Grant pulled a green vinyl chair up to the bed and sat down.

He didn’t leave the room for the next two hours.

The nausea hit exactly when he said it would, heavy and sharp.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the squeak of rubber-soled nursing shoes in the hall.

“Breathe through your nose, Hannah,” Dr.

Grant said.

“Four seconds in, four seconds out.”

I counted the seconds in my head while the copper taste grew stronger.