Chapter 80
Lanie led Arlo to the hospital ward. When they reached Etta’s room, they saw that Etta was still deeply asleep. She lay small beneath the crisp, bleached-white sheets, her hair cascading onto the pillow. The monotonous IV drip silently fed life-sustaining fluid into her arm, and a thin tube delivered precious oxygen beneath her nose. She looked peacefully serene, maybe even slightly fragile and angelic, but the absolute, unnatural stillness felt deeply unsettling.
He moved to the side of the bed, his feet barely making a whisper on the tiled floor. He didn't dare touch her. Not yet. He simply stood there, his jaw clenched tight, watching the nearly imperceptible rise and fall of her chest.
A deep, gut-wrenching melancholy settled over him. It wasn't the sharp, stabbing pain o
