A New Beginning or the End?

Kelly

The hospital room was quiet except for the steady beeping of the monitor beside Anderson’s bed. The air smelled sterile, cold, almost suffocating.  

I stood by the door, arms crossed, watching him. He looked thinner than I remembered, paler too. His once-sharp features were dulled with exhaustion, and his usually piercing blue eyes seemed… tired.   

Anderson looked at me like he didn’t quite believe I was real. Like if he blinked, I would disappear.  

“You came,” he rasped.  

I swallowed, keeping my expression neutral. “You asked me to.”  

A humorless chuckle left his lips. “Yeah,” he murmured. “I did.”  

Silence stretched between us....