Ava was sitting on the edge of the bed, still trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes when her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She reached for it lazily, thinking it was probably just a notification or a message from some app she forgot to delete. But then she saw the reminder pop up across her screen in bold letters:

Lily’s Hospital Check-up – 10:00 AM (Dr. Elise Grant)

Her heart dropped a little. She had forgotten all about it.

She looked over to the other side of the bed where Lily was still curled up, her tiny hand gripping the edge of the blanket. Her face looked...