The One Who Belongs

The next morning, the dorm was silent in a way it had never been before.

Sophia hadn't come home.

Her phone wasn't answering.

And by 7:00 AM, Mira had had enough.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "We need to find her."

Zara groaned, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Maybe she stayed over at a friend's."

Claire, already dressed, shook her head. "She wouldn't leave without telling us. Not after yesterday."

Zara finally sat up. "You think something happened."

Mira nodded. "I know something did."

They called the hospital first.

It was the nurse who confirmed their worst fear.

"She's in ICU. She was hit by a bus last night. She's still unconscious."

Zara swallowed hard.

Claire whispered, "Is she going to be okay?"

The nurse said what all hospital staff say in moments like this:

"She's stable. We're monitoring her closely."

That wasn't a yes.

But it wasn't a no.

And that was enough to make them move.

They got dressed quickly, grabbed their phones, and made their way to Evergreen General Hospital, hearts pounding with every step.

When they arrived, they found Daniel pacing the waiting room like a man who had lost time.

He looked exhausted.

His shirt was wrinkled.

His eyes, tired but alert.

And when he saw them, he stopped pacing.

"Hey," he said, voice low.

Mira blinked. "You're Daniel."

He nodded. "Yeah."

Zara studied him — the way he looked like he hadn't slept, the way he kept checking the clock like he was waiting for something to change.

And for the first time, they understood.

This wasn't just the guy Sophia had loved from afar.

This was the one who had never really stopped loving her back.

They followed him into the hospital room where Sophia lay.

Still.

Quiet.

Unmoving.

The only sound was the soft beeping of the heart monitor.

Zara gently reached for her hand.

"She's going to wake up," she whispered.

Daniel stood at the foot of the bed, watching her.

"She has to," he said quietly.

Claire looked at him.

"She told us about you," she said. "Not everything. But enough."

Daniel looked away. "She didn't have to."

Mira sat down in the chair beside the bed. "She didn't need to. But she did."

Zara added, "She kept your name in her heart for years."

Daniel stayed silent.

Because he didn't know how to explain what he had just learned.

That she had loved him longer than he had realized.

That she had moved across the country for him.

That she had never stopped watching him — even when he didn't notice.

Back in the waiting room, they sat across from him — three girls who had only just met him, but now knew him better than most.

"She never talked about you like a crush," Mira said. "She talked about you like a part of her life."

Daniel looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Claire leaned forward. "She used to say your name like it meant something. Like it carried weight."

Zara added, "She said you made her feel safe."

Daniel swallowed hard.

Because that was the one thing he had always wanted to be — someone she could count on.

And he had failed.

He had been working.

Too far away.

Too slow to understand.

Too late to stop what happened.

Mira finally asked the question none of them had dared to yet.

"Are you the one she loved?"

Daniel didn't answer right away.

Instead, he looked toward the room where Sophia was sleeping.

And said, "I think I always was."

Zara studied him. "And now?"

He looked at them — really looked — and said, "Now I just want her to wake up."

There was something in his voice.

Not just worry.

Not just guilt.

But something deeper.

Something real.

And the roommates didn't need to ask again.

They knew.

Daniel Harper wasn't just the guy she had loved.

He was the one who had loved her all along — just too late to stop the accident.

But maybe not too late to make things right.

They stayed for a while, talking in hushed tones.

Claire asked about his work.

Mira asked how long he had known Sophia.

Zara didn't ask anything.

She just watched him.

The way he looked toward the hospital room like he couldn't bear to be away.

The way he kept touching his phone like he was waiting for her to call.

And then she said, "You don't have to stay alone."

Daniel looked up.

Zara continued, "We'll be here too. But you're the one she's going to want to see."

Daniel didn't argue.

Because she was right.

By the time they left, Daniel was alone again.

But this time, he didn't feel as lost.

Because Sophia's roommates had seen something he had spent years trying to ignore.

And now, they had given him permission.

To stay.

To care.

To love her.