“Always There”

Eloise’s POV

Ever since I returned from the hospital, Max hadn’t left my side.

At first, I thought it was a phase. A child clinging to a mother who he missed for too long. But it wasn’t a phase, it was him quietly keeping watch. His tiny hands always finding mine, his nose buried in my hair whenever I held still long enough. He didn’t speak much about it. Just stayed close, as if that alone could stop the world from spinning out of control again.

That morning, I woke to the weight of him sprawled across my stomach like a stubborn cat. My arms ached from being...