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But he must have understood, because after a moment, she could hear his footsteps trudging past them. Then her mother turned, guiding her back out the door.
They walked another few paces through the cold building before stopping again.
Then she heard the click of a door opening before her mother led her through.
The man’s throat cleared again a moment later. “Like I said,” he muttered, his voice lowering, “she needs to recover.”
Her mother pulled her forward, then Maddie reached a gentle hand out, until it met soft fabric. The same soft fabric she’d felt on her own body minutes before when she’d woken up.
She trailed her fingers up, only stopping when they met an icy, stiff hand—Saff’s hand.
A mangled breath released from her chest. One that felt like it’d been trapped there since the first moment she’d realized Saff had been shot.
Her fingers grazed higher onto her wrist until they suddenly stopped, feeling cold, hard metal.
She fumbled over it, studying the way it wrapped around Saff’s wrist, with a chain on one side connecting somewhere else.
Before she could ask, the man cleared his throat again, and she swore she could hear a hint of hesitation in it.
“She woke up at one point while we were working on her,” he mumbled. “She was..” He trailed off, searching for words as he cleared his throat again, a bit awkwardly. “She was agitated—trying to fight back. She seemed to be looking for something—or someone. We sedated her and cuffed her down as a precaution.”
Maddie blinked, absorbing what he’d said, imagining Saff in that state—in so much pain—and still fighting people she didn’t recognize.
She moved her hand back down to the cold skin, giving Saff’s fingers a gentle squeeze.
"I want to stay in here with her,” Maddie said, barely louder than a whisper.
“You really should be resting too,” the man replied.
“Can we bring a chair in here for her?” her mother asked.
Maddie turned her head, surprised that she hadn’t immediately tried to convince her to return to bed. Then again, maybe she knew it’d be a futile effort.
The man went quiet for a moment before mumbling something about how they could make it work. Then his footsteps padded out of the room.
A minute later, he returned, placing a chair behind her.
She reached out, pulling it up close to the bed before dropping into the worn out cushion.
“I’ll be close by if you guys need anything,” he said, excusing himself before leaving again.
Maddie took Saff’s hand, leaning her elbows against the bed, ignoring the sting as the mattress pressed into the burns.
Her mother’s hand squeezed her shoulder lightly.
“Its nice here,” her mom said softly. “Different from what I expected. But nice. They have more here than what we’ve had anywhere else.”
Maddie didn’t answer. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she just didn’t have the energy.
There was nothing left in her. Nothing beyond making sure Saff was okay.
After a moment, her mom retracted her hand. “I’m going to go find your dad. He’ll want to know that you woke up.”
Maddie nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
She listened as the footsteps left the room. Then she leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on Saff’s hand before resting her forehead on the blanket beside it.
“I’m here,” she whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
