POV: Naomi
I woke to a soft light bleeding through pale curtains, painting thin stripes across the ceiling. For a moment, I thought I was somewhere else—somewhere quiet and untouched. But the weight in my chest said otherwise.
It didn't feel like pain. Not exactly. Ot felt more like a heaviness, like someone had pressed their hand to my sternum and refused to let go. My head throbbed gently, not from noise but the lack of it. Everything was too quiet. Like the world had hit pause and forgotten to restart. It felt as silent as it was in that place...
My body felt different. Slower. Wrong. Like I’d borrowed someone else’s skin and bones and forgotten the return date.
I shifted slightly, expecting soreness. It was there, but muted. I turned my head. There, in the corner, was Marcus. He wa
