“I do?”
“A little.”
She nodded slowly.
“Still sad.”
“Still hurting.”
“But…”
She tilted her head.
“…lighter.”
I looked down.
Maybe she was right.
Not because the pain had disappeared.
It hadn’t.
It simply wasn’t crushing me every second anymore.
Grief had stopped screaming.
Now…
It whispered.
She suddenly frowned.
“Wait.”
My heart skipped.
“What?”
“Were you out?”
For the smallest fraction of a second…
I froze.
She noticed.
I forced myself to nod naturally.
“Yeah.”
“Where did you go?”
The lie formed before I could stop it.
“I needed to get something from the pharmacy.”
Concern immediately crossed her face.
“Are you feeling okay?”
I smiled.
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“I’ve had a bit of heartburn since lunch.”
That wasn’t entirely untrue.
“My stomach’s been a l
