Caleb
The sun had already begun to rise when I walked out of that hospital.
But I didn’t feel its warmth. Didn’t hear the birds. Didn’t see the colors breaking across the sky. All I felt was emptiness. A cold, unforgiving void that clung to my skin like the wind.
I didn’t say a word to Sonya as I left. I couldn’t. Because if I stayed one more second in that room, I would have done something I couldn’t take back. My footsteps echoed in the hallway, each one heavier than the last, each one dragging a weight that felt like it would never leave me.
The guards at the hospital gate moved aside immediately when they saw me. No one dared ask questions. My face must have said enough.
I got into my car and drove myself back to the packhouse.
The roads blurred. My hands stayed locked on the ste
