Elena's POV
They leave me alone at midnight.
Arwen goes last, reluctantly, after Dr. Calloway tells her firmly that rest is not optional and visiting hours ended an hour ago. She squeezes my hand at the door and says she will be back in the morning and her face when she looks at me has none of the guardedness she uses with most people. Just open concern, uncalculated, the face of someone who decided to care about me before she had any reason to and has not revised that decision despite everything.
That is what makes the shame so heavy.
When the ward is quiet and the lights are low and Dr. Calloway is at her station outside the room, I lie in the medical bed and look at the ceiling and let myself feel the full weight of what I now know about the last six weeks of my life.
I have been a
