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Natalia’s POV

The indistinct chatter of hospital patients thundered down the hallway and into the room where Azek was on bed rest. Mia still sat there holding his hands like he could wake him up. She consistently brushed her fingers against his face. The burden and heavy weight of despair was written all over her face.

As I watched Mia intensely, my phone rang. I threw a glance at the screen and saw a familiar number. It was my parents. My stomach twisted when the thought of how Mia would feel hit me. She had never wanted to be in contact with parents. The fear of her losing it gripped me and my chest crushed under the pressure of my anxiety.

“Hello ?” I picked up the phone call and tried not to disturbed the tense silence in the room

“Natalia?” a shaky old voice said from the other end of the line. The voice sounded even older than I can remember. “We saw the news, hope Mia is ok” my mum added.

I was conflicted within me, the relationship between Mia and her foster parents had alwa