CHAP 2 — Lily Saw Them Together
The first real warning came from Lily.
Carol had gone downstairs for coffee. Thomas was asleep. Michael had texted that he was “stuck at work,” though our son was barely twenty-four hours old and I could not understand what work could matter more.
Lily climbed onto the edge of my bed and gripped my hand with both of hers.
Her fingers were cold.
“Mom,” she whispered, “I saw Nurse Rachel before.”
My skin prickled.
“Where?”
Lily looked toward the door.
“With Dad.”
The monitor beeped steadily behind us.
For a second, I thought pain medication had bent the room.
“What do you mean?”
“Two weeks ago. Dad picked me up from school and took me for ice cream. He said not to tell because it was a surprise day.”
I remembered that day.
Michael had said he worked late.
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“I went to the bathroom. When I came back, Dad was outside sitting with Rachel. They didn’t see me. She was mad. Dad kept saying, ‘Not yet.’”
My mouth went dry.
“Did you hear anything else?”
Lily nodded slowly.
“She said, ‘When the baby comes, she’ll be in the way.’”
The room changed.
Not physically.
The walls stayed white. The bed stayed still. Thomas kept breathing softly in the bassinet.
But every ordinary thing became evidence.
Rachel knowing Lily’s name.
Rachel bringing medicine the doctor had not mentioned.
Michael’s absence.
The way Rachel’s eyes always moved to Thomas before they moved to me.
I pressed the call button and asked for my doctor.
A different nurse came in first. Her badge said Hannah.
“Is everything all right?”
“I need to know what medication Rachel has been giving me.”
Hannah frowned.
“Rachel?”
“Yes. Blonde nurse. White uniform.”
She checked the tablet at the foot of my bed.
“There’s no Rachel assigned to this floor today.”
My heart stopped.
“She was just here.”
Hannah’s face changed.
“I’ll get the charge nurse.”
Before she could leave, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Lily looked past her and went pale.
“She’s coming.”
Hannah turned, confused.
The door opened.
Rachel stood there with a syringe in her hand, orange cap still on, smiling as if she belonged in every room she entered.
“Oh,” she said. “Busy in here.”
Hannah stepped forward.
“Can I help you?”
Rachel’s smile thinned.
“I’m covering a medication check.”
Hannah looked at the syringe.
“I’ll verify that.”
Rachel’s eyes hardened.
Then the overhead code alarm sounded somewhere down the hall.
Hannah hesitated.
Rachel said softly, “You should go.”
Hannah left, but not before looking at me.
A look that said: Do not take anything from her.
Rachel’s gaze slid to Lily.
My daughter’s fingers dug into my blanket.
Five minutes later, Lily slipped from the bed and walked to the door.
May you like
She peered into the hallway.
Then she came back with a face so serious I barely recognized her.
“Mom,” she whispered, “get under the bed right now.”
