I move closer, my eyes fixed on his face. It takes me a full minute to steady myself, to breathe out the weight sitting in my chest.
Only then do I speak.
“I know you can’t hear me,” I start. “Or maybe you can, I don’t really care.”
I lower myself into the chair beside his bed. “There was a time I would’ve killed just to get an answer from you,” I continue. “To know if you ever loved Mum or if any of it was ever real even for some months.” I pause, my eyes drifting back to the steady rise and fall of his chest. “But I figured out the truth a long time ago. You couldn’t have loved her and still hurt her the way you did.”
I lick my lips. “I’m not here for forgiveness. I’m here to tell you something.” My voice stays calm, even as my chest tightens. “I will never be like you, never. I won’
