|Katherine|
By the time I finally arrived at St. Luke’s, my pulse was still thrumming with irritation. The simmering frustration hadn’t left me; it clung to my skin like heat trapped in summer air. But I forced myself to slow down, to breathe, to school my features into calm neutrality before stepping inside Grandpa’s room. The last thing I wanted was for him to see my mood and start asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
“Oh, why are you only coming now?” Grandpa asked the second I walked in. He barely glanced up at me, his eyes flicking toward me briefly before shifting back to the polo match on the television. His voice carried the casual impatience that only he could manage.
“Have you had dinner? If not, order something.”
Guilt pricked at me, sharp and sudden, and I moved clos
