The piercing ache that sears through my body jolts me awake. With a groan, I attempt to push myself up from the hard surface beneath me, but a sharp pain shoots through my head as I move. Blinking rapidly, I struggle to focus my vision, the world around me swimming in a haze of confusion.
My hand flies to my forehead, where a warm stickiness greets my touch: blood. Panic surges within me as the realization of my situation hits me. I’m in Layla’s car, or what remains of it, the air thick with the acrid scent of smoke. Fractured glass glitter around me, a testament to the chaos that has unfolded.
As my senses slowly sharpens, my gaze lands on the figure slumped in the driver's seat, my heart lurching in my chest.
Layla!
She’s unconscious, blood staining her face, her breaths shallow and
