He was sitting behind his old walnut desk, sorting papers into piles.
I kept asking what he was looking for.
He wouldn’t answer.
At 3:02, a nurse checked my blood pressure.
At 4:36, I heard Liam snoring softly and nearly cried from the ordinary comfort of it.
At 6:11, my borrowed hospital phone rang.
I froze.
Liam woke immediately.
Neither of us moved.
The phone rang again.
A nurse had left it on the table after arranging it for me.
Only a few people knew the number.
I looked at Liam.
He reached for it.
“Wait.”
The screen showed Unknown Caller.
My pulse jumped.
Ruiz’s words returned.
You are not obligated to respond.
I let it ring.
The call ended.
A few seconds later, a voicemail notification appeared.
Liam and I stared at it.
“Could be the hospital,” he said.
“From an unknown number?”
“Could be.”
“That’s not what you think.”
