Unspoken Farewells

FREYA’S POV

I woke up to the steady beep of machines and the smell of antiseptic. My head felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton, and my mouth tasted like I'd been chewing on pennies. The chair beneath me was uncomfortable, plastic digging into my back.

Hospital chair. I was in a hospital chair.

My mother lay in the bed next to me, her face pale against the white pillows. Tubes snaked from h