Winter’s POV:
The door opened slowly, the faint creak cutting through the silence of the room.
My pulse jumped before I could steady it, my body still heavy and unfamiliar beneath me. For a moment I could not move or even breathe, every part of me waiting to see who stood on the other side.
I felt him before I saw him.
Derrick.
Relief spread through me and I sank back into the pillows, the tension slipping away as if something deep within me recognized safety before my thoughts could catch up.
“Derrick,” I breathed, my voice hoarse and thinner than I expected.
He crossed the room quickly, concern plain on his face, his usual composure replaced by something more open, more human. His eyes moved over me in a quick search, as if trying to confirm something.
“You are awake,” he said so
