The hospital was eerily silent, save for the beeping of machines and the soft shuffle of nurses' shoes on the linoleum floor. Aria stood at the foot of Lila’s bed, her hands clasped tightly together. The steady rhythm of the heart monitor was like a cruel countdown, ticking away the precious seconds. She could hear nothing else.
She could hear nothing but the scream inside her head, the helplessness that was gnawing at her insides. Lila had slipped in and out of consciousness for hours, each time more fragile than the last. The doctors had warned them—cautioned them that her injuries were severe, that they’d done all they could.
Aria could feel it. The cold, the tightening grip of fear around her heart. Lila had been the one person in her life she could count on. And now…
No. She wouldn
