Celeste’s POVMorning came too quietly, the kind of quiet that felt wrong in a house with a sick child.I woke up on Vivian’s couch to the sound of hurried footsteps and a sharp intake of breath. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. Then memory slammed back into place, Vivian’s front door opening the night before, her face wrecked with exhaustion, Molly burning up in bed.“Celeste,” Vivian whispered from the hallway. Her voice shook. “She’s worse.”I was on my feet before she finished the sentence.Molly lay tangled in her blankets, her cheeks flushed an angry red, curls plastered to her forehead with sweat. Her breathing was shallow, uneven. When I pressed my palm to her skin, heat radiated straight through me.“Hey, sweetheart,” I murmured, brushing damp hair away from her eyes. “It’s Mama Celeste.”Her lashes fluttered, and for a moment her eyes opened, glassy, unfocused.“My feet hurt,” she whispered.My chest tightened.I peeled back the blanket carefully and checked the banda
Last Updated : 2026-01-08 Read more