I exhale and nod. “It wasn’t my place to. I didn’t always know. It wasn’t until we got here that Echo recognized the name and put it together.”
She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t look away either.
“I didn’t lie to you, Red,” I tell her gently. “It was never about hiding it. Charlotte’s not easy, but she is your sister. And that story... it had to come from her, not me.”
She nods once, slow and tired, but she doesn’t argue.
“Well, I can go home.” She gestures toward the discharge paperwork, a little too proud of it.
I’ve wanted this moment for weeks, her waking up, talking to me, getting stronger, but now that it’s here, I don’t want her to leave the hospital. Not yet. Not when I can still see with my own eyes that she’s safe and healing. But she’s not the type to let anyone cod
