Chapter 34: The Moments We Ignored

Lily had always trusted Amy. They had been friends for years, sharing everything from high school gossip to the biggest decisions in their lives. Amy had been there for her, or so it seemed. She had always been the one to encourage Lily to follow her heart, to choose the path that felt right rather than the one that was practical. And for a while, Lily believed in that advice—believed in it so much that she had walked away from nursing school, abandoning a dream that had been hers for so long, all because she thought it was the right thing to do in the moment.

That was what Amy had told her, after all. "Do what makes you happy, Lily. Don't let anyone dictate your future. Follow your heart."

But now, as Lily stood outside Amy's hospital room, she couldn't help but feel a sharp sense of unease. Amy had been busy lately with her new nursing job, and their conversations had become fewer and farther between. Still, Lily had convinced herself that they were still the same—best friends, just navigating life in different directions.

She walked down the sterile, bright halls of the hospital, her footsteps echoing softly. The hum of fluorescent lights overhead made her feel almost detached from reality. When she reached Amy's room, she paused, her hand hovering over the door handle.

But before she could knock, she heard Amy's voice, muffled but unmistakable, on the other side of the door.

"I'm telling you, I don't know what she was thinking. Leaving nursing school to work at a coffee shop? It's honestly a joke. She always thought she had all the answers, but look at her now. Stuck in that dead-end job, and for what? To follow some misguided idea that following her heart would lead her to happiness? It's pathetic."

Lily's breath caught in her throat, her hand trembling slightly on the door. She had to be mistaken. Amy couldn't be talking about her—her best friend, the person who had always supported her, right?

But the words continued to pour out, each one cutting deeper than the last.

"She thought I was just going to go along with it. She thought I'd cheer her on as she threw her future away. Well, I didn't. I'm glad I graduated and actually did something with my life. I don't even know why I bothered with her advice anymore. She's just... she's just too lost to even see how foolish she is."

Lily stepped back, her heart pounding in her chest. The realization hit her like a slap to the face. Amy had never believed in her. She had never meant well, never cared about what was best for Lily. All those years of advice, all the encouragement to follow her heart—it wasn't about helping Lily at all. It had been about something else entirely, something far more selfish.

Lily didn't know how long she stood there, frozen in the hallway. The words still echoed in her mind, swirling around her, drowning out everything else. She wanted to leave. To walk away from the hospital, from Amy, from everything. But she couldn't. Not yet. Not when everything she had believed about their friendship was shattering in front of her.

Slowly, she turned and walked away from Amy's room, her head spinning. She needed air. She needed space to think.

When she stepped outside, the cold winter air hit her like a rush of clarity. She stood there, her arms crossed over her chest, staring at the ground, trying to make sense of the betrayal she had just overheard.

She had ignored the small signs over the years. The way Amy always pushed her toward decisions that felt good in the moment but never seemed to work out. The way she had never once truly supported Lily's ambitions, only ever offering advice that suited her own narrative. Amy had always been the one to say, "Live in the moment," and "Do what feels right," but Lily had never realized until now how little those words had actually meant. Amy had never been interested in Lily's happiness; she had only cared about pushing her to do what would validate Amy's own choices.

And now, standing here, feeling the weight of her own lost dreams and misplaced trust, Lily understood. The truth had always been there, hiding behind the facade of friendship. Amy hadn't wanted Lily to follow her heart. She had wanted Lily to follow the same path Amy had taken—because it was easy, because it fit into the version of their friendship that Amy had constructed in her mind.

But now, Lily saw through it. The carefully crafted mask had slipped, and the truth was laid bare.

Lily didn't know how long she stood outside the hospital, letting the cold air numb her thoughts. But eventually, her mind cleared, and she realized something important: she didn't need Amy's approval. She didn't need anyone to tell her what was right for her life.

Maybe she had made mistakes—maybe she had chosen the wrong paths at times—but those were her mistakes to own. No one else's.

The weight of the world felt lighter somehow, even in the midst of everything falling apart. It wasn't about fixing the past or undoing the decisions she had made. It was about moving forward—alone, if necessary—toward something that was hers to define.

She turned back to the hospital entrance, taking one last glance at the door she had stood in front of moments before. Amy's voice still lingered in her mind, but it was fading now, becoming a distant echo.

As she walked away, she knew that this was the end of something. It wasn't just the end of her friendship with Amy—it was the end of the way she had been living her life, the way she had been listening to others instead of trusting herself.