Chapter 4 - THE REUNION IN ROOM 412
Hazel and Iris stopped dead just inside the doorway.
They looked exhausted, their eyes wide and uncertain as they stared at me propped up against the hospital pillows, with wires and IV lines snaking out from my arms.
Then they looked at Griffin.
Griffin stepped back from the bed, his throat working as he swallowed hard. He looked down at his daughters, his face softening into a raw, vulnerable expression that no board of directors or tech journalist had ever seen.
"Come here," Griffin whispered, holding out both arms.
Neither girl hesitated. They ran across the linoleum floor, launching themselves into his arms. Griffin caught them effortlessly, burying his face in their dark curls, holding them so tightly his shoulders shook.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Hazel asked softly, peeking around Griffin’s waist to look at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
I held out my trembling hand. "I'm okay, sweethearts. Come here."
They scrambled up onto the edge of the hospital bed, carefully avoiding the IV lines, and buried themselves against my chest. I wrapped my arms around them, kissing the tops of their heads, feeling the solid, living proof of a decade of survival pressed against my heart.
Griffin stood beside the bed, watching us with an expression of profound, aching reverence.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I whispered, looking up at him through my tears. "I was scared. I was so young, and everything felt like it was crumbling."
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Griffin reached down, placing his hand over mine and the girls' hands, uniting us in a single touch.
"You don't ever have to be scared again, Sloan," he said firmly, his voice dropping into a quiet vow. "Not you. Not them. We have ten years of lost time to make up for. And I am never, ever letting go."
