The door to my hospital room opened.
It was the middle of the night.
The sound was soft, almost careful, as if whoever it was didn't want to wake me. The hallway lights spilled faintly into the room before the door closed again, shutting out the rest of the world.
I had forced Jamie and Soren to leave earlier.
They hadn't wanted to. Not at all. They argued, complained, and looked at me like I was asking them to abandon me in the middle of a storm. But I stood my ground. They had a protest tomorrow. A strike. They couldn't show up exhausted, slouched, half-asleep. And there was nowhere for them to sleep here anyway. The only thing available were stiff plastic chairs pushed against the wall. Those chairs were uncomfortable. If they slept in then they would wake up miserable and sore.
