The hospital smelled of disinfectant and something faintly metallic, like the ghost of blood that clung to the tiled walls no matter how much they scrubbed it. Tessa Marvins hated it.
The smell reminded her of everytime her grandmother had come home weak and coughing, until one day, she hadn't come home at all. But she had no choice than to be here, her mother was here.
Roy Dashiel hadn't exactly given her permission to be here, but he already stated he had given her a bit of her freedom. She was gambling on that right, she just wanted to know how she was faring.
Her heart hammered as she pushed open the heavy door to the ward.
Her mother lay in a bed by the window, frail and smaller than Tessa Marvins remembered. Tubes snaked from her hands and the beeping of machines filled the sil
