“Thank you, Clara,” he said without looking up from his screen.

He took a sip, his eyes tracking lines of medical data.

“Don’t wait up for me,” he added.

“Go back to bed.”

“I will,” I said.

I left the room, closing the door softly behind me.

But I didn’t go to bed.

I went to Lily’s room first.

Eleanor was curled up on the small cot in the corner, her breathing shallow and even.

Lily was tucked under her blankets, her stuffed bear clutched to her chest.

They were safe, at least for the moment.

I went back to our master bedroom and lay down on top of the covers.

I kept my ears strained, listening to the deep silence of the house.

Outside, the rain clawed at the windowpanes like fingernails.

An hour passed.

Then two.

Finally, I heard the faint sound of Nathan’s footsteps coming up the stairs.

The bedroom door opened, and he slipped inside.

He didn’t turn on the light.

He undressed in the dark, his clothes rustling as he dropped them into the hamper.