The room was white. Not bright, just blank.Scarlet’s eyes fluttered open. She blinked slowly, disoriented. The ceiling tiles swam. A dull, throbbing ache pulsed through her body in waves, like the aftermath of a storm she did not remember surviving.
She tried to shift. Pain answered immediately. A sharp inhale caught in her chest before she could stop it. Her left arm was immobilized in a hard cast that reached her shoulder, elevated on pillows. Her ribs protested when she breathed too deeply. Her wrist ached beneath the plaster, deep and wrong.
She swallowed. Her throat was dry. Raw.
She turned her head, expecting someone, anyone. The chair beside her bed was empty. No jacket hung over the back. No half-empty coffee cup rested on the side. No quiet breathing came from the corner. Only
