Neither spoke.
One minute.
Then five.
Then ten.
A nurse later described it as:
“the loudest silence I had ever heard.”
Henry’s hand trembled on the blanket.
Samantha stared at it.
That hand haunted her.
She remembered it blocking paths.
Holding her.
Forcing her down.
Making her obey Stone’s instructions.
But now she remembered something else too.
Why.
Every time Henry refused, Stone hurt Samantha.
Every time Samantha rebelled, Stone hurt Henry.
Their captor had transformed love into a weapon.
Samantha slowly rose from the wheelchair.
Her knees nearly buckled.
She crossed the room.
Henry’s eyes followed her.
She reached the bed.
For a moment, her hand hovered over his.
Then she touched him.
Henry flinched.
Samantha almost pulled away.
But his fingers closed around hers.
Weakly.
Desperately.
Tears rolled from Henry’s eyes.
His mouth moved.
“Sammie…”
It was the name he had called her since childhood.
Samantha’s face collapsed.
She leaned over him.
For the first time since crawling out of the forest, she no longer looked empty.
