Chapter Text
“Makes me want to fuck you right here,” William growled against Est's ear, the words raw and thick with promise.
Est barely had time to shiver before William lunged. Driven by a sudden, uncontrollable impulse, the medical student moved with devastating speed and pinned him back against the lounge chair.
William’s heavy body crushing his patient deep into the cushions. The rational part of his mind, the medical student who knew how to stay calm during an emergency, who could examine a patient with steady hands and think clearly under pressure was still there somewhere. William could feel it. He knew, distantly, that he should step back. He should not be doing this. But every instinct inside him was screaming something entirely different. Est was his Phi. His P’Est.
The idea of anyone else seeing him, touching him, getting too close to him…No, he didn't want anyone looking at Est. He didn't want anyone near him. The thought was irrational, possessive, almost ugly in its intensity, but William couldn't push it away. His instincts kept circling back to the same desperate need.
Hide him.
Keep him close.
Don't let anyone else have him.
Nobody was allowed to lay eyes on his Phi.
“Will–” Est gasped sharply, his hands flying up to grip William's shoulders, the words catching in his throat.
William didn't let him finish. He hauled Est up, one arm hooked beneath his knees, and carried him inside, kicking the door shut behind them. He dropped Est onto the bed and was on him in an instant, covering his Phi’s trembling body with his own, already burying his face in the crook of his neck.
Est's breath hitched, his body arching into the sudden, overwhelming press of William's heat. His William was still there but he looked overwhelmed. His breathing was uneven and his entire body seemed to be fighting against itself.
Est's worry immediately outweighed his surprise. “Hey,” he said softly, tightening his fingers around William's shoulders. “Look at me.”
William did. His pupils were wide, his breathing rough.
“William,” Est swallowed. “Do...do you…still recognize me?”
William didn't answer. He just inhaled sharply, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of Est's throat. He wasn't kissing him anymore…he was scenting him, nostrils flaring as he sought out the deepest part of Est's essence. The curve of his neck, the sweetness of his pheromones, the desperate, driving need to claim every single inch of him.
Est's scent had become something William associated with safety long before he had even understood what that meant. Honey-sweet and warm, subtle beneath the natural scent of his skin, it had settled somewhere inside William's mind and refused to leave. Est was his home. Est was his comfort. Why couldn’t he be recognize his Phi? William knew it, he knew Est like a…drug. Even now, when William felt as though he were slipping away from his own body, Est was the one thing he could still recognize. The one thing that made sense.
“Answer me, Willy.” Est's voice finally broke through.
The words seemed to reach somewhere deep inside William. His expression shifted. He suddenly pulled back just enough to look at Est properly. “You're…” His voice came out rougher than usual. He swallowed and tried again. “You're Est.”
Est gently brushed his fingers through William’s damp hair, sweeping the strands away from his forehead.
William stared at him as though he needed to make sure. “My P'Est.” This time, he didn't kiss Est gently. He crashed his mouth against Est's in a desperate, starving collision, his tongue forcing its way inside to taste and claim.
Est gasped into the kiss, startled by the sudden violence of the shift. His fingers curled into William’s hair, tugging, but the alpha only pressed closer. William’s hands were everywhere, sliding under his thighs, gripping the muscle, spreading him wider.
William kissed down his chest, mouth hot and open, sucking a mark just above his nipple before his tongue circled the tight bud. He felt Est’s hip twitching in need, “Phi, I can't...I can't seem to stop. I need…Need you.”
Their robes were the only thing keeping them from total contact. The rut had taken hold, turning the tender lover into a driven, needy alpha. The rain-soaked memory of the poolside sanctuary was far behind them now, replaced by the charged, volatile, primal electricity crackling in the space between their bodies.
Est whimpered, his hips rolling up instinctively as he surrendered. “Then take me,” he whispered, threading his fingers into William's hair. “I'm– yours, Will. Take whatever you need.”
William’s mind was spinning. He had been alone for most of his life. Not necessarily physically. There had been people at the orphanage. Teachers. Friends. People who cared for him. But when it came to the things that truly mattered, William had always learned to depend on himself. He had never belonged anywhere and more importantly, he had never wanted anyone to belong to him. The word mine had always made him uncomfortable. It sounded like ownership.
The word had always felt like a cage, a trap, like putting a leash around someone's throat and calling it love. William had never wanted that. Yet now, with Est beneath him and his fingers tangled gently in his hair, that word tore through him with terrifying clarity. Mine.
His breath caught. Was Phi really his? William stared down at him. Est. The man who had somehow become important before William had even realized it was happening. The man whose presence could calm him, whose scent had slowly become familiar enough to feel like safety, whose smile could change the direction of an entire day.
William didn't want to own him. He didn't want to lock Est away from the world. He wanted…God. He just wanted to be allowed to stay. He wanted Est to choose him. Again and again. The realization cut through the haze of his rut with startling force. Mine. Not because he'd won him or he'd claimed him, but because the universe had carved Est out of starlight and mercy and placed him exactly where William could hold him.
“Phi…” His voice cracked. William's hands came up slowly, almost reverently, cupping Est's face between them. His thumbs brushed beneath Est's eyes, wiping away the moisture gathered at his lashes.
Est's eyes fluttered open when William cupped his face, he felt the alpha’s hands trembling. It shocked him…William, so strong, so commanding, shaking like a leaf in this storm. The red haze of the rut flickered behind William’s eyes, but beneath it, Est saw something else. Something he’d never expected to find. William looked terrified. Of losing me? So helpless, so utterly consumed, Est realized, his heart lurching. He’s afraid.
“P'Est,” William breathed. The honorific fell from his lips differently this time. “Phi is mine?”
He pulled back just an inch, his eyes dark and blown out with desire, staring into Est's eyes. He brushed a stray lock of hair from Est's forehead, his touch incredibly gentle for a man possessed by such a fierce biological drive. He kissed Est's eyelids, his cheeks, and finally the tip of his nose, whispering fragmented words of adoration between breaths. “Say it again. Say you're mine.”
Est’s breath caught. “William–”
“Please say you’re mine,” William repeated, his forehead falling gently against Est’s. His hands tightened in the sheets beside him rather than on Est, as though even now, when instinct was threatening to consume every rational thought he had left, some part of him was still trying to make sure he didn't hurt him.
Est stared at him and suddenly, the words wouldn't come. In past years, he had learned to live with the quiet ways people looked at him. After the accident, there had been sympathy. Concern. Pity disguised as kindness. People had told him that he was strong, that he was brave, that he was fortunate to still be alive. No one ever said what Est sometimes thought when he was alone. What kind of future is left for someone like me?
For two years, he had lived in a body that no longer listened to him. Then, when his recovery began, it didn't suddenly make everything easier. He still needed his crutch. He still tired easily. Some days, walking a short distance was enough to leave his legs aching. And somewhere along the way, Est had started believing that tenderness always came with an expiration date. That eventually, people would get tired.
Affection was easy when someone needed saving, but much harder when they needed to be loved. But William wasn't looking at him with pity. He never had. William looked at him as though Est was– he didn't even know how to explain it. Important. Wanted.
William's scent surrounded him, warm and grounding. There was rain in it, something like sandalwood and citrus beneath the sharpness of his alpha pheromones, and Est had always found it comforting.
Now, with William's rut intensifying, that scent had changed. It was stronger. Warmer. Somehow, even now, it still felt like safety. Est's throat tightened, his hand slowly rose and touched William's face.
William immediately went still. The change was almost heartbreaking. All that overwhelming instinct, all that tension in his body, quieted for the smallest moment beneath Est's touch.
Est's thumb brushed gently over his cheek. “You're asking me like you don't already know,” he whispered.
William's brows pulled together. “Phi…”
Est took a shaky breath. Then he smiled. “Yours.”
William stopped breathing.
Est watched his expression change. Something inside William seemed to crack open. “I'm yours,” he whispered again, his voice trembling slightly. “I'm yours, William.”
For a second, William simply stared at him. Then he made a broken sound, somewhere between a breath and a groan, and lowered his head. The rut had been building, boiling under his skin like magma, and Est's soft surrender was the crack that let it pour through. He dropped his head, mouth latching onto his scent gland. “I want to mark you.”
Est's heart skipped.
William pulled back immediately, as if he had said too much. “But I won't,” he added quickly. “Not if you don't want me to.”
Even with his instincts screaming at him to claim, protect, and keep Est close, he was still asking. Est stared at him for a long moment. Then his fingers slipped into William's hair. He gently guided him closer. “Mark me temporarily?”
William's breath caught sharply and this time, when he lowered his head again, Est didn't pull away. His mouth found the sensitive skin over Est's scent gland. The first touch was almost gentle. A kiss. Then another. He inhaled deeply, his entire body trembling at the strength of Est's scent. “Mine,” he whispered against Est's skin, the word sounding almost disbelieving.
Est's fingers tightened in his hair. “Yours,” he repeated softly.
William's control snapped. His teeth pressed down against Est's scent gland, not with the intention of hurting him, but with an instinctive, desperate need to leave proof of himself behind, even if it was temporary.
Est cried out in want. His hips bucked up, his body arching into William’s weight, and he felt the slick soaking his inner thighs, his body betraying how desperately he needed this. More, his mind chanted. Please, more. “Ah…Will,” he gasped, nails digging into William's back. “Please, I need–”
William didn't make him wait. He tore at their robes then threw it across the floor. He dragged his mouth down, teeth scraping over skin, nipping and sucking his way lower. He paused at Est's stomach, feeling the muscles tremble beneath his tongue, before hooking his fingers into the waistband of Est's shorts.
Est didn’t care about anything except the heat of William’s mouth, licking and sucking a trail of fire down his stomach. His fingers buried themselves in William’s hair, pulling, clinging, his breath hitching as William hooked his fingers into his shorts and pulled them away.
Est felt the cool air hit his overheated skin, and then William’s low growl vibrated through him. It made Est feel seen. Not as a fragile thing to be protected, but as an omega wanted, craved, devoured. His member was hard and leaking, but it was the slick he noticed, a warm trickle down his thighs.
“Phi,” William breathed, pulling the fabric down. “Already soaking for me.” Est's member was flushed and leaking, but it was the slick smeared across his inner thighs that truly undid William.
William spread his legs, and the look on his face made Est’s breath catch. The alpha was staring at him like he was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen like Est hung the moon and stars.
“Say it again,” William demanded, his voice ragged, fingers circling Est's entrance. “Tell me who you belong to.”
“You,” Est sobbed, hips rolling into William's touch. “Only you, William, please–”
“Mine,” William whispered, he couldn't hold back any longer. He lined himself up, his cock swollen and aching with the need to knot, and pushed inside in one smooth, brutal thrust. The sound Est made…a broken, keening moan sent a jolt of pure electricity through William's veins. The walls clenched around him, hot and impossibly tight, pulling him deeper.
Est’s vision went white. The stretch was everything. Slow and brutal and perfect, William sliding deeper inch by inch, splitting him open, filling a void Est hadn’t known was inside him.
“So perfect, so beautiful,” William ground out, his forehead pressed to Est's, eyes squeezed shut. “Perfect for me.”
Est couldn’t form words. He could only feel. Each thrust was deliberate, angled precisely, hitting that spot that made stars explode behind his eyes. William was relentless, every snap of his hips was aimed to make Est cry out, to drag whimpers and pleas from his lips. Est’s body was a live wire, sparks flying with every touch.
William gripped his thighs, pushing them higher, folding Est nearly in half. The position put pressure on Est's legs and hips which had always been a source of shame, a reminder that he wasn't perfect…but William held him with such careful strength that Est didn't even register the ache. He only felt full, perfect in William’s eyes.
“Ahh Will…mmhm–argh…William–” Est chanted, tears streaming down his face. He was crying, but he couldn't stop. The pleasure was so immense, so consuming, it leaked out of him in tears and broken whimpers. His own cock bounced against his stomach with each thrust, leaking pre-cum onto his skin.
“Mine, my Phi,” William growled, punctuating the word with a deep, bruising thrust. “Say it.”
“Yours! I'm yours!” Est wailed, his body shaking. And he meant it. He meant it with every cell, every molecule, every beat of his heart. This was what it felt like to be wanted. To be loved. William wasn’t just fucking him…he was worshipping him. Even in his rut, every bite was a promise. Every kiss was a vow. Est felt William’s teeth latch onto his shoulder, and when the sting bloomed, his body clenched, pleasure and pain twining into something transcendent.
William leaned down, capturing Est's mouth in a kiss that was more claim than tenderness, teeth clashing, tongues twining. He could feel it building, the base of his cock thickening, the unmistakable pull of his knot swelling.
Est's body seemed to know, desperate to make William cum, clenching and rippling around him in waves.
“Phi,” William gasped, breaking the kiss. “I'm going…to knot you. Please Phi…let me knot you.”
“Yes,” Est’s heart nearly stopped. His omega instincts sang, thrilled by the promise, and his body opened eagerly, a slick welcoming invitation. “I…want it. Put your…ah knot in me, ruin…me, I'm you–rs…”
That was all William needed. He drove in deep, hips flush against Est's, and let the knot swell. It caught on Est's rim, stretching him obscenely.
Est screamed in pure, raw pleasure. His whole body seized, his shaft spurting between them as he came untouched, the sensation of William's knot locking them together ripping his climax from him.
William watched Est fall apart beneath him, then buried his face in the crook of his neck, biting down once more as his own release erupted, hot and endless, flooding Est's insides. He growled through the pulses, his hips bucking in small, involuntary jerks, riding out the wave until he collapsed, completely spent, still buried deep, still knotted and locked inside Est.
The second bite had sent a fresh tremor through Est’s spent body. He felt owned. He felt safe.
The rain hammered against the cabin roof, wind howling outside, but William heard none of it. All he could feel was Est's heartbeat. It thudded beneath his palm, quick and uneven, echoing against William's own chest as though their bodies had somehow fallen into the same rhythm. Every breath Est took brushed against William's skin. Every small movement made William more aware of him.
William inhaled shakily, and his eyes fluttered shut. His own scent had wrapped around Est now too. The familiar sandalwood and citrus that Est had once teasingly described as calming was no longer separate from him. It clung to Est's skin, tangled with the soft sweetness of his pheromones until the two scents seemed inseparable. The realization sent something almost painfully deep through William's chest.
Mine. His eyes opened. Est was beneath him, his hair slightly messy, his lips swollen from their kisses, his cheeks flushed with warmth and embarrassment. He looked tired, overwhelmed, and achingly beautiful.
William stared. His thumb brushed over the mark he had left behind. It wasn't permanent. He knew that. The thought came from the rational part of his mind, the small corner of himself that was still capable of remembering things beyond the heat flooding through his body. A temporary mark. A bruise. It would fade but William stared at it as though it were something sacred.
“Phi,” William whispered, voice hoarse and thick. “I've never…had anyone. No one to call…mine. But you–” He pressed a kiss to Est's sweaty forehead, the tip of his nose, the corner of his mouth. “You're everything. My phi. My omega. My heart.”
Est’s throat tightened. He reached up, cupping William’s cheek, marveling at the tenderness in those wild alpha eyes. This was the same man who had just fucked him into the mattress, who had knotted him and claimed him and temporary marked him. Yet here he was, purring in his throat, looking at Est like he was the answer to every prayer.
His lips curved into a smile, broken, tender, dripping with love. He felt tears stream down his temples, but he didn’t bother to wipe them away. They were happy tears. They were home. “Your heart,” Est repeated, letting the words settle. “And you're mine.”
William's chest ached, the rut finally content, purring deep in his throat. He was still locked, still home. He nuzzled Est's jaw, breathing in, committing every detail to memory. The storm could rage on outside. The world could spin off its axis. None of it mattered because in this room, in the middle of nowhere, with rain drumming a steady rhythm overhead, William had found what he never dared to hope for. He knew, with bone-deep certainty, that they would be okay. Because he was Est’s and Est was his. Forever, my heart.
---
Est woke slowly, and for a few seconds, he didn't understand why his entire body felt as though he had spent the night being thrown down a mountain. It was settled heavily in his muscles, lingering through his back and legs, reminding him that his body had been through more than he usually allowed himself to handle. He sat still for a few moments, staring at the car ceiling while trying to gather enough energy to move.
The painkiller he had taken several hours earlier had taken the worst edge off. Without it, he suspected getting out of bed would have been considerably more difficult.
Est slowly turned his head. William was awake beside him. For a while, Est simply looked at him. The last day came back to him in scattered pieces rather than one clear memory. The confusion when William's body had suddenly begun reacting in ways neither of them expected, the overwhelming heat of his first rut, William's increasingly frightened attempts to distance himself from Est even while his instincts desperately wanted the opposite, and Punch's voice on the phone later yesterday.
Est remembered that conversation particularly well.
Punch had sounded concerned, though she had tried to keep her voice calm when explaining the situation. William was a late bloomer, and because he had spent so long believing himself to be a beta, his body had never been properly monitored or prepared for alpha cycles. His first rut had been unpredictable, and Punch had warned them that suppressants were no longer a safe solution.
‘His body is unstable right now,’ Punch had said. ‘The suppressants might be doing more harm than good. He needs to stop taking them and be monitored properly. Another rut could happen unexpectedly, especially until his system settles.’
Est had glanced toward William when he heard that.
William, meanwhile, had looked as though someone had just handed him another problem he had no idea how to solve. It wasn't the possibility of another rut that seemed to bother him the most, however. No. He had spent the remaining hours after his rut finally broke worrying about what he had done while he was in it.
Est's lips twitched faintly at the memory. Even now, when he looked at the younger man beside him, Est could remember the anxious expression William had worn when he finally became fully aware of himself again.
‘Phi, are you sure you're okay?’
‘Did I hurt you?’
‘You should tell me if something hurts.’
‘P’Est, seriously. Stop saying you're fine when you aren't.’
The questions had continued until Est had eventually told him that if he asked one more time, Est would start charging him consultation fees. Obviously, William hadn't found that particularly funny.
They left the hotel a few hours later, after William had checked Est's condition at least twice more and Est had threatened to leave him behind if he continued hovering.
The road home was still wet from the previous night's storm. Mist lingered between the hills, and the mountains looked almost unreal beneath the pale afternoon light. Since Prasit had already returned to the estate, they had arranged a rental car service for the journey home.
By the time they were around half an hour away from the house, Est was leaning quietly against the seat with his eyes half-closed.
Est had already called his uncle and aunt earlier that morning. He had explained that the rain and landslide had made it impossible for them to return home the previous night, so they had stayed at a nearby accommodation until the road reopened.
That part, at least, was true. The fact that the hotel had only had one room available and that Est had introduced William as his partner to secure it…had been conveniently omitted.
Some information was simply unnecessary.
Est opened one eye and glanced toward William. The younger man was staring out of the window, but Est knew that look by now. William wasn't watching the scenery. He was thinking too much again.
He shifted carefully, trying to pretend sleeping, but apparently William's instincts were still unusually alert. He turned to him almost immediately.
“Phi, you woke up. Are you in pain?”
Est closed his eyes.
William immediately held him. “Phi?”
“See?” Est muttered, his voice rough with sleep. “This is exactly what I'm talking about.”
William frowned. “What?”
“You woke up less than five seconds ago and your first question was whether I'm in pain.”
“Well, are you?”
Est opened one eye.
William was already looking at him with that familiar stubborn concern, his hair messy and his face still slightly flushed from sleep.
Est sighed. “The painkiller is working.”
“That wasn't my question.”
“Then yes,” Est admitted after a moment. “A little.”
William's expression immediately tightened.
Est reached out and caught his wrist before he could begin another round of worrying. “Hey. I’m fine.”
William looked away.
Est smiled faintly. “Willy.”
That seemed to make the younger man's shoulders loosen, though only slightly. He straightened up before asking, much more softly, “Are you angry with me?”
Est blinked. “What?”
William's fingers curled against his knee. “About–”
He never got the chance to finish.
The sudden screech of brakes tore through the quiet inside the car. The driver swore under his breath as he slammed his foot down, bringing the vehicle to such an abrupt stop that William was thrown forward in his seat.
“Shit–”
His hand shot out instinctively, bracing himself against the back of the seat in front of him. Beside him, Est grabbed the side of his own seat a second later, his body jolting forward from the sudden impact.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. William turned immediately. “Phi, are you okay?”
Est was still gripping the seat, his eyes slightly widened from the surprise. He took a breath before looking back at William. “I’m fine,” he said, though his brows had drawn together. “What the hell was that?”
“A girl ran in front of the car!” the driver said, still gripping the steering wheel tightly. “She just came out of nowhere!”
William had already turned toward the window. For one brief second, he couldn't see much through the rain-speckled glass. Then the girl moved. His entire body went still. “Mimi?”
He pushed the door open and got out of the car so quickly that Est barely had time to process what he was doing. The cold air hit him immediately, damp with the lingering rain, but William didn't notice. He was already moving toward the small figure standing near the front of the car.
“Mimi!”
The little girl looked up. She looked nothing like the cheerful child who had come to the estate with pinecones in her pockets and chess pieces scattered between her fingers. Her clothes were damp, her hair messy and sticking to the sides of her face, and her cheeks were streaked with tears.
For a moment, she simply stared at him. Then her face crumpled.
“Where were you?”
William stopped in front of her. “Mimi, what happened?” He crouched down immediately, his hands carefully finding her shoulders as his eyes moved quickly over her. “Are you hurt? Show me. Why did you run?”
Mimi pulled away from his hands. Her small fists came down against his chest. “Where were you?” she cried again, her voice breaking. “I called you! I called you so many times!”
William froze. “What?”
“You didn't come!”
“Mimi, slow down. Tell me what happened.”
Her face twisted harder, tears spilling down her cheeks. “No one saved my Mae!”
The words hit him so suddenly that for a second, William couldn't understand what she had said. “What do you mean?” His voice changed immediately. “Where is your mother?”
Mimi was crying too hard now to answer properly. “She fell!” she sobbed, grabbing onto the front of his clothes. “Mae was lying when she said you were kind doctor! I called you, but you weren't there, and then everyone was shouting, and–and–”
Her breathing became uneven.
William's heart dropped. “Mimi, look at me.”
“No one saved her,” she cried, her voice growing smaller and more broken. “My brother...”
William stared at her. The accusation wasn't cruel. She was a child. A frightened little girl who had been told that William was kind doctor, who had probably believed that calling him meant he would somehow appear and fix everything. She didn't understand why he hadn't answered. She didn't know that he had been trapped hours away because of the landslide. She didn't know what had happened during the night. All she knew was that she had needed someone and William hadn't been there.
“Mimi,” he said, his voice unsteady despite his attempt to keep it calm. “Calm down. Listen to me, okay? Where is your mother now? Is she at the hospital?”
Mimi didn't answer. Her grip on his shirt suddenly loosened.
William immediately noticed the change. “Mimi?”
Her eyes fluttered.
“Mimi.”
“You’re bad…” It was barely a whisper. Then her small body went limp.
“Mimi!”
William caught her before she could hit the ground, his arms immediately supporting her weight as panic shot through him. He lowered her carefully, checking her breathing first, then her pulse.
“William?”
Est's voice reached him, tense now.
William looked over his shoulder and saw Est approaching with his crutch. The distance from the car to where they stood wasn't very far, but William could see that Est was moving faster than he should have, his expression tight with concern. “Don't walk so fast,” he immediately said, even in the middle of his panic.
Est's expression changed when he saw the unconscious child in William's arms. “Is that Mimi? What happened?”
“I don't know everything yet.” William adjusted his hold on her, checking her forehead with the back of his hand before looking around. Only then did he properly notice where they were.
They were almost Est’s home. The estate gates were visible just ahead but something was wrong. There were people gathered there. Not one or two servants waiting outside, but a crowd. Neighbors. Workers. People from nearby houses.
William's stomach dropped. The atmosphere around the gate was nothing like the peaceful estate he had left the previous morning. Voices overlapped, people spoke in hushed but urgent tones, and someone near the entrance was crying.
Est followed William's gaze. His face slowly lost color. “What exactly happened?” he asked again, but this time the question wasn't directed at William.
William stood up, carrying Mimi securely against his chest.
“Mimi's father–” someone said from near the gate.
The sentence broke apart in the noise.
William turned sharply. “What about her father?”
A man standing nearby looked at him, his face pale. “He…he fell down the cliff.”
William's grip around Mimi tightened.
For a moment, no one said anything. Then the man swallowed. “He's dead.”
Everything around William seemed to go quiet. The crowd was still there. Someone was speaking near the gate. Rainwater was dripping from the trees. Est's crutch made a faint sound against the wet ground as he shifted his weight. But William only heard one thing. He's dead. He looked down at Mimi. Her small face was pressed against his shoulder now, completely unconscious.
A cold weight settled heavily in his chest. “And her mother?” William asked, his voice low.
The same man looked toward the road. “She was taken to the hospital.”
“Which hospital?”
“I don't know. Someone called an ambulance. She was still alive when they took her.”
William immediately looked at Est. Their eyes met. Est didn't need to say anything. William could already see the same thought forming behind his eyes.
Mimi had run into the road. Alone. Terrified. She had been looking for him.
William looked down at the unconscious girl again, his jaw tightening as guilt began to settle inside him, sharp and merciless.
Est saw his expression. “William.”
“She called me.”
“Will, calm down.”
“I couldn’t answer.”
The guilt in his voice made Est's face soften immediately. He moved closer, ignoring the discomfort in his leg, until he was standing directly beside him. “You didn't know,” he said quietly.
“But she needed me.”
“You were stranded.”
“I could hav–”
“No.” Est's voice became firmer.
William stopped.
Est looked up at him, his expression serious despite the concern written across his face. “Don't do that to yourself. You didn't ignore her because you didn't care. You didn't know what was happening.”
William's throat tightened. “But what if–”
“We don't know,” Est interrupted, more gently this time. “And standing here blaming yourself isn't going to help Mimi or her mother.”
William looked down again. Est was right. Without wasting another second, he began walking toward the gates, Mimi held carefully against his chest. The crowd parted as they saw him coming, their voices lowering when they noticed the unconscious child in his arms.
Est followed beside him as quickly as he could with his crutch. For once, William didn't tell him to slow down. His mind was already somewhere else. With Mimi. With the hospital. With the missed calls still glowing on his phone.
And with the terrible possibility that, while he had been trapped far away and unable to answer, a little girl had been desperately calling for the one person she believed could save her mother.
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