I have never stopped being grateful to him for that.

“He hasn’t told you anything,” David said, so quietly I almost could not hear him over the hum of the hospital.

“Has he?”

Chapter 7 — The Consultation Room

My blood ran cold.

The lunchbox in my hand, which a moment before had felt like nothing at all, suddenly felt impossibly heavy, dragging at my shoulder, and I stared at David’s trembling lips as though I could stop the next words from coming if I only refused to understand them.

“Told me what?” My voice came out too high, sharp and breathless.