ANNA'S POV

“How are you feeling now?” the voice that had been beside me all through today said softly.

My head lifted slightly, my heavy eyelids fighting to open. I saw my mom sitting close to the bed, and beside her, the man who had been in the room earlier was now awake too. The dull light from the lamp on the table cast a calm glow around them, but it didn’t change the emptiness I felt inside.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. My throat felt tight, dry even, and my body was still weak. I hoped she understood that I wasn’t ignoring her, I just didn’t have the strength...