There was a flurry of movement in the ward when Jayden arrived, Dad dropping him off and giving him strict instructions to call once he was done visiting. The nurses were milling about it that kind of controlled panic that hospital staff did, and he hovered uncertainly until one, a tiny, redheaded woman with tattooed wrists, paused in her fluttering.
“Can I help you, dear?”
“Um, I’m here to see Darren Peace?”
“The bay at the end,” she chirped. “We moved him down to the standard unit this morning, and he’s gone and thanked us by swearing at his brother, poor dear.”
Jayden’s heart hiccupped, and he was gone before she finished talking, fleeing past the melee and ducking into the final bay with a mixture of trepidation and dizzying excitement. The curtains were all pulled back but one set
