“Watch me,” Daniel said.

Twenty minutes later, Daniel walked back into Grace’s room, his forehead damp under the ceiling light.

He didn’t look at me.

He picked up his briefcase from the floor, told Grace he’d see her in the morning, and walked straight out into the corridor.

The room stayed quiet except for the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.

I sat down in the vinyl chair beside Grace’s bed and reached for her hand.

The green light on the wall unit blinked every six seconds, casting small square patterns across the bedsheet.