"You promise?"
"Yes."
He still hesitated.
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"I'll be here when you come back tomorrow."
"Right here?"
"Yes. Right here."
Finally, Noah hugged Emma carefully.
"Night, Mom."
He took two steps toward the door, then came back.
"And Dad's staying."
Emma didn't move.
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Noah seemed satisfied anyway.
He went home with my mother.
That was the first night in weeks he slept in his own bed.
I stayed beside Emma.
No phone calls.
No wandering the halls.
No unnecessary coffee.
For a while, I talked.
Then I stopped.
I realized silence wasn't something I needed to escape.
So I sat there holding her hand.
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"I'm sorry," I told her eventually.
Her fingers remained still.
"I kept thinking being here every day meant I was here for you."
Nothing.
"I think Noah understood the difference before I did."
I smiled.
"He usually does."
