Her eyes lift to mine again.
I already know the question she is going to ask. And I have no answer to it. Because even if I do remember pieces, I still don’t know how it happened. Or why.
“No.” I shake my head.
“They never found the bodies,” she whispers. “Do you think Daniel maybe survived?”
She rises from the chair and steps closer to the bed before sitting down again, leaning toward me. “Maybe he…”
Bodies.
I close my eyes.
The accident flashes through my mind again. I can see a glimpse of the car, then the undeniable feeling of water filling my lungs, the memory of drowning tightening in my chest all over again.
“I…” My mouth opens, but the air catches in my throat as I try to breathe.
Bodies.Notjustbodies. They were my parents.
But they didn’t matter to her. They mattered to me.
Martha presses both hands over her mouth, holding them there as William’s voice cuts in from the doorway before she can speak again.
“Enough.”
“It’s okay,” Martha sniffles, wiping her tears when she notices him walking closer. “She can say.”
Her voice is soft. But the look in her eyes says something different entirely. It reflects the quiet wish that Daniel was lying in this bed instead of me.
“She would only confirm our son is dead, Martha,” he says.
That is how he has always been. So cold. Daniel was the complete opposite.
William clears his throat and folds his arms across his chest as he looks at me.
“We came to see how you’re doing.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m not finished talking,” he slightly raises his voice.
Martha’s gaze drops to her lap again.
“We spoke to Dr. Reynolds. You won’t be staying here much longer.”
My brows lift. “What do you mean?”
“You will be discharged tomorrow morning.”
Martha shifts in her chair.
“Sweetie… we wanted to talk to you about that.”
“It’s been just two days since I woke up. How… where would I go?” My breathing speeds up, and my chest burns as my heart begins to pound harder against my ribs.
“You’re not a child anymore. I’m pretty sure you’ll figure it out,” William says.
Silence settles between us. Then a thought forms in my mind.
