CHAPTER 36
I woke up to the sound of the ceiling fan ticking.
Not spinning—ticking. One slow click at a time, like the blade was caught on something invisible. The room was unfamiliar. Pale blue curtains. White walls. A metal tray beside the bed that smelled like antiseptic and old iron. My skin felt too tight. My mouth too dry. There was a vein in my temple throbbing in a rhythm that wasn’t mine.
I blinked.
Once. Twice.
And then I remembered.
Or—I tried to.
There was water. A scream. Hands. Cold hands. My own?
I shot upright.
Pain split through my back. My breath caught. I looked down and saw a hospital gown—creased and stained, like it had been worn by someone else before me. The sheets smelled of bleach and lavender. That fake hospital kind of clean.
“Jasmine?”
My name in a w
