I Woke Up Alone in the ICU… But the Visitor Log Told the Truth No One Expected

The one who would “be fine.”

So I learned to be fine.

Even when I wasn’t.

Especially when I wasn’t.

By the fifth night, I stopped pretending to sleep.

“Do you ever go home?” I asked hoarsely.

Ethan looked up, surprised—but not uncomfortable.

“Sometimes,” he said. “But paperwork doesn’t finish itself.”

“That’s not why you’re here.”

He hesitated.