Elena’s POV

“Mom“” My voice cracked as I pushed through the hospital room door, my heart pounding in my chest like it was trying to w its way out. The sterile scent of antiseptic and faint traces of medicine wrapped around me instantly. The room was softly lit, shadows cast across the pale green walls by the gentle sunlight trying to peek through the half–drawn blinds.

Her head turned toward me slowly, her face pale and thinner than I remembered, but her eyes–those eyes I knew better than my own reflection- lir up the moment they found me.

I rushed to her side, my hands wrapping around hers bas /bbmy /bknees hit the floor next to her bed. Her fingers felt fragile in mine, like porcin warmed by love and wear

“Oh my God, Mom.” I could barely breathe. My throat tightened as tears spilled down my cheeks. Im so d you’re okay. I’m sorry, I wasn’t here when you woke up. 1-1 should have-

-Shhh,” she whispered, her voice bhoarse /bbut filled with that familiar sternness, Her lips curved into the faintest smile as she squeezed my bhand /b“That’s okay Sit down, Elena.”

Even bin /bher weak ness she managed to bhush /bme the same way she always had.

I blinked back the rest of my tears and stood slowly, dragging the chair closer to her bed, never once letting go of her hand. My chest still felt right, and bmy /bfingers trembled with leftover bpanic/b. I took in the details of her face–the faint lines on her forehead, the bsilver /bbstreaks /bthreaded bthrough /bher blonde bhair/b.

But her eyes still held fire.

Then her gaze fackered around the broom /bin confusion, her brows furrowing. “Where’s George!”

My breath caught.

My blood turned cold.

She didn’t remember!

A wave of dread washed over me, soaking every inch of me like icy brain/b. My fingers tightened around hers as I leaned forward, my voice trembling.

“Y–you don’t remember!”

A pause.

And then I watched it happen. The shift in bher /beyes, the faint tremor in her lower lip. She remembered.

Her hand shook in mine. “Ah. bright/b.” Her voice broke, cracking like thin ss. “bRight/bb./b”

The grief hit her all over again, and I saw it. The exact moment the loss settled over her like a shadow. Her body deted with ba /bbsoft /bexhale, eyes suddenly unfocused

“Mom,” I whispered, heart aching. “I’m so sorry.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and her lips trembled, but she gave a small shake of her head, like she didn’t want me to cry for her.

“Don’t be,” she bsaid/b, her voice softer than I’d ever heard it. “It’s not in our hands. There’s no banquet in this world that doesn’te to an end.”

That line.

She’d said that to m

to me so many times over the ye

yearsb. /b

And yet hearing it now, with her lying in a hospital bed after losing the man she’d loved for over a decade, it hit harder bthan /bI expected.

I nodded, lips pressed tight bas /bI blinked furiously. I hated crying in front of her. Hated showing weakness. But this wasn’t weakness, was it? This was loss. This was love bthat /bbhad /bnowhere else to go.

She bclosed /bher eyes, and I knew it wasn’t just sadness–it was exhaustion. Her body still hadn’t recovered, band /beven holding ba /bconversation seemed to drain her

I reached over and gently wiped the tears that silently trailed down her bcheeks/b.

1:35 PM

“I’m sorry I left you with all of this,” she whispered again, her words barely audible. “You must bhave /bbeen so scared

I shook my head quickly, choking bback /bthe sob in my throat. “As blong /bbas /byou’re okay now, I don’t care. Please, just focus on getting better.”

It was the truth. All I needed was her..

In

Because the idea of facing this worldpletely alone, without a single bperson /bwho saw me as their first priority, was suffocating

I was bafraid /bof

1 hadn’t realized it before. But I understood now, in the cold fluorescent light of this hospital room, that I wasn’t afraid of death. I was loneliness. Of being forgotten. Of having no one to run to

That thought made another name crawl its way in

into my head.

Niki

He didn’t ha

bhave /banyone either, did he

No mother. A terrible father. No girlfriend or even close friends, from what I’d seen. And for some reason, that thought squeezed something sharp in my

chest.

Did he feel lonely?

The door creaked open, and a doctor walked in holding a bclipboard/b.

He looked calm, professional, but his eyes flicked toward my mother with just enough gentleness to case some of my tension.

“Good morning. Mrs. Kovalyova,” he greeted. “And Miss Elena. I’m d to see you’re awake”

He moved to the foot of the bed, flipping through the clipboard as he began exining her condition, the surgery, the medications, the schedule for the next few weeks. Everything

With every sentenceb, /bI felt Mom tensing

Her hand in mine started to clench tighter and tighter, until her knuckles turned white. I didn’t stop her. I just held on.

When the doctor left, promising to return for her afternoon bvitals/b, I exhaled a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

Then she asked it.

“Did Dmitri pay for all of thist

Her voice was suspicious. Tired, but not confused.

My heart dropped to my stomach

She rubbed her temples and pushed herself up in bed. I scrambled bto /badjust her pillows, trying to buy myself a few seconds.

“This hospital is way too expensive for us,” she muttered.

I didn’t say anything

Pursed my lips.

Fidgeted.

How the hell was I supposed to exin thist

If bI /bbsaid /bDmitri did bpay/b, she’d flip. If 1 said he didn’t, she’d think I went bback /bto the loan sharks. And if 1 told her the truth?

I wanted to groan.

“No,” I bsaid /binstead, quietly. “Don’t worry about the money. I’ll take care of it.”

Stupid.

So, bso /bstupid.

Her hand mped baround /bmine like ba /bsteel trap, and her eyes narrowed.

“What Did. You. Dol

I gulped.

b2/3 /b

frlier heads

Dear God, why was she so scary even when she looked like she could barely lift

“Mom,” I tried.

“bElena/b,” she snapped.