The Man Who Never Looked Away novel Chapter 77

On the way to the hospital, Lavinia's phone buzzed.

She glanced down. The email subject line was brief: Application Rejected.

This was the third one.

She stared at the screen, motionless. The sun was bright outside, the shadows of the trees flickering across the window like film reels. She placed the phone face down on her lap.

Charley checked the rearview mirror. "What's wrong?"

"Another rejection," Lavinia said quietly.

"All of them?"

"Still waiting on two more."

These positions were all internal referrals from her college seniors. Logically, it was impossible for her to not even get an interview. Lavinia knew someone was pulling strings behind the scenes.

Charley didn't say anything. His fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel twice.

Lavinia remembered what he had told her before—that Garnett would make sure she couldn't find a job in Blossom City. She hadn't believed he had that much influence back then, but now she was starting to.

"No need to wait," Charley said, his eyes fixed on the road, his tone even. "Even if Mr. Harper wasn't interfering, the ceiling for those roles is too low anyway. It's not good for your long-term career."

Lavinia turned to look at him.

"I can recommend somewhere else, though," he said. "An investment firm's research department. Healthcare industry analyst."

Lavinia blinked. "Finance? That's way outside my major. I'm not sure I could handle it."

"It doesn't hurt to try."

Lavinia didn't respond. She looked down, flipping her phone over and over in her hands. She still hadn't heard back from the last two, and she wanted to wait.

Charley didn't push the issue. The car turned into the hospital driveway and bumped over a speed bump. He steadied the steering wheel with one hand, navigating it smoothly.

When they arrived, Lavinia went to speak with the doctor about her uncle's condition. Charley went to visit Latham first.

Latham had just finished his treatment and was in decent spirits, leaning against the pillows while scrolling through his phone. Charley sat by the bed for a while, not saying much, occasionally pulling up the blanket when it slipped down.

Saul walked in, glanced at Charley, and the two of them stepped out to the smoking area.

"It's not that easy to just let go."

Saul turned to look at him, his lips moving slightly.

"Charley, do you think I should knock some sense into her?"

"Don't."

Charley remembered that day by the river when he had asked her: 'Allowing terrible people to treat you like dirt—what about the people who truly love you?'

The moment he had said it, he regretted it.

She had looked at him in total confusion, as if she couldn't understand what he was saying, or perhaps she couldn't believe he would speak to her like that.

What she needed wasn't a lecture on what to do, but someone to stand by her through the hardest time of her life.

Charley looked out the window. Summer was approaching, and the greenery of the south was growing lush.

An egg broken from the outside is destroyed. Broken from the inside, it brings new life.