Vittorio’s POV
I didn’t know where I was. But the IV in my arm said hospital. The burn in my chest said otherwise. My mind split between now and the crash.
“f**k”
I gasped and sat up, then choked. Water.
In my lungs. In my throat. In my head.
I was drowning again.
My body jerked. My back lit up in fire. I couldn’t breathe. My hands clawed the sheets.
The smell of salt. Of blood. Of wet earth and smoke.
I remembered it. The crash.
The fire. The scream. Katarina.
And then
Hands. Someone’s hands had pulled me out. Strong. Cold. Not hers.
I’d stopped fighting. I’d let go.
And something, someone dragged me from the dark.
Then the light slammed into my skull.
Now I was floating again. But not in water.
In a room. Soft pillows. Clean sheets. IV line in my arm. A tube near my nose
