I stayed until his breathing slowed.

Then I went downstairs and checked the lock on the front door, not because I thought danger was waiting outside, but because I needed to do something ordinary with my hands.

PART 10

A Mother’s Anger

Brenda and I walked outside while the boys rested.

The hospital’s automatic doors swished shut behind us, leaving the sharp smell of rain and wet leaves.

“I want to ground him until graduation,” she said.