“What happened?” I whispered.
The nurse remained quiet for too long.
“Ma’am… you need to come right away.”
I don’t remember making it back to my room. I remember my purse dropping to the floor. I remember my hands trembling so violently that I dropped my phone twice before I could call my mother.
She was supposed to be taking care of Noah for three days.
My younger sister, Madison, had been staying there too. I had never truly wanted to leave him with them. Something deep in my stomach had twisted the moment I folded his dinosaur pajamas and tucked his favorite blue blanket into his small backpack. But my sitter had canceled at the last minute, my ex-husband was deployed overseas, and if I skipped that crucial Thanksgiving business trip, I would lose the promotion that was keeping us afloat.
So I convinced myself three days would be okay.
My mother answered on the fourth ring.
“Why is Noah in the hospital?” I sobbed.
Silence.
