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Her lips are still moving, but I don’t catch a word she’s saying. I barely even notice it when she links her arm with mine and guides me, or when Vinny takes my other side. The sidewalk tilts under my feet. A man on a bike swerves around us, and the buildings blur.

“No,” I say. The word comes out wrong, too loud. “No, she can’t—”

“We don’t know what happened,” Carly interjects. “We don’t know anything yet. Deep breaths.”

But I can’t breathe… I can’t… breathe. My lungs feel like they’re full of sand.

Mom can’t die.

She’s not allowed to. Not when I’ve done everything right.

I angrily swipe at the tears trailing down my cheeks. Because how dare the universe? Or is it God? I don’t care if it’s the damn Easter Bunny. Mom. Can’t. Die. I won’t allow it.

Vinny’s already holding the back door open to the car. I climb in without registering the movement. Carly slides in after me, and then he slams the door and is behind the wheel before I’ve fastened my seatbelt.

The car pulls away from the curb with a screech. Horns blare as Vinny zig-zags through traffic. He doesn’t stop when the traffic lights are red, and he creates his own lanes where possible.

“She’s dead,” I say. The words sit in the air between us, ugly and final. “She’s dead, and I wasn’t there.”

“She is not dead,” Carly says. Her voice is sharp, cutting through the fog. “The nurse said she’s being treated. That means she’s alive, Kira. Focus on that.”

I press my palms against my eyes. “All this time, the same thing every day, and now…” My voice cracks. “What if she seized? What if she stopped breathing? What if—”

“Stop.” Carly’s hand closes around my wrist, pulling my hand away from my face. Her eyes are hard, steady. “You’re making it worse. We’re only a few minutes away, and then we’ll know. Until then, you just focus on breathing.”

Doing as she says, I inhale.

“Again. Slower.”

I drag in a breath. Hold it. Let it out. The fifth one is easier. The eighth is worse.

“Who are you calling?” Carly suddenly snaps, making me look at my empty hands.

“I’m calling the boss,” Vinny replies.

“Don’t call him until we know what we’re dealing with,” she hisses.

“He’ll want to know.”

“And he will know. Five minutes from now, when we have actual details instead of sending him in blind.”

I can feel the argument happening around me, but it’s happening to someone else. I’m watching the buildings slide past the window, counting blocks to the hospital, each one taking too long and not long enough.

“I can’t lose her,” I whisper. The words come out small, childlike. “I can’t. I did all of this for her. The wedding, Domenico, everything. If she dies now…”

“She’s not going to die.” Carly’s hand finds mine, squeezes. “I promise.”

I can’t help but resent her a little for saying that. Because she doesn’t know. No one does.

The car turns onto the hospital drive. The building looms ahead, all glass and concrete, and my stomach drops through the floor of the car. Vinny comes to an abrupt halt right outside the sliding doors and immediately cuts the engine.

“You have five minutes,” he says, turning to look at us. His jaw is set. “Then I’m calling the boss.”

“That’s fair,” Carly agrees.

The three of us rush into the looming building. Despite being here practically daily for over a year, I feel like a rat in a maze as soon as I step inside. Luckily, Carly pulls me in the right direction, saving me from having to give directions.

“I’ve got you,” she says. “Just keep walking.”