Leah
Two days passed in a rhythm that felt both familiar and unreal.
Drop Bella at school. Drive to the hospital. Sit in rooms that smelled like sanitizer and burnt coffee. Count minutes like they meant something. Watch my mother hold herself together with sheer force. Watch Daniel hover like a guard dog. Watch Jacob stay close to Lizzie like he had been given an assignment and was determined to do it perfectly.
Last night Bella went to Jacob’s parents.
She had been excited in that bright, uncomplicated way kids had, the kind that made my chest ache. She liked their house. She liked the little routines Jacob’s mother insisted on, the matching pajamas, the cocoa before bed, the way Jacob’s father always let her “help” with things that did not need helping.
And she adored Nicki. Nicki w
