Chapter 37

I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her hugs until then. I felt like I could breathe, like a cloud had been lifted. She held on to me for a while, tears streaming down her now-red face. I tried to calm her with a few soft words. After a while, she did and finally let me go.

“You’re awake. How are you feeling, dear?” she asked as she stroked my hair.

I was in pieces. I was a mess. My body ached, my mind felt numb, and the events replayed over and over in my head. I was not good. I don’t think I’ve been okay since the breakfast incident. It felt like I’d been thrown into the deep end, struggling to swim, sinking deeper and deeper every time.

“Like I’ve been trampled by a hundred horses,” I croaked, my voice raspy from not using it. “Where’s Claude?”

Her face fell when I said Claude’s name, making me nervous. Had something happ