"Hel."
His voice travels through me like a wave—familiar, stirring something in my chest I didn't realize was still so alive.
I breathe out, steadying myself.
"Hey," I respond calmly, though everything inside me is shifting.
"How's Mom?" he asks.
Selena, who had been deeply immersed in her phone, now lifts her gaze, suddenly alert and watching.
"She's awake," I say softly, still trying to believe it myself.
"I'm glad. I was scared… scared that the court stuff might have pushed her too far," he says. His voice is lower now, heavy with guilt. "I feel so guilty, Hel. I feel like I should've done more."
Something in my chest tightens. My heart flutters with a strange mix of emotion—tenderness, pain, longing.
"No… no, Dan, it's not your fault," I murmur, fumbling for words that could take that guilt away, even just a little. "Really—it's not."
There's a pause. A silence filled with everything we're not saying.
Then his voice softens, deepens.
"I miss us, Hel."
