It was the cold that woke Lauren, sharp and biting, as if the world outside had frozen in time. Her breath hitched in the stillness of the room, the sheets twisted around her legs, her body covered in a cold sweat.
Her heart pounded in her chest like it was trying to escape.
She bolted upright, gasping for air, her hands trembling as she wiped her face.
The nightmare was still fresh, vivid, the images flashing behind her eyes as if they were happening all over again. The screech of tires. The flash of headlights blinding her. The explosion of glass, metal crumpling, the sickening crunch that had followed.
“No... no, not again...” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, gripping the edge of the mattress, her body swaying with the lingering
