Sometimes I was back beside Piper, studying the exact curve of her cheek as she fought sleep.

I remember thinking that she should not have to keep a parent alive by staying awake.

At some point Brenda entered with a glass of water and a phone.

She stood over me without bending.

“Wyatt says she’ll get up when she’s ready,” she told someone.

“No, don’t come here.

We don’t need an audience.”

The person on the other end spoke sharply enough that I heard a faint voice through the speaker.