Melody
I was still trying to steady the tightness in my chest when I felt it—something shift in the room. Not the tension this time, but awareness. A presence.
My eyes lifted instinctively.
Luke was awake.
Not fully alert, not sitting up, but his eyes were open—tracking, focusing—and when they met mine, something warm and unmistakably there flickered behind them. I froze for half a second, afraid to breathe, afraid I’d imagined it.
Then his lips twitched.
Just barely.
A soft, dry sound came out of his throat, raspy from disuse. “Don’t… know what I missed,” he murmured, voice cracking like old paper, “but I’m guessin’ Tony said something he shouldn’t have.”
For a heartbeat, the room stood still.
Then everything broke at once.
“Oh my God—Luke?” Sarah gasped, rushing forward.
“Hey—
