CHAPTER 12

I broke down in tears when I finally saw my mom again. It had been almost three weeks, and that was by far the longest I had ever gone without seeing her. She was in her own private room; just like Christian said, and she looked a bit better. Sunlight speared through the sterile white blinds , dancing on the floor with specks of dust. Her bald head was covered with a beanie, she had her eyebrows drawn in with a pencil, but her cheeks were fuller, and she wasn’t as pale as the last time I saw her.

“How’re you feeling, mom?” I asked, wiping the snot from my nose with a paper towel.

“A lot better,” she answered, looking at me worriedly.

“You do look good,” I mused, “Christian’s team…they seem to be working harder than your other doctors.” I added in a low voice, more to myself than to her.

A faint smile graced my mother’s lips causing the familiar crinkling at the corners of her eyes to appear. I tried not to be sad at the sight of them, it felt good to see her and all the lines and eve