A
nurse hurried in, took one look at us, and smiled. “Well. He’s been waiting a long time for this.” She checked the monitor and shook her head softly. “That boy has barely left your side. We’ve practically had to pry him off you to change the sheets.”
I stroked Walter’s hair. It needed a wash. His shirt was wrinkled, like he’d slept in it more than once.
“Sweetheart,” I whispered, “have you been sleeping here?”
He nodded against me.
“Why aren’t you at home with Aunt Lisa?”
The moment I said my daughter’s name, his whole body went stiff.
Not a flinch. Something worse. He went still, the way a small animal goes still when it hears something moving in the grass.
He didn’t answer me. Instead, his eyes slid toward the door.
And his face changed.
He climbed closer, put his mouth right against my ear, and whispered so
