Chapter 20 - SHE WASN’T CRYINGThree months after Marissa left, Miles woke at 2:17 a.m.
The hallway light was on.
Lila’s bedroom door stood open.
His body reacted before his mind.
He jumped from bed.
Ran.
Then stopped in the doorway.
Lila was not crying.
Caroline sat in the rocking chair with her.
Ethan sat on the floor beside them.
Lila had a mild fever.
Caroline looked up.
“Miles.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing serious.”
“Why is the door open?”
“So we could hear her.”
Miles stepped inside.
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
Ethan held up the thermometer.
“Low fever.”
Miles approached.
Lila reached for him.
“Mii.”
He touched her hand.
Caroline watched his face.
“You can go back to sleep.”
Miles hesitated.
“She might wake up.”
“I know.”
“You’ll hear?”
“Yes.”
“What if—”
Caroline interrupted gently.
“We’ve got her.”
Miles froze.
The sentence landed somewhere deeper than language.
We’ve got her.
Not you can relax.
Not stop worrying.
Not you’re being silly.
We’ve got her.
Miles looked at Ethan.
His father nodded.
“We do.”
Miles touched Lila’s hair.
“Night.”
“Mii.”
He walked toward the door.
Stopped.
Looked back once.
Caroline did not tell him not to.
Then Miles returned to his room.
He got into bed.
He listened.
No crying.
Five minutes.
Ten.
His body remained tense.
Then he remembered Dr. Price.
Fear learns quickly and forgets slowly.
Miles whispered to himself:
“They’ve got her.”
He fell asleep.
The next morning he woke at seven.
Sunlight filled his room.
For one terrible second he panicked.
He had slept through the night.
He ran to the nursery.
Empty.
Then heard laughter downstairs.
Lila sat at the breakfast table eating banana pieces.
Ethan drank coffee.
Caroline read messages.
Vivian had arrived early.
Everything was fine.
Miles slowed.
Caroline smiled.
“Good morning.”
“Morning.”
Vivian looked over her newspaper.
“You appear surprised to find civilization intact.”
Miles grinned.
“Maybe.”
Lila threw banana at him.
“Mi!”
Miles sat beside her.
He did not check her temperature.
Did not ask if she cried.
Did not ask who stayed awake.
May you like
He just ate breakfast.
And that ordinary morning became one of the biggest victories of his life.
Related Stories
