Ellie POV
The hospital had settled into its usual afternoon rhythm — the kind of steady, predictable hum that made the whole place feel like it existed in its own pocket of time.
Machines beeped in soft intervals. The faint scent of antiseptic mixed with burnt coffee clung stubbornly to the air. My sneakers whispered against the linoleum as I moved from room to room, checking vitals, adjusting IV lines, offering tired patients quiet smiles.
It was busy in the usual way — comforting, even. Routine had become my anchor lately. With everything in my life shifting around me — the boys, the announcement, the way certain people were suddenly watching me like I held answers I didn’t remember learning — the hospital was the one place where I still felt like myself.
Or at least, the version o
