Chapter 5
At nine that night, Alfie showed up.
He carried a canvas bag packed with a change of clothes and toiletries, and passed it to Layla.
"I'll stay here tonight. You should go home and get some sleep," Alfie said.
"I'm not leaving," Layla replied.
"ICU doesn't allow visitors to stay overnight," Alfie said.
"Then I'll just wait outside," Layla insisted.
Alfie glanced at her and set the canvas bag down on a chair.
The harsh white lights in the hallway stretched their shadows long and thin.
"Alfie."
Layla broke the silence.
"Are you really serious about the divorce?" she asked.
Alfie stuffed his hands in his pockets and stayed silent.
"I don't want a divorce," Layla said, her voice trembling. "Camryn's only three. He needs his parents."
Alfie replied, his voice chillingly calm, "You said that before you left. You told me it was the last time you'd hang out alone with Moises. You said you'd put our family first."
He paused.
"Layla, how many times have you said that?" Alfie asked, his tone flat.
Layla opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"You said that when you were pregnant with Camryn. Then again when Camryn turned three months old. And again on your birthday last year," Alfie said.
He looked up at her.
"Just how many 'last times' are you going to have?" Alfie asked.
Layla said, taking a step closer, "This time is different. I've really made up my mind this time..."
"This time is different," Alfie cut her off.
The hallway lights threw faint shadows under his lashes.
"This time, Camryn ended up in the ICU. This time, you turned off your phone for five days. This time..." Alfie's voice was so low it nearly disappeared into the tiles. "I've finally figured it out."
He crouched down, meeting her gaze.
From this angle, Layla could see his bloodshot eyes, the red lines forming a web that held all his exhaustion hostage.
"Layla, let me ask you something," Alfie said.
His voice was so hoarse it sounded like he'd been up for days.
Alfie said, "What if Camryn got hurt at school today, and the teacher tried to reach you, but your phone was off?
"What if our house caught fire, and the neighbor tried to call you, but you still had your phone off?
"What if I was in a car crash, and the hospital tried to contact you, but your phone was off the whole time?"
He paused, swallowing hard.
"Where do you think you belong right now?" Alfie asked.
"I was on my way back," Layla started.
"You were at that hotel Moises booked," Alfie cut her off.
Alfie stood up, every word forced through gritted teeth.
"Every damn time, you end up with Moises," he said.
Layla parted her lips, but no sound came out.
She wanted to say that Moises was nothing more than a friend.
She wanted to say that she just needed somewhere to catch her breath.
But those words hovered at the edge of her tongue, and she bit them back, one after another.
Because in that hospital room, Camryn's tiny body was hooked up to an oxygen tube, her chest barely rising and falling.
Any excuse she could come up with felt as worthless as a scrap of paper in the face of that sight.