202 Fractured Bonds

(Winona)

I sit beside my mother’s hospital bed, the steady beep of the monitors is the only sound breaking the silence. Mom’s face is pale, almost translucent under the harsh fluorescent lights, her breathing shallow but steady.

I reach out, gently taking her hand in mine. It’s warm, but she doesn’t react.

The doctors told me she’s unconscious, that she’ll wake up when she’s ready, but that’s all they’d say. Some confidentiality agreement that keeps them from saying more. They’ve given her a bed and treatment, but answers are scarce.

And the waiting is suffocating.

Cass is in the corner of the room, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring out the window with a fierce intensity. She hasn’t said a word to me since I arrived at the hospital. The tension is thick.

Every time I try to talk to her, she shuts me down with a glare that cuts deeper than any words ever could.

“Cass,” I start softly, my voice barely above a whisper. “She’s going to be okay. The doctors said—”

“I don’t c