Hailee's POV
I didn't wake up the normal way.
There was no gentle stretch. No soft blink. No slow return to myself.
It felt like I was being dragged out of darkness by my bones.
My whole body ached—deep, heavy pain like someone had taken me apart and forced me back together wrongly. My arms felt too heavy to lift. My legs felt like stone. Even my ribs hurt when I tried to breathe.
I tried to move, and a sharp pain shot through my spine.
I gasped—and immediately regretted it.
My throat was dry. My mouth tasted like iron. My head pounded like a drum.
For a moment, I didn't know where I was.
Then a warm hand tightened around mine.
And a familiar scent reached me—stronger than the pain, stronger than the fear.
Nathan.
My eyes fluttered open, and the first thing I saw was him.
He was sitting beside me on the bed, his shoulders hunched forward like he had been holding his breath for hours. His hair was slightly messy, his face pale, his eyes red like he hadn't slept at all.
