The first thing that came back was the sound.
A steady, rhythmic beeping that cut through the heaviness in her head, threading itself into her awareness before anything else could settle.
Ava’s lashes fluttered. Light pressed faintly against her closed eyes brightly.
Her fingers shifted against the sheets. The contrast hit before the memory did.
Her brows drew together slightly as her eyes opened, slowly, the ceiling above her coming into view in fragments.
She inhaled, and the air was different.
Her gaze moved, sluggish at first, dragging across the room until it found a figure seated beside the bed.
For a moment, Ava only stared, her mind lagging behind what her eyes had already registered.
Then her throat tightened. “Who…?” Her voice came out rough, barely holding shape. She s
