Chapter 3: The Hospital
Hospitals have a way of making time meaningless.
Minutes feel like hours.
Hours feel like seconds.
We sat in that waiting room while doctors worked on Noah behind closed doors. Emily’s hand never left mine, but neither of us spoke.
We didn’t need to.
Every fear was already screaming loud enough.
Finally, a doctor stepped out.
“He’s stable,” she said.
Stable.
Not okay.
Not safe.
Just… stable.
“He was severely dehydrated,” she continued. “And his body temperature had dropped dangerously low. Another hour…” She hesitated.
“You got him here just in time.”
Emily broke down beside me.
I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
Because something else had taken its place.
Anger.
Cold. Focused. Unshakable anger.
“Can I see him?” I asked.
The doctor nodded.
When I walked into the room, Noah looked so small in that hospital bed.
Machines beeped softly around him.
His eyes opened when he saw me.
“You came,” he said.
“I always will,” I told him.
He swallowed hard.
“I asked Aunt Sarah for my phone,” he whispered. “I told her I didn’t feel good.”
I closed my eyes for one second.
Just one.
“She said I was ruining everything.”
And that was the moment I knew—
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This wasn’t just a mistake.
This was a choice.
