“You and me,” I whispered, shivering. “Those things you said to me at the hospital. All those other times, too. I conjured you up in my mind and I concentrated on your face. I imagined your voice in my head and just kept you there—in my mind. Talking to me. Keeping me calm. Making me feel”—my breath hitched and I had to take a steadying breath before finishing—“safe.”
