NATALIE
I woke up with my skull splitting in half.
Not the poetic kind. Not the romantic, poor-me-I-miss-my-ex kind. No. This was the real deal—pulsing, brain-throbbing, please-someone-knock-me-out kind of pain.
My eyes refused to open. My body felt like someone had rolled me in a wool blanket, left me in the sun, then forgot I was still alive.
Everything was sticky…sweat slicked my back, glued my thighs together. My throat was the Sahara. My limbs felt like lead, heavy and useless.
I groaned and shifted toward the window.
Bad idea.
Sunlight sliced through my eyelids like punishment. Sharp, hot, blinding. I winced and swore under my breath, trying to sit up. Gravity had other plans.
My spine screamed, my neck cracked, and I collapsed back onto the mattress like a dying animal.
