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I only nodded, sniffling.

“Ay, bendito.”

Charlie lingered near the door, barely able to hold her head upright. We’d both been up for over twenty-four hours at that point.

“Go home, Charlie,” I told her without taking my eyes off Ryan. “Thank you for everything, but go home.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” she said through a yawn.

“Just go. I’ll be fine.”

Charlie only stood there, hesitating.

“Well, if she won’t go, I will,” Marisol finally said. “I could use a shower. I’m going to find a hotel nearby.”

“No, you’re not,” I said. I fished my keys from my pocket and removed the one for my front door. “Charlie, Take her to my place. Give her anything she needs.”

“I couldn’t impose on you like that, Genie.”.

“You’re not,” I defended, pressing the key into her palm. “You came all this way and you have so much going on. The least I could do is give you a place to stay that’s better than a Hazelbrush hotel room.”

With a promise that I’d call the minute anything changed, they left. Even with the knowledge that I was in the intensive care unit, the eerie silence was almost too much. I watched the numbers on the monitor and the rise and fall of Ryan’s chest with each pump from the ventilator. Occasionally, his finger or an eyelid would twitch, but his hand still lay limp in mine. I pulled the chair as close to his bed as I possibly could and rested my head on my arm.

“Please get better soon,” I whispered. “I can’t stand seeing you this way.”

I stayed in that seat all day. The nurses encouraged me to get a drink, or stretch my legs, but I refused to move. I wasn’t going to leave him.

I would never leave him again.

Sometime later, a hand squeezed my shoulder, startling me awake. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep. I didn’t know who I was expecting, but I was relieved to see Shannon standing off to my side.

“You must be exhausted,” she commented, setting a cup of coffee down on the table next to me.

Groaning, I rubbed my eyes as the memories flooded back to me. “You mean this isn’t all a dream?”

“I’m afraid not. You’ve sat there all through day shift. You should go home and get some decent sleep. You could use something to eat.”

“I’m not walking out of this hospital unless it’s with him.”

Shannon only stuck her hands in her pockets. “Do you know where his mom went?”

I checked my phone, relieved to see no new notifications. “She must still be asleep. Do you know something?”

Shannon glanced towards the door before dropping her voice to a whisper. “Debbie’s wandering around here so I have to make this quick, but they’ve weaned him off the sedation. It might take some time, but he should be coming around very soon. Someone will be by to take him for a scan any minute now.”

“Thank you.”

Shannon squeezed my arm, but before she could leave, Ryan started thrashing on the bed and his monitors went haywire. I’ll never forget the sickening choking sound coming from him.

“What’s going on?” I jumped out of my seat and gave Shannon room to work. She slammed a button on the wall. “He’s fighting the tube. It’s a good thing—it means he’s breathing on his own. I’m sorry to do this, but I promise you don’t want to be here while we take it out. I’ll come get you when we’re done.”

Shannon guided me out of the room the moment a doctor rushed in. Sulking against the wall, I could only listen to what happened next. The doctor spoke softly to Ryan, he gagged, then it was all over. It happened so fast that I hadn’t had time to process it before Shannon was letting me back in.

Without the mask and the breathing tube, the rest of Ryan’s face came into view. With a gentle touch, I traced the lines indented in his skin.

“Don’t worry, those will fade.”

I snatched my hand away, startled that Shannon was still in the room. “I’m sorry.”