Chapter 6 - The Long Recovery

The morning sun broke through the storm clouds over Willow Creek, casting a bright, warm light across the third-floor windows of County Children's Hospital.

I sat in the comfortable armchair beside Maisie's bed, holding a warm cup of coffee in one hand and her small, uninjured left hand in the other.

Maisie was awake, propped up against three plush white pillows. She was wearing her favorite unicorn pajamas, which my sister had brought over from her house, and her bright purple leg cast was covered in colorful doodles drawn by the pediatric nurses.

"Mommy?" Maisie asked softly, taking a tiny sip from her orange juice box.

"Yes, baby?"

"Is Adam ever coming back to our house?"

I set my coffee cup down on the bedside table and leaned in close, wrapping both of my arms gently around her small shoulders.

"No, sweetheart," I promised her, looking straight into her clear brown eyes. "Adam is gone. The police took him away to a place where he can never, ever hurt anyone again. He will never step foot near our house, your school, or anywhere near us ever again."

Maisie let out a tiny, shuddering sigh of relief. Her small shoulders, which had been hitched up in constant tension for nine long months, finally dropped. She rested her head against my chest, listening to the steady beat of my heart.

"Mommy?" she whispered again.

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Can we fix my pink phone now?"

I smiled through my tears, pulling her pink toy phone out of my purse. I unlocked the screen, clicked into the contact directory, and deleted the fake number saved under MOM.

I carefully typed in my real ten-digit cell phone number, verifying every single digit three times to make sure it was absolute perfection.

Then, I pressed the save button.

"Here, baby," I said, handing the phone back to her. "Try calling Mommy right now."

Maisie tapped the big button labeled MOM.

Two seconds later, my cell phone in my pocket began ringing loudly, playing her favorite cheerful pop song ringtone.

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Maisie’s face lit up with the brightest, most beautiful smile I had seen in over a year. She pressed her pink phone to her ear and giggled into the speaker. "Hi, Mommy!"

"Hi, sweet girl," I answered from two inches away, kissing the top of her head. "I hear you loud and clear. And I'm always, always going to answer."