The following morning, I woke up and I was so lonely in the chilled room.
I sat up slowly and the silence in the big mansion was heavy and strange.
It pressed down on me and my fingers tightened around Leo’s stuffed tiger, it was still smelling like him.
I stood up to take my phone from the table beside my bed. It rang and my heart ran fast.
I answered quickly. “Hello?”
The nurse’s voice was tired but clear. “Mrs. Blackwell, Leo is stable. He is still very weak, but he’s holding on. We are watching him closely.”
I closed my eyes and breathed hard. “Thank you. Please let me know if there’s any change.”
The call then dropped and I held the phone a moment longer, then put it down slowly and I was a bit hopeful.
I walked downstairs to the kitchen and I could perceive the odour of a co
