Ava's Pov:
One second I was standing beside the bed, staring at her like my body didn't belong to me anymore, and the next, I was on a chair I didn't even recall pulling closer.
Everything felt slow, but not in a calm way. More like my brain was trying to process too many things at once and failing at all of them.
She looked smaller, weaker, more fragile. That was the first thing I noticed. It time had quietly taken pieces of her. I knew her to be more outspoken, a talkative even. But now, she could barely form the words, "hello"
Her eyes moved toward me again, and I realized I had been staring for too long.
"Ava," she said softly.
Her voice wasn't the same either. It wasn't gone, just thinner. Like it had been used too much without rest.
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out.
I had thought about this moment before. More times than I could count. What I would say, how I would act, whether I'd be angry or distant or emotional.
None of it showed up.
