Macey
The ringtone startled me awake.
For one terrifying second, my heart lodged itself somewhere in my throat.
Hospitals never called with good news.
Not in my experience.
I fumbled across the nightstand for my phone, my pulse racing before I even looked at the screen. The caller ID simply read Tampa Children’s Hospital.
My stomach dropped.
I answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Macey? This is Jennifer from the pediatric oncology floor.”
It took me a second to remember Jennifer. She was one of the nurses who had taken care of Mel. She had kind eyes and wore colorful scrub caps with cartoon characters on them. Mel used to joke that Jennifer’s hats were cooler than half the outfits in her closet.
“Oh… hi.”
“I hope I’m not bothering you.”
“No, not at all.”
There was a bri
