Hailey
Tyler shows up at the hospital the day after I am admitted, and it’s like he’s a different person. Maybe it"s because I am on the psych floor. Maybe everything looks different from here.
He is there, seated beside my bed, scrolling on his phone. “Hey,” I say, taking him in. His eyes are set in dark circles, and he hasn"t shaved in days. His clothes are wrinkled and dirty, stained with the dark, dry soil of the forest. He picks at a hole in his denim jeans and takes a drink of his water.
“Hey,” he says, and then he flashes something I haven’t seen since before I was abducted: a bright smile.
“You’ve been to see Eddie?” I ask, knowing by his appearance he’s just come from his father’s.
“Yeah.” He nods, and I notice the smile does not fade. “He had a lot of work he needed help wit
