Mark
The second Tony’s fingers move, my heart forgets how to beat.
I’m standing there—too close, too rigid, pretending control is something I still have—and then his hand curls around Mel’s like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like he never left us at all.
“Tony?” Sarah’s voice cracks it open.
When his eyes finally focus and he looks at us—really looks—something inside my chest gives way. Relief hits so hard my knees almost buckle. I don’t trust myself to speak. I grip the bed rail, then let go and sit down hard on the chair behind me.
The room fills with voices, soft and overlapping. Sarah crying and laughing. Luke swearing under his breath. My mother murmuring something steady and grounding, like she always does.
I don’t hear any of it.
I lean forward and cover my face w
