Chapter 7

The hospital room was a sterile cocoon, its white walls and beeping machines a stark contrast to the chaos in Diana’s heart. Lily lay motionless on the bed, her small chest rising and falling beneath a thin blanket, an IV line snaking from her arm. The rash from her allergic reaction had faded, but her face remained pale, her eyes closed in a coma that had gripped her since the night before. Diana sat beside her, her hands clasped around Lily’s, the bandage on her daughter’s palm rough against her skin. She hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten every ounce of her was tethered to the hope that Lily would wake. The doctor’s words echoed in her mind: “It’s severe, but she’s stable.” “We’re waiting for her system to fight it off.” Waiting. That’s all Diana could do, her world narrowed to the soft beep of the monitor and the faint warmth of Lily’s hand. She’d called Ryan again after they arrived, her voice breaking as she told him Lily was unconscious. He’d come once, hours later, his face s