After a shower and food, which Keir insisted I eat, I was overcome with exhaustion unlike any I’d ever felt. I lay down to rest my eyes for a few minutes, only to wake the following morning in a panic. “I can’t believe I slept so long,” I berated myself, hopping on one leg while trying to slip on a pair of jeans. I’d jumped out of bed the second I realized what had happened and ran straight to the closet. “I have to get to the hospital and check on my mom. How could I have left them there alone?” Two large hands gently clasped either side of my face, forcing me to still. “Your mother is fine. She made it through surgery and is resting. I would have woken you if you needed to be there.” He spoke in that preternatural calm he was so good at, almost hypnotizing me with the sound of his voice.
