I came back from the edge, somehow. Waking up in the hospital, the only sound was the monotonous beep of the monitor. The nurse saw me stir and rushed over, urging me to rest, but I ripped the IV from my hand and staggered out of bed.
"Evelyn! You can't leave yet!" she cried, blocking my path.
"Thanks, but I'm dying," I said, my voice light but unyielding. "I don't want to go out here."
My hollow eyes made her flinch, and she stepped aside. I dragged my battered body out of the hospital, one painful step at a time.
When I pushed open the door to the Whitman house, Elliot and Ryan were sprawled on the living room couch. They didn't even look up.
"Finally decided to crawl back?" Elliot sneered. "Done playing dead?"
Ryan flipped through some papers, his tone dripping with mockery. "What
