A woman.

Both staring at me like—

like I matter.

Like I’m something they’ve been searching for.

The woman’s eyes fill immediately.

Her hand lifts to her mouth like she’s trying to hold something in.

“Valeria…”

Her voice breaks.

And something inside me—

something deep—

reacts.

Not recognition.

Not fully.

But something close.

Something that doesn’t make sense—

but feels real anyway.

And for the first time since I woke up—

I don’t feel steady.

At all.