Freja’s POV
The hospital's pale fluorescent lights buzzed above me as I paced the corridors, each step echoing with anxiety. Nurses moved around briskly, their chatter and clinking tools creating a background hum that I barely registered. I stopped near the nurses' station, gripping the counter to steady my trembling hands.
"Did you find her?" I asked Mabel, who had just come back from the emergency wing.
"I’ve searched everywhere—every hallway, every room, even the supply closets. She’s not here," she replied, her voice thick with worry. "What about you? Any luck?"
"None," I admitted, shaking my head. "I called home, but she isn’t there either."
"Then where is she?!" Mabel’s frustration mirrored my own, her voice breaking slightly.
"Maybe she felt suffocated here and decided to leave," I suggested, trying to remain calm. "Does she have any friends or relatives she could have gone to see?"
Mabel's shoulders slumped, and she leaned against the counter. "Ashley is a simple g
