THE STEADY BEEP of the heart monitor was the only thing anchoring Emily to the present. White light pressed against her eyelids even when they were closed, the hospital room too bright, too clean, too sterile for the weight sitting on her chest. The faint ache at the back of her skull reminded her she was still healing, that the surgery had been real, that she had survived it—barely. Her head felt wrapped in cotton and painkillers, her thoughts slow but stubbornly persistent.Emily lay half-awake, eyes drifting open and closed, while Keisha sat beside her bed, legs crossed, scrolling through her phone and talking in that soft, forced brightness people used around the injured. She had been talking for a while now, Emily had no idea how long. Time didn’t behave properly in hospitals. Minutes stretched. Hours collapsed.“…and the nurse said if you keep eating like this, you’ll be out of here in no time,” Keisha said gently, setting the phone aside. “You should’ve seen Adam earlier, Em. H
Last Updated : 2026-02-05
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