as i laid in my bed, i realized i shouldn't have left her.

 that was the last thing i should have done.

 i cursed under my breath and pulled on my pants as i raced out the door.

 before i reached the hospital, i parked my bike at a floral store and got a bouquet of beautiful white carnations.

 my bike flung to the ground as i ran through the front doors of the hospital, petals of the carnations floating away behind me.

 i pushed past the nurse and barged through the doors of olivia's room.

 she was sitting upright, her hands shaking as she scooped some yogurt into her mouth.

 when she saw me, a scowl formed on her face.

 "what do you want?" she said angrily.

 i pulled out the flowers from behind my back. 

"i came to apologize."

 she placed her plastic spoon down, her eyes locked on the flowers. 

"those are for me?"

i nodded and handed her the bouquet.

 she took the flowers with a shaky hand, and clasped a hand over her mouth.

 tears soaked her freckled skin and it made my heart wrench in pain.

 "i'm so sorry, i shouldn't have gotten you those flowers," i said quickly, unsure of what to do.

 she sniffed and wiped away her tears.

 "no, no. they're absolutely perfect."

 i sat down on the hospital bed and she winced at the displacement of weight.

 "then why are you crying?"

"because these are the flowers that i place on my parents' graves."

cover by me