Riley:
The coffee burned, but I barely felt it. It was a distant sting, like everything else these days. I dropped the cup into the trash and wiped my hand on my scrubs, though the smell of scorched coffee clung to my skin like a brand.
I stared at Cade’s name on my screen until the letters blurred. We need to talk.
Four words. Heavy enough to tilt the room.
My thumb hovered over the notification. Open it, swipe it away, throw the phone in the trash—every option felt like a trap.
“Riley?” Kara’s voice snapped me back. She was leaning in the doorway, her ponytail frizzed from the humidity, a paper chart in her hands. “Dr. Patel’s asking for you in the ER. Some kind of walk-in trauma.”
“Yeah,” I croaked, slipping my phone into my pocket. My heart was still in my throat.
“Everything ok
