When I woke, dawn had begun to soften the sky outside my window.
My face was wrapped in bandages. Pain pulsed beneath them, heavy and deep.
For a few seconds, I didn’t remember where I was.
Then Wyatt leaned forward from the chair beside my bed.
“Hey.”
His voice cracked.
I tried to speak, but my mouth was dry.
He raised a cup of water and held the straw carefully.
“Slowly.”
“Did they fix it?”
“The surgery went well.”
“My eye?”
“The doctor still believes your vision will return.”
I let out a weak breath.
Wyatt brushed his fingers over the back of my hand.
“You were in surgery for almost four hours.”
“Police?”
His expression darkened.
“Your father has been charged with felony assault.”
“My mother?”
“Arrested for conspiracy and obstruction.”
“Melanie?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
“She ran.”
I closed my right eye.
“Of course she did.”
