Chapter 3
Graham’s expression flickered; a shadow passed over his face. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. Hold on – I’ll
find your allergy medicine right now.”
He scrambled to his feet and began rifling through the medicine cabinet.
Evelyn curled inward with pain; her breathing shortened, every gasp a struggle. Her eyes followed Graham’s frantic silhouette as he tore through the cabinet.
Suddenly a sharp, exaggerated cry cut through the living room. “Ow! That hurts!” Sophie’s voice
rang out.
Graham froze mid–search and snapped toward the sound. Without hesitation he bolted from the
room. “Sophie! What happened?”
Through the crack in the door Evelyn watched him close on Sophie, steadying her with an
expression of raw concern.
Sophie held up a slightly reddened finger and, in a breathy, petulant tone, said, “I wanted another bowl of chicken soup and I hurried – I must have burned myself.”
“How could you be so careless?” Graham said, the reproach in his voice swallowed by a greater anxiety. In one motion he lifted Sophie into his arms. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”
Cradling her, he hurried out; his footsteps vanished into the yard.
–
He had completely forgotten Evelyn inside – Evelyn, who was wracked by an allergic reaction and desperately needed her medication.
Evelyn stared at the empty doorway as if it could split her in two. Fighting the suffocating pain and dizziness, she forced herself out of bed and staggered toward the medicine cabinet.
But Graham had left it in disarray; her vision shimmered with dark spots and she couldn’t find the pills.
Breathing grew shallow, strength slipped away, and the world tilted. She collapsed with a heavy
thud and lost consciousness.
When she came to, she was in a hospital bed.
Graham was sitting beside her, concern and guilt etched across his face. He leaned closer.
“Evelyn, you’re awake. Do you still feel unwell?”
Evelyn only looked at him and said nothing.
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Assuming her silence was anger, Graham hurried into an explanation.
“We were out of allergy medicine at home. Sophie’s burn looked bad, so I thought it best to take her to the ER and pick up your medication from the hospital pharmacy – I thought it would be
faster.”
“I didn’t mean to leave you like that. By the time I brought the medicine back, you’d already passed out. Please don’t be mad, okay?”
His explanation sounded reasonable – airtight, even.
But Evelyn had seen the way he’d rushed to Sophie, the urgency in his eyes and the care in his
hands. If she hadn’t watched that, she might have believed him.
She tried to smile; her lips trembled, but tears came instead. “I’m not mad,” she whispered.
No she wasn’t mad anymore.
—
She had decided she didn’t want him.
Over the next few days, Graham took time off work to stay with her. He fed her, brought her water,
and tended to her with meticulous attention.
Even the nurses noticed; one said with an easy smile, “You’re lucky – your brother’s really
attentive.”
Graham frowned and corrected her, firmly, “I’m not her brother, I’m her husband.”
–
The nurse blinked, then laughed. “Oh! My mistake. Well — you’re a good one. Real husbands
know how to take care of their wives.”
Evelyn closed her eyes and said nothing.
At night Graham remained vigilant, hovering as if the man who had left her in crisis could not
possibly be the same. When darkness fell he slept on the cot beside her bed, still fully dressed.
Outside, lightning split the sky and thunder rolled through a pouring rain.
The thunder woke Graham with a jolt. He sat up, his face paling. He glanced at Evelyn; she was awake, staring quietly out the window.
He rose quickly, a thread of panic in his voice. “Evelyn, stay here. Sophie’s been terrified of thunder since she was a kid – she can’t be alone right now. I’ll go check on her and be right
back.”
Before she could answer, he grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the room.
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Evelyn watched the doorway go still. The thunder and the pounding rain pressed against her chest
like a hollow ache.
He did not come back.
The storms lasted for days.
Evelyn assumed he was with Sophie, soothing the woman who feared thunderstorms. She stopped expecting anything from him.
She ate, took her medication, and followed the doctors‘ orders on her own.
Still, something felt wrong. A small, persistent chill crawled along her spine, as if invisible eyes were watching her from the shadows.
On the day she was finally discharged she completed the paperwork by herself and stepped out of the hospital. As she lifted her hand to hail a cab a sharp pain flared at the back of her neck.
Her vision went black. She knew nothing more.
Chapter 3
