Chapter 3

Ethan made good on his threat. He had us barred from base lodging, claiming I was emotionally unstable. We ended up in a cheap hostel off-base, the room damp and cold, the single window looking out onto a grimy alley. Leo' s cough got worse in the chill.

I spent the night holding him, listening to his labored breathing, my anger hardening into a solid core of resolve. I wasn't leaving.

The next day, there was a knock on the door. It was Maria. She stood there, looking me up and down with a smirk, her expensive perfume filling the small, stale room.

"Ethan feels so bad for you," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "He told me how you just can't manage on your own."

I just stared at her, saying nothing.

Her smile widened. "He's such a good man. He even took care of your little problem. He sent Leo to a refugee camp on the other side of the country. It's for the best. They'll know how to handle a sick child there."

Panic, white-hot and absolute, surged through me. My mind flashed back to the visions of losing Leo. I didn't think, I just reacted. I lunged at her, my hands grabbing the front of her dress.

"Where is my son?" I screamed.

She shrieked, stumbling backward. Just then, the door flew open and Ethan rushed in. He saw me with my hands on Maria, who was now sobbing theatrically.

"See, Ethan! She's crazy! She attacked me!" Maria cried.

"Gabrielle, get off her!" Ethan yelled, pulling me away. "What is wrong with you? You' re completely unstable!"

"She said you sent Leo away!" I yelled back, struggling against his grip.

"I sent him to the base clinic, you idiot!" he shouted, his face red with fury. "I was trying to help, and this is what I get? You attacking the one person who has been there for me?"

He looked from my desperate face to Maria's tear-streaked one.

"You will apologize to Maria," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You will apologize right now, or you will never see your son again."

The world narrowed to that single, horrible choice. My pride, my anger, my dignity-none of it mattered. Only Leo mattered.

I looked at Maria, who was hiding a triumphant smirk behind her hand. I took a deep breath, the air tasting like ash in my mouth.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, the words choking me.

Ethan' s expression flickered. For a brief moment, I saw a flash of shame in his eyes before it was gone. He let go of my arm.

"Fine," he said, not looking at me. "He's in the pediatric ward. You can go see him."