I kept my hands under the blanket so she would not see them shake. The IV tape pulled at the hair on my arm every time I shifted. It was the same feeling I had the morning after the mistake when I drove home in the dark.

The whole time I could taste that dry hospital air on my tongue. It brought back every night shift I ever worked when I was too afraid to speak up about anything. She let the curtain fall and the rings clicked one by one as it closed.

They let me go home two days after that. I have not heard from her since. I still think about what she said every night before I turn off the light. The thing I got wrong was thinking silence would keep the mistake from touching anyone else.