Chapter Fifty Four

Lila

The waiting room felt colder than it ever had.

I sat in the corner chair, my knees drawn up close, arms wrapped around myself as if that could stop the shivering that wouldn’t leave my bones.

Every so often, a nurse would glance over, pity softening her expression, and I’d force myself to look away. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone seeing me like this small and hopeless and breakable.

Hours had passed since I arrived. The sky outside the tall windows had gone from gray dawn to blinding daylight, then slipped into the dull amber of late afternoon.

Still no news.

Still no word.

I rubbed my palms over my face, trying to scrub away the exhaustion, but it clung to me like a second skin.

My mother’s doctor had told me they’d stabilized her breathing, that she was resting for now. But the way he’d looked at me the careful neutrality in his voice told me he didn’t think it would last.

I pressed my fingertips to my temples, willing myself not to start crying again.

I’d run out of tea