I was tired—more than I wanted to admit.
A hospital was a strange place to find rest, but even so, the steady beeping of the monitors and the cold light of the room brought me a certain sense of calm. Maybe because I knew my daughter was safe now. That she wasn’t suffering from the high fever that had brought her here.
But what weighed on me the most was the guilt.
The guilt of not being there when she needed me the most.
Still, I couldn’t stay locked inside that room any longer. The air felt too heavy, and my mind wouldn’t stop spinning. When I stepped out, I found Isabella in the hospital cafeteria, sitting alone with a cup of coffee in front of her, staring absentmindedly out the window.
It was dark outside, and the dim lights of the room reflected on her tired face.
She saw me be
