THIRTY-ONE
Nathan's shouting roused me from my nightmare. I caught the words, "Leave her alone!" and I realised the hands gripping my shoulders weren't his. Then the hands were gone and I fell back against the bed. The impact jolted the breath from my lungs.
I struggled to bring my head out of the dark nightmare and back to the bright hospital room. I took an inventory as I lay down, trying to orient myself.
There's the ceiling light, there's Nathan to my right, shouting at someone. On my left was the wash basin, which had two bunches of flowers in it, still wrapped in florist's paper. I looked further along the bed and saw a worried face I hadn't seen in a long time – a face I never expected to see visiting me in hospital. Jason.
Jason said something, his eyes on me, but I couldn't he
