The orange peel Leo had dropped on the floor was starting to turn brown at the edges, the sweet smell of it mixing with the sharp, acidic stench of the industrial floor cleaner. I stared at it from my hospital bed, my eyes burning. My brother my own flesh and blood was sitting there huming a gospel tune, but all I could see was the new, expensive gold watch glistening on his wrist. A watch he couldn't afford on a civil servant's salary.
"That’s a nice watch, Leo," I said. My voice was a dry rasp, like a shovel scraping against a dry grave.
Leo’s humming stopped. He shifted in the plastic chair, his eyes darting to the door before settling on me with that fake, practiced sympathy. "It’s a gift, Esther. From a friend who wants to see you get better. Just focus on your recovery, bby."
"Whi
